Premier League title contenders Manchester City face a testing FA Cup fifth round tie away at Championship high-flyers Huddersfield Town this afternoon (3pm kick-off).

Pep Guardiola’s side have won their last three games on the bounce in the league, with their 2-0 success at Bournemouth on Monday night taking them up to second in the table, and to within eight points of runaway leaders Chelsea.

Thus, there is renewed optimism around the Etihad Stadium that they can indeed catch the Blues and potentially win the title, but league matters must be put on hold for now, as they face a confident Huddersfield side in the FA Cup later on today.

David Wagner’s Terriers have won their last five Championship matches, and moved to within four points of Brighton in second following a last-gasp 3-2 victory over Rotherham on Tuesday night.

The Yorkshire club have defeated Port Vale and Rochdale en route to the fifth round, but they will feel confident of causing an upset this afternoon given their recent form, and their displays at home this season, which have seen them win 11 of their 15 league games.

In what is sure to be a cracking cup tie at the John Smith’s Stadium, here are THREE reasons why Huddersfield can upset the odds and knock Manchester City out of the FA Cup this afternoon…

Five wins on the bounce

David Wagner’s men are the form team in the Championship in the last five games, as they have won every single one of them.

Three successive home wins over Ipswich, Brighton, and Leeds were demonstrative of their promotion credentials, before they ground out tough away victories at Queens Park Rangers last weekend, and then Rotherham in midweek.

The Terriers are clearly on a roll and will take some stopping and, with just one defeat in their last 13 Championship games, they also know how to get results when needed.

Those two wins over Brighton and Leeds were particularly impressive given that both sides went to the John Smith’s Stadium in decent form, so Wagner’s are unlikely to fear Manchester City too much despite their good run of form.

In fact, they’ll likely sense a great opportunity for a big upset later on today.

City will make changes

Photo: Simon Stacpoole / Offside.

Manchester City have been in excellent form in recent weeks, winning their last three Premier League games on the trot, and suffering just one defeat in all competitions since the turn of the year.

However, with a Champions League last 16 clash with Monaco coming up on Tuesday, Guardiola is probably going to rest several first team players for the match at the John Smith’s Stadium, which itself could be a quite disruptive to the momentum they’ve built up in recent weeks.

Although City have strength in many areas of the pitch, the likes of Fernando and Fabian Delph, the likely two in the midfield, haven’t played much football in recent weeks, so will probably be off the pace in the early stages.

This will be in contrast to Huddersfield who are not only used to playing three games in a week, but will have a spring in their step given their recent run – they could catch a makeshift City line-up out this afternoon.

Very strong at home

Huddersfield have won 11 of their 15 Championship games at the John Smith’s Stadium this season, with only Brighton, Reading, and Norwich having taken more points at home thus far.

It’s not just their overall home form which is impressive though, their recent form has been pretty good, having won five of their last six, and losing just once in their last nine.

They’ve also beaten some good teams at the John Smith’s Stadium this term, with the likes of Brighton, Leeds, and Derby all coming unstuck to Wagner’s side, so City will know that they are in for a tough game this afternoon.

There’s a feel-good factor all around Huddersfield at the moment, and the visit of City will only galvanise the fans once again, and make it a very testing afternoon for Guardiola and his side.