Huddersfield Town take on Leicester City at home this Saturday. The game comes just five days after the 2-0 defeat to West Ham at the London Stadium, and presents Town with a chance to put that uncharacteristic performance behind them.
Leicester won the league in 2015/16 and are a tough side to play. Town aren’t likely to have things all their own way against the Foxes. We may be allowed to have possession of the ball, but Leicester are one of the most dangerous counter-attacking sides in the league.
Vardy and Mahrez will be waiting to pounce on the slightest error and could punish any sloppiness at the back. Even without making a mistake, Vardy’s raw pace will be a real test of our defence.
Regardless of the result, I’m looking forward to seeing some of the best players in the Premier League come to Huddersfield and give Town a game.
Match details
Kickoff: 3pm Saturday, 16 September 2017 – After an awkward-to-get-to Monday night game in London, it’s nice to have another Saturday afternoon match.
Tickets: Sold out, but season card holders may be putting the odd ticket up on the exchange system.
Referee: Jonathan Moss – He’ll be hoping for a quiet afternoon after all the fuss surrounding the red card he gave Sadio Mane last weekend.
Likely lineup
It’s very hard to predict what team Wagner will put out against Leicester. He’s been fairly consistent with his selections so far in the Premier League, but Monday was a poor performance so he may want to change things.
Smith has still not replicated his form from last season, so I’m going to predict Hadergjonaj will come in to replace him. Flo looks pretty pacey, so will give us some extra cover against Leicester’s fast breaks.
The other change I’m predicting is Williams coming in for Philip Billing. My opinion about him has improved a lot this season but I think he’s better suited to playing alongside a more destructive midfielder. Williams should make us more solid and add some energy to the middle of the park.
Only Lössl, Schindler, Mooy, and maybe Ince deserve to keep their place in the team based on Monday’s performance. For that reason, I wouldn’t be surprised if there were more changes, particularly given the strength of our squad.
Pre-match comments
David Wagner echoed his post-match comments from the West Ham game. Pointing out that we weren’t brave enough in possession and saying there would be an improvement in this area against Leicester.
Personally, I think he may have been a bit too harsh on the performance at West Ham. It wasn’t great, but Wagner hasn’t held back in his criticism. I’d much rather he was this way, instead of trying to paper over the cracks of poor performances.
Wagner also points out that Leicester’s record of one win out of their first four games doesn’t mean they’re a poor side. They’ve lost to Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal, so they’ve performed about as you’d expect against the top sides.
4 questions about the Leicester home game
Will Town go in for the kill?
Leicester will be hoping to hit us on the break, so would it be foolish to go for an all-out attack on them? I think our players will want to prove Monday was a blip by trying to play Leicester off the park. Wagner may instruct them to be more cautious, to prevent being exposed at the back.
I genuinely don’t know the right approach, so it’ll be interesting to see how we set up. We might look a bit silly if we throw everyone forward and lose 3-0 after having 75% possession. However, we’re at our best when we attack the opposition and play with freedom. Luckily it’s Wagner’s problem and not mine. I have complete faith that he’s got a plan to beat Leicester.
Can our fans keep up the atmosphere?
The atmosphere, both home and away, has been incredible this season. Even the usually sedate Revell Ward Stand has been creating a lot of noise for our home performances.
This support from the stands gives the players a big boost out on the pitch, so I hope we can keep it up. We might not always have it our own way, but remaining positive will give us a better chance of success.
How deep is our squad?
Kasey Palmer’s injury and the dip in form of a few players means that Wagner may be forced to change things around for this game. Most of our second-string players are untested at this level, so now’s the chance for them to shine.
Will our “official Falconer” make an appearance?
You know you’ve arrived in the Premier League when you’ve got an “official falconer”. Saturday will be the first game since the historic announcement of our partnership with NBC Environment. Watch out for an appearance of our official bird of prey at some point at the weekend.
Spare a thought for Town fan Andy Falconer, who is now relegated to “unofficial Falconer”. He’s taken the news pretty badly on Twitter.
READ: @NBCEnviro becomes the 'Official Falconer' to #htafc & will be at Saturday's @htafcCanalside Fanzone https://t.co/NfPbj9JUnm (CL) pic.twitter.com/ob86XyLOU9
— Huddersfield Town (@htafc) September 14, 2017
Opposition info: Leicester City
Leicester City have just three points from their opening four games. They probably had the hardest possible opening set of fixtures of any club in the Premier League though, facing Arsenal, Manchester United, and Chelsea in their opening four games. Their only victory came in a 2-0 home victory against Brighton.
Leicester are likely to play a 4-4-2 formation with two solid banks of four behind two strikers. They tend to play on the break, so may be willing to let Town have possession for long periods, but will be ready to pounce if there’s a chance to counter-attack.
Michail Antonio tore Town’s defence to pieces with his pace at the London Stadium on Monday night, so this will be an interesting test for Town. Our defence has been our main strength so far, so hopefully, we’ll be able to snuff them out and handle their pace.
Man to watch: Jamie Vardy
Jamie Vardy has already scored three goals this season, and he’ll be looking to add to his tally against Town. He’s a relentless kind of player, chasing down lost causes, trying to get in behind the defence and working hard for his team.
I think Vardy has been wise to stay at Leicester, as they play a type of football that’s perfect for him. He’ll play on the shoulder of the last man and wait for balls to be launched downfield for him to chase on to.
Embed from Getty Images
Town v Leicester history
Town have played Leicester 59 times, winning 28 of them, drawing nine and losing 22. So we’ve got the edge on them (though that has absolutely zero influence on the outcome of the upcoming game). Our first game against Leicester was a 2-1 defeat at home in 1910 in Division Two.
Our most recent meeting with Leicester came in the Championship in 2013/4, the season they were promoted to the Premier League. We lost both games against them, 2-1 away in October 2013 and 2-0 at home in April 2014.
Jonathan Hogg is the only remaining Town player from the starting eleven in our previous game against Leicester, even though it was only three years ago. Duane Holmes, Peter Clarke and Anthony Gerrard did start that game though, which makes you realise how much things have changed.
Terrier Spirit prediction: Huddersfield Town 2-0 Leicester City
I expect Town will turn in a much-improved performance compared to Monday night at West Ham. We’ll attack Leicester and look to create plenty of chances. They’ve got a solid defence and are a threat on the break but I think we’ll be able to break them down.
While it might not be an easy game, I think we’ll take this one two nil. Ince seems to be getting closer to scoring with every game, hitting the bar on Monday. I’ll tip him to get both goals.
I have a bad feeling about the game – only because we’ve not had a defeat to bounce back from and I hope you are correct with your prediction Terrier Spirit.