We build a bridge between the hybrid high-order (HHO) and the hybridizable discontinuous Galerkin (HDG) methods in the setting of a model diffusion problem. First, we briefly recall the construction of HHO methods and derive some new variants. Then, by casting the HHO method in mixed form, we identify the numerical flux so that the HHO method can be compared to HDG methods. In turn, the incorporation of the HHO method into the HDG framework brings up new, efficient choices of the local spaces and a new, delicate construction of the numerical flux ensuring optimal orders of convergence on meshes made of general shape-regular polyhedral elements. Numerical experiments comparing two of these methods are shown.