Tottenham Hotspur will be aiming to keep pace with the top three when they return to Premier League action this weekend with a trip to Huddersfield Town.
The Lilywhites returned to winning ways last Saturday with a 2-1 win at Brighton & Hove Albion, leaving them six points adrift of early pacesetters Liverpool ahead of this meeting with bottom side Huddersfield.
Huddersfield Town
© ReutersFollowing their 3-1 loss away to Leicester City last time out, when squandering an early lead at the King Power Stadium, the Terriers remain one of just three sides seeking a first win of the Premier League season.
Mathias Jorgensen netted just Town's third top-flight goal of the campaign in the East Midlands, adding to efforts from Jon Stankovic and Philip Billing across the first two months, but it was not enough as Leicester struck back to claim the win.
Finding the back of the net is proving to be a real problem for David Wagner's side, who are still awaiting their first goal on home soil in what is turning into a difficult second season at this level.
After failing to get off the mark against Chelsea, Cardiff City and most recently Crystal Palace here, adding to the blanks against Everton and Arsenal in the final few weeks of 2017-18, Huddersfield are fast closing in on an unwanted record.
Their scoreless run of five home Premier League fixtures is the longest in the competition since Southampton's six that ended in August 2017, and it is now just three short of Manchester City's record run of eight in 2007.
Things are not much better at the other end, either, as 14 goals have been conceded - a joint-low with fellow winless side Cardiff City - with six of those coming in a thrashing at the Etihad Stadium last month.
Despite the negativity around the John Smith's Stadium, not helped by an early exit in the EFL Cup at the hands of Stoke City, Wagner insists that the attitude of his players cannot be questioned.
The German did criticise certain individuals for the "big mistakes" made to gift Leicester a route back into the game last weekend, however, and now there can be no excuses as the Terriers prepare for games against Tottenham and Burnley before the international break.
Recent form in Premier League: DDLLDD
Recent form (all competitions): LDLDLL
Tottenham Hotspur
© ReutersThe slender win at Brighton last weekend could well go down as one of the biggest in Mauricio Pochettino's managerial career, coming at a time when the pressure was starting to build on the popular Argentine for the first time.
Three defeats on the spin, two of those coming in the Premier League, sucked all the positivity out of the London club, not helped by their ongoing stadium delay and a disappointing summer transfer window.
To Pochettino's credit, he has once again battled on and stuck by his players, with his reward being that victory on the south coast and a place in round four of the EFL Cup.
Progression to the next stage of the domestic cup - very much fourth on the list of Tottenham's priorities this season - was secured thanks to a penalty-shootout win over Watford in midweek, following on from a dramatic 2-2 draw in normal time at Stadium MK.
Those successive 2-1 losses to Watford, Liverpool and Inter Milan may now be in the past, but there is a real worry that the Lilywhites may struggle to match their impressive league achievements from the past few seasons under Pochettino.
The good news for Spurs is that Harry Kane appears to be back on track, having netted from the spot in the win at Brighton to make it thee goals for the season, with that spot kick ensuring that Tottenham have scored in 31 of their last 32 Premier League matches, including all six games this term.
Just one clean sheet has been kept at the other end, however, but that could soon improve as skipper Hugo Lloris is on the brink of returning from a month-long layoff and could feature as soon as this weekend.
Pochettino talked up the magnitude of his side's win against Albion last week, admitting that his players "needed to feel victory again", and now the ex-Southampton boss will be targeting six more points against the division's bottom two clubs to ensure that all is well again.
Recent form in Premier League: WWWLLW
Recent form (all competitions): WLLLWW
Team News
© ReutersPochettino is confident that the abdomen injury sustained by Christian Eriksen at the Amex Stadium last week is nothing serious, but the Denmark international is out of the match with Huddersfield and is doubtful for the visit of Barcelona.
Erik Lamela and Lucas Moura have both stepped up this season, though, with the former scoring three in his last five - compared to four in 33 games in 2017-18 - and the latter also contributing three league goals.
Lloris will continue to be monitored, with a decision to be made on his thigh injury on the eve of the game, so Paulo Gazzaniga could start for the third match in a row as Michel Vorm is also out.
Elsewhere, Serge Aurier injured his thigh against Watford and is considered a doubt, though Kieran Trippier and Danny Rose were always likely to be restored as Pochettino continues with his rotation policy at full-back.
In terms of the hosts, Ramadan Sobhi is Wagner's only confirmed absentee as Jonathan Hogg is back from a three-match ban for his sending-off against Cardiff last month.
Hogg is in contention for a return in central midfield, yet that all depends on what formation Wagner intends to go with against the division's joint-fourth highest scorers.
Should the German opt for five at the back, as he did at Leicester last week, Billing and Aaron Mooy are the more likely options in the middle.
It is then a choice between Eric Durm or Florent Hadergjonaj at right-back, with the latter last featuring in the 1-0 home loss to Crystal Palace a fortnight ago.
Huddersfield Town possible starting lineup:
Lossl; Lowe, Kongolo, Schindler, Zanka, Hadergjonaj; Van La Parra, Billing, Mooy, Kachunga; Depoitre
Tottenham Hotspur possible starting lineup:
Gazzaniga; Rose, Vertonghen, Alderweireld, Trippier; Dembele, Dier; Son, Dele, Lamela; Kane
Head To Head
Huddersfield lost both Premier League matches against Tottenham last season, scoring none and conceding six.
The Lilywhites prevailed 4-0 in this corresponding fixture almost a year ago to the day, courtesy of a couple of Kane goals, before winning 2-0 at Wembley in March through a Son Heung-min double.
Those were the first meetings between the two sides since 1972, when Spurs came out on top 2-1 in an EFL Cup tie, leaving them unbeaten in seven encounters with Huddersfield in all competitions.
We say: Huddersfield Town 0-3 Tottenham Hotspur
The visitors appear to be back on track after a sticky patch of form and they will be confident of making it back-to-back league wins when they head to West Yorkshire on Saturday. Huddersfield have conceded far too many and have struggled to score - a combination that has them down as one of the favourites to face the drop come the end of the season - and this will surely be a test too far for them.
