Huddersfield Town take on Nottingham Forest this lunchtime in a game that represents a chance to make a significant step towards Championship survival. Nottingham Forest aren’t pushovers but we’ve beaten them once already this season and we have much more to play for as they are all but safe.
I’m basing today’s predicted lineup on the players I think Carlos should pick, based mostly upon their performances in Tuesday’s game against Bournemouth. Many of the starting lineup were outshone by the subs that came on to replace them, so I’d like to see quite a few changes to today’s lineup but I have a suspicion that Carlos may choose to stick with the core players he’s used most of the season, even those that have underperformed lately. We’ll find out at half eleven.
Goalkeeper: Ryan Schofield
The Ted Hastings lookalike has been in fine form lately and will surely continue in nets barring any digestive disasters before kickoff.
Defence: Pipa, Stearman, Sarr, Rowe
Carlos confirmed that Pipa is in better shape now after being rested for the midweek game, so I’d bring him straight back in to his preferred position at rightback. He’s been filling in on the left lately but I can’t see the point of that when that isn’t as effective a role for him and leaves us weak at rightback too.
Stearman and Keogh are close to each other in the pecking order but Keogh has been picked most lately. I’d give the elder statesman a rest today and give Stearman a run purely to keep everyone fresh.
Naby Sarr doesn’t have an equivalent quality left-footed deputy, so he will have to carry on. Romoney Crichlow is theoretically his backup but is probably a season away from being ready to compete at this level and might benefit from another loan next season.
Left back continues to be the problem position until Toffolo is fit. O’Brien and Pipa can do a job there but then are pulled away from their best position and leave the team weaker overall. Whereas Rowe has done an alright job as a leftback when he’s been tasked with it and provides attacking threat from this area. I don’t know what’s gone on with Jaden Brown lately but it seems that he’s not trusted by Carlos despite being the only fit leftback in the squad.
Midfield: Hogg, O’Brien, High
This midfield is chosen mostly because of their battling, grafting qualities. Hoggy spoke before the game about going to war in this match, which is probably the right attitude given our circumstances. So fancy Dan players like Bacuna should be cast aside and the youthful exuberance of Scott High should be given a chance. He may not be as experienced as Bacuna but from what I’ve seen of him he can make up for that with hard work and persistence which is what we need for this game.
Hoggy is the kind of player you want in your team when you’re battling relegation and he acknowledged in his pre-match comments that he’ll demand others around him show the same kind of commitment. Expect lots of pointing and frowning from him today.
Lewis O’Brien has been a lot better lately and hopefully he’ll be deployed in his best position today rather than at left back. He’s most effective when he can pick up the ball in midfield and drive forward to link up with the attackers.
Forwards: Aarons, Campbell, Thomas
Rolando Aarons looked like he was just hitting his stride at the point he picked up his injury but hopefully he can get back to full match fitness soon as we need him. I like the way he runs at fullbacks and has a bit of pace to him. I think he did more than enough off the bench on Tuesday to justify starting ahead of the out of form Mbenza.
If there was a decent alternative to Campbell I’d go with them but Ward is the only other fit striker now both Niasse and Sanogo are out injured. I think I’d trust Campbell over Ward based on current form and maybe give Ward a run from the bench if Campbell tires.
Sorba Thomas is a bit of a wild card selection but he’s looked decent from the bench in the last few games and could provide the inspiration we need to break down Forest’s defence. He certainly doesn’t look short of confidence and is willing to have a crack at goal if he thinks there’s a chance.
How likely is it that this team will be selected?
Regular readers of this blog will know that I rarely get the full eleven right in my team selections but few others do either (though I think I got ten out of eleven on Tuesday). Carlos can be tricky to read and has a tendency to pull out odd selections and formations.
It wouldn’t surprise me if he named a virtually unchanged team from the one that started on Tuesday despite completely gutless performances from Bacuna and Mbenza.
If you dislike a manager you’d call this repeating the same mistakes but if you are a fan you’d say he likes to trust a core group of players. Looking at our form since Christmas you have to say that these core players have done little to repay their Head Coach’s faith in them, so there’s a case to make for making changes before it’s too late.
All I can say is that I’ve paid my £10 to iFollow but if I see either Mbenza or Bacuna in the starting line-up, I might not even switch on!
Totally agree with your selections. I’m getting totally fed up with Bacuna’s performances, its the same pretty much every week. The frustrating thing is that he has all the ability to be a quality championship performer but is either badly coached or simply doesn’t listen.
I’d also pick Steerman every week ahead of the others, not just to keep it fresh but because hes a better player. Keogh requires about 215 seconds to wind his leg back to make a pass, its so comical and fills me with nerves!
MBenza… Hmmm, earlier in the season I was worrying about losing him at the end of his contract, now I really couldn’t care less. £10m wasted. And that £10m is the difference between another struggle next year and a play-off push.
I think you’re probably correct but there is a worrying lack of pace right through the spine of the team.
Totally agree with your comments on Pipa starting at right back, but disagree that O’Brien has done a job at left back – he has been a disaster. I would prefer a left back at left back, and again agree that Jaden Brown appears out of contention at present so think Rowe will start on the left. I’m not sure about midfield. Bacuna deserves to be dropped as he has been dire recently – Hogg and O’Brien are definite starters – but the likes of High off the bench have shown glimpses of promise but these players seem unable to follow that up with a decent performance from the start. Holmes is not impressing me either at the moment so I really wouldn’t like to say who should start, but I would question how long Vallejo needs before he is allowed to come back from concussion – I thought it only had to be 10 days.
Up front – blimey – that’s another tough one. Thomas has the energy but no end product. I would say the same goes for Aarons. And Mbenza has lost focus recently. Forget Ward. So I would start with Mbenza (for his dead ball deliveries) and Campbell up front.
For me it should be 5-3-2.
Schofield
Pipa/Edmonds-Green/Keogh/Sarr/Rowe
Hogg/O’Brien/take a chance on High
Campbell/Mbenza.