Huddersfield Town vs Watford

Huddersfield Town’s bid to fashion a comeback following a nightmarish EFL Championship start faces another stern test as they welcome promotion hopefuls Watford at John Smith’s Stadium.

Huddersfield’s daunting-looking fixture schedule to cap off the 2022 calendar year continues on the back of a narrow 1-0 defeat at Sheffield United last weekend. Having failed to get on the scoresheet in four of their five most recent Championship outings (W1, D1, L3), the ‘Terriers’ come into proceedings nailed to the foot of the table, six points adrift of safety. As one of only two Championship sides yet to hit a 20-goal landmark this season, Mark Fotheringham’s lads look doomed. Adding to this sentiment, out-of-sorts Huddersfield have only won once in their last four home league fixtures (D2, L1), all of which saw one or both teams fail to trouble the scoreboard in matches garnering under 2.5 total goals.

In the meantime, visiting Watford may have thrashed current Premier League leaders Arsenal 4-2 in a mid-season friendly, but more importantly, they could only manage a drab 0-0 draw against Hull City last time out. Keen to make a swift return to the Premier League, only one season after their fateful 2021/22 top-flight relegation campaign, the ‘Hornets’ hold a slender two-point lead on seventh-placed Millwall at the start of this round. Watford’s woeful four-game league form (W1, D2, L1) is a reason for concern, especially as Slaven Bilic’s men have drawn a blank three times in that sequence. On a more positive note, the visitors are unbeaten in their last three away league matches (W2, D1), keeping a clean sheet twice in the process.