Predicted Huddersfield Town lineup to face Fulham

Fans will return to the John Smith’s Stadium today for the first time since the start of the pandemic. I’m ridiculously excited about the prospect of being back under those lovely bendy arches later today and it almost feels like what happens on the pitch will be secondary to the experience of physically attending a game. This novelty factor may work to Town’s advantage as the goodwill created by being back in the stadium will be needed as they face one of the best teams (on paper at least) in the league. 

Recently relegated Fulham come to Town with a squad that isn’t much weaker than the one they had in the Premier League and they are likely to be competing at the top end of the table this season. Town are still missing players through covid isolation and injury, so it may be a tough one to watch from a Town perspective today.

Goalkeeper: Ryan Schofield 

Some keepers have to wait literally years to get another opportunity when another keeper comes in and replaces them, so Schofield must have been secretly chuffed when covid ruled out Nicholls last weekend (even though I’m sure he’d say he’d never want a teammate to fall ill). The debate about Schofield is well-trodden ground now, so I’ll not rehash it here but to say we’re most likely to see him again today. The fact we’ve now got one of the lads from the academy as our sub keeper shows that we took a bit of a risk in not bringing in an experienced third choice this summer. I’d feel happier with an old hand like Nick Colgan provided for a number of years in the past. Given Colgan is now 47 years old, we’d have to find another keeper happy to warm the bench in the twilight of their career.

Defence: Pearson, Sarr, Colwill

Town’s three at the back looked fairly solid last weekend against Derby but they’ll most likely experience a sterner test today against Fulham. So far, Colwill looks like a very high quality player but I suspect Mitrovic will target him today to see what he’s made of. While he’s physically big enough, youth football won’t have prepared Colwill for the kind of challenge Mitrovic brings with him and he’ll need to show he can handle a player that has been a thorn in our side every time he’s played against us. Expect lots of elbows and flailing arms from the dirty but unquestionably talented striker.

Naby Sarr had a pretty good game last weekend and seemed suited to playing in the middle of the three. His strength in the air gave us our goal last weekend but is useful defensively too. Being in the middle of the three also means he’s less likely to have his lack of pace exposed and naturally gives him more passing options, so it seems like a good role for him.

I highlighted in my stats article earlier in the week that Pearson’s pass completion stats were much lower than his central defensive partners last weekend, as he opted to punt it downfield more than the others. I can’t see him changing that philosophy this weekend but I hope that his execution improves a bit today as we don’t want to hoof the ball away for it just to come straight back to us. 

Midfield: Turton, High, Hogg, Holmes, Thomas 

Town’s wingbacks were somewhat asymmetrical last weekend, with Turton more likely to hang back and Thomas pushing much higher up the field. This plays into both player’s natural strengths so I suspect we’ll go with a slightly wonky shape again. Thomas was our best player against Derby and I hope we continue to give him licence to push forward down the left. Turton showed he likes to make a tackle at Pride Park last weekend, so it may be that he’s closer to a traditional rightback today than a flying wingback. 

The central midfield combo of High, Hogg and Holmes provides a pleasing bit of alliteration in midfield but just because their surnames all start with a H doesn’t mean they’re a natural fit together. None of these three is the type of player that will be able to put their foot on the ball and dictate the tempo of play from the middle. But we’ve not had this kind of player for years, so there’s not much we can do about that probelm I suppose.

Of these three, I’m most concerned about Duane Holmes, as he struggled to get into the game against Derby. High is obviously inexperienced too but his all-action style means that he brings something to the team whenever he’s on the pitch, whereas Holmes can fade out of the game for spells. Hogg is Hogg and will most likely continue to provide that good-without-being-exceptional level of performance that has marked his career at Town.

Attack: Campbell, Koroma 

The forward line is probably the area of the pitch I’m least certain about for this game. Ward and Rhodes started up front last weekend but didn’t really click and Town looked a more potent threat when Campbell and Koroma both came on in the second half.

While we have options up front it seems sensible to rotate and select the best players for the opposition we’re facing. Fulham are likely to starve us of possession today, so having Campbell on to press their backline and Koroma to provide pace on the break seems like a good combination of the talent we’ve got available. Ward and Rhodees can then be kept on the bench in case we find ourselves chasing the game later in the afternoon.

Some unrelated notes about the practicalities of today’s game

It doesn’t really fit with this article, but I thought I’d throw in some public service announcements about being back in the stadium today:

• Season card holders should have already received their cards in the post. Some fans have also had an email with instructions on how to load your season card onto your mobile phone. I’ve not had mine at the point of writing this, so I assume there’s been some sort of delay. I’ve got my card, so I’m not too bothered.
• The concession stalls in the ground have gone cashless. This was confirmed by the club on social media last night but I think many fans won’t be aware and it’s likely to cause some aggravation this afternoon. So bring a card with you if you fancy a half-time Bovril.
• New foodstalls outside the stadium have been put up which will provide local independent food sellers a chance to sell their wares. I think this is a great move and a step towards providing a fan zone around the stadium which I know the club aspire to provide. In the Premier League it was common for clubs to have outdoor fan zones near to their stadiums and they worked really well. Town’s equivalent down at Canalside was good but having something right next to the ground would be better.
• The club are recommending fans arrive early and wear a mask between the turnstiles and their seat. There’s no requirements for vaccine passports or recent tests or anything like that but these suggestions are there to try and reduce congestion and limit the chances of Town games becoming “superspreader” events. I’d also recommend getting down there early anyway as there’s always potential for delays and queues whenever the ticketing system changes, particularly with it being the first game at the stadium in such a long time. Besides, it’ll be nice to be in the ground nice and early to soak up the atmosphere and get hyped up about watching live football in our stadium again.