Derby County v Huddersfield Town: Rams trip will be ‘hardest test’ yet for in-form Terriers

The Terriers are among the Championship’s in-form clubs after taking 15 points from those seven matches. The opening eight games of the season yielded just five points.

Powell is delighted by the upturn in form but, equally, he is under no illusions as to the size of the task facing Town at Pride Park.

He said: “This is the hardest test for us so far. I watched them personally against Fulham (when the Rams triumphed 5-2 in the Capital One Cup) last week and we are going to have to dig deep to come away with something.”

Powell has displayed a flexible approach to how Town tackle games since succeeding Mark Robins with all manner of formations employed. Against Ipswich recently, for example, he opted for a three-man backline to counter a trio of attackers.

On Saturday, he went for a more conventional 4-4-2 and was rewarded by a stunning display as Town beat Forest 3-0.

Powell was full of praise for how his men defeated Stuart Pearce’s men and added: “When you know what they can produce and they go out there and do it, it’s a great feeling. But we won’t get carried away with it.

“The win over Forest won’t totally determine our season but it is a standard-bearer to where we can go and what we can do.

“I knew with the group that over time they had something like Saturday’s performance in them, something I want to see again.”

Last six games: Derby County DWWLWL, Huddersfield Town WDWDDW.

Referee: K Hill (Hertfordshire).

Last time: Derby County 3 Huddersfield Town 1; April 12, 2014; Championship.