Sunderland will travel to the John Smith’s Stadium to face Huddersfield Town on Wednesday night in a game of major importance at both ends of the Championship table.

A victory at the weekend saw the visitors move into seventh and just outside of the playoff spots on goal difference, while the hosts’ lead over the relegation zone was reduced back to only two points in a defeat away at Southampton.

Huddersfield return to action on Wednesday looking to return to winning ways in the fight for Championship survival this season, having suffered a setback at the weekend after gaining crucial group in recent weeks.

Despite Huddersfield putting together an unbeaten run with successive 1-1 draws against Plymouth Argyle, Blackburn Rovers and Queens Park Rangers, Darren Moore’s tenure as manager was cut short at the end of January with the Terriers sat 21st on 28 points from 29 matches.

Jon Worthington has since taken over on an interim basis , and he began with a crucial relegation six-pointer at home to fellow strugglers and 23rd-placed Sheffield Wednesday in early February, overseeing a crucial 4-0 victory to extend their lead over the drop zone as Josh Koroma hit a brace alongside goals from Matty Pearson and Sorba Thomas.

A trip to second-placed Southampton then followed on Saturday, and despite taking a 2-0 lead through Thomas and David Kasumu and moving back into a 3-2 advantage through Alex Matos, they would return home empty-handed as Tom Lees own goal drew the hosts back level 10 minutes from time before Sekou Mara and Samuel Edozie wrapped up a 5-3 home victory with late efforts.

Such a result – with their rivals in the fight to avoid the drop picking up positivee results – saw Huddersfield’s leads over 22nd-placed QPR and 23rd-placed Sheffield Wednesday cut back to two and five points respectively, and they will be desperate to bounce back on Wednesday to re-establish a cushion while the search for a new paermanent manager continues.

In their way stands a Sunderland side who will bit to strengthen their playoff claim at the John Smith’s Stadium, having enjoyed an upturn in form in recent weeks.

Following his appointment as manager in mid-December, Michael Beale was unable to inspire an immediate improvement in Sunderland’s top-six bit, with his first six Championship matches in charge producing just seven points.

That tough start culminated in back-to-back defeats to Ipswich Town and Hull City in mid-January, but the Black Cats appear to have turned a corner in recent weeks, bouncing back from those losses by securing seven points from their last three games.

Sunderland firstly hosted Stoke City and ended a brief slump with a 3-1 victory, and after playing out a 1-1 draw with Middlesbrough, they most recently met Plymouth Argyle at the weekend and prevail in another 3-1 win.

Now sitting seventh having leapfrogged playoff rivals Hull City with that victory, and only trailing sixth-placed Coventry City on goal difference and fifth-placed West Bromwich Albion by two points, Sunderland will bid to make it four matches unbeaten and climb into the top six with a win in midweek.

Huddersfield Town vs. Sunderland Head to head

In the 65 previous meetings between these two teams, Huddersfield have claimed 17 victories while Sunderland have won 27, and they have drawn in 21. Sunderland have scored 109 goals and conceded 87 in the process.

• 21/10/1998
  Huddersfield Town

  1

  Sunderland

  1
  Championship
• 10/04/1999
  Sunderland

  2

  Huddersfield Town

  0
  Championship
• 02/11/2022
  Huddersfield Town

  0

  Sunderland

  2
  Championship
• 18/04/2023
  Sunderland

  1

  Huddersfield Town

  1
  Championship
• 29/11/2023
  Sunderland

  1

  Huddersfield Town

  2
  Championship