Aston Villa’s relegation from the Premier League means Huddersfield Town will make two trips to the second city next season.
But there are still three games of the current campaign to go, starting with the visit of Villa’s arch-rivals Birmingham City.
It’s the most regular fixture in Town’s 108-year history, with 106 previous competitive clashes, four more than against Bolton Wanderers.
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This will be the 100th Football League meeting between the pair, the first coming in 1910-11, Town’s first season as members.
Town won the first Leeds Road contest 7-1, and there would clearly be few complaints at a repeat of that scoreline!
While that final home match of the season, which featured a hat trick by Ireland international James Macauley in front if 6,000 spectators, might have been one-sided, the series as a whole has been even.
Town have won 36 in the league to Brum’s 35, and in all competitions, it’s 40-37.
The 2-0 success at St Andrew’s in December was David Wagner’s first win as Town’s head coach.
Now he’s seeking an 11th, and trying to complete a third Town double of the campaign after Bolton Wanderers and Charlton Athletic.
Both those two have been relegated, but Birmingham are ninth, and have only been below that level once all season.
Gary Rowett’s side have 16 wins and 13 draws from 43 games to date, but haven’t quite had the consistency to maintain a play-off push.
The £3.5m departure of Demarai Gray to Leicester City in January hasn’t helped.
The talented teenager posed plenty of danger from the left wing.
Birmingham remain the highest-placed side Town have beaten this campaign, under either Powell or Wagner, and finishing off with three wins is a realistic target.
That would help bolster the feelgood factor ahead of what is going to be a crucial pre-season.
It would also be good to see Nahki Wells add to his 18-goal tally and score in three successive games for the first time since he was a Bradford City player.
Wells helped Town win 2-0 at Blackburn Rovers and draw 1-1 at Rotherham United in what were two different types of games calling for different types of performances.
Back on their own turf, Town are in a position to call the shots, impose their own full-throttle style on the game and chalk up win number 14 of an eventful and ultimately encouraging campaign.
