Huddersfield Town can make a small piece of history on Saturday at home to Nottingham Forest, because if the Terriers avoid defeat to Stuart Pearce's side it will be seven league games unbeaten for Chris Powell and his men - the best run since Town returned to the second tier in 2012.

Town took five points from a triple header of Blackpool, Brighton and Hove Albion and Ipswich Town, with the latter seeing Powell's side come from two goals down to secure a point at Portman Road.

The Terriers come up against a Forest side without a win in their last seven which has seen the early-season league leaders drop to seventh but the manager has already attempted to dismiss any idea that this will not be a difficult test.

Here are the three battles which could decide the meeting between the two teams this weekend as the Terriers look to stretch their run without defeat to seven while Forest look to bounce back to winning ways.

WATCH: Sports Editor Mel Booth previews Huddersfield Town v Nottingham Forest

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Mark Hudson v Britt Assombalonga

Mark Hudson v Britt Assombalonga
Mark Hudson v Britt Assombalonga

Hudson's impact on the Town defence has been clear and he has acted as a galvanising presence to help guide young full-backs Tommy Smith and Jack Robinson, as well as partner Joel Lynch.

His leadership qualities have not been able to prevent a string of set-piece goals from finding the back of the Terriers net but Powell is not overly concerned by that element of his side's defensive game.

Forest have scored five times from set pieces though this season and Assombalonga has been the beneficiary for three of those (against Bournemouth, Reading and Fulham) but his ability to stretch defences with his blistering pace will presumably be of greater concern to the manager.

No-one has scored more times than Assombalonga in the league this season but he has hit a slight dry patch with just one goal in seven games since netting a hat-trick in a 5-3 win over Fulham last month.

Ironically, that was Forest's last three points and his drought has coincided with a dip in form. Town must be on guard to prevent the nine-goal summer signing from Peterborough restoring personal and collective glory.

Tommy Smith v Michail Antonio

Tommy Smith v Michail Antonio
Tommy Smith v Michail Antonio

Arguably the most difficult battle for Town to win comes on their right flank as one of the best players in the division so far this season comes up against Smith, who himself has found a sustained run of form in recent weeks.

The young right-back was outstanding at Ipswich last week with a tenacious display full of attacking endeavour but if this game represents a test of how far Town have come, then the same directly applies to the 22-year-old and it may curb his offensive instincts a touch.

Only Assombalonga, Derby County's Chris Martin and Bournemouth hotshot Callum Wilson have scored more than Antonio so far this season, who is tied on seven goals with Bakary Sako at Wolves and Ipswich Town forward Daryl Murphy.

While Murphy was kept relatively quiet last week, Sako and Wilson have already found the net against Town and Antonio will relish his chances of joining that list with his powerful running and slick dribbling style.

Antonio also has a stunning six assists - a tally only Bournemouth's Matt Ritchie is able to usurp - on top of his seven goals, meaning he has contributed to more goals overall than even Assombalonga, marking him out as the chief dangerman this weekend.

Nahki Wells v Michael Mancienne

Nahki Wells v Michael Mancienne
Nahki Wells v Michael Mancienne

This looks set to be a closely-fought battle if, indeed, Wells is given the nod up front. And if he is, you get the impression Mancienne will have a difficult afternoon's work on his hands.

He has been one of the stand-out defenders in the division so far this season and has looked an inspired piece of business by Pearce after being drafter back to England from Hamburg in the Bundesliga.

But both he and Assombalonga have symbolised Forest's recent slump, which has seen them score nearly a third less goals in their last seven games as opposed to their first and last week's 3-1 home defeat to Blackburn Rovers also ensured more goals have been conceded.

Mancienne was directly at fault for former Terrier Jordan Rhodes' goal for Rovers last weekend and he cannot afford such slack defending against Town's top scorer, who ran the Ipswich defence ragged with constant movement at Portman Road.

He showed that he is no one-trick pony too by climbing superbly to head home a leveller against the Tractor Boys so the Forest defence and in particular Mancienne can be sure to have their hands full throughout.

You would imagine Town will put up a better fight of it than in the meagre 2-0 Capital One Cup reverse earlier this term and Wells will be a key part of that, either from the get-go or from the bench.