Huddersfield Town home wins over Blackburn Rovers have been pretty hard to come by since the sixties.
Even during the 1969-70 second-tier promotion season, the men from Ewood Park were the only side to win at Leeds Road.
In 13 league and cup meetings on Yorkshire soil since that well-remembered campaign, there have been only two Town triumphs, in 1973-74 and 1999-2000.
Saturday’s showdown provides a chance to improve that record, and maintain the momentum of the last five matches, which have yielded nine points from 15 and pushed Town up to 15th on 53 points.
It would be great if Town could beat both Blackburn and Blackpool and seal a highest final position and best points tally since returning to the Championship in 2012 (they would need to better last season’s 17th and the 58 points of 2012-13).
After the excitement of last Saturday’s eight-goal draw with Derby County, the game has got a lot to live up to.
But there should still be plenty to interest the fans, some of whom will have taken advantage of the fiver admission offer.
Can Town put the brakes on old boy Jordan Rhodes, a hat-trick scorer in this fixture last season and recently named in the Football League’s ‘Team of the Decade’ as well as Rudy Gestede?
Will another former Town player, Simon Eastwood, be between the posts for Rovers having produced a bright FA Cup performance against Liverpool?
And will Town manager Chris Powell take the opportunity to try out one of his bright young things or stick with the tried and trusted as he bids to finish on a high?
It’s the most obvious fixture in which to give youth its head, but the boss has spoken of his determination to extend the current five-match unbeaten sequence to seven.
Blackburn have been solid all season, so getting the better of them would provide further evidence that Town can feature in the top, rather than bottom half of the table next time.
Increased parachute payments for the three clubs who drop out of the Premier League mean the financial disparity within the division will grow.
It means Powell is going to have to be cute in his recruitment and maintain the man-management skills he has shown so far.
