Huddersfield Town face Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday afternoon. David Wagner has some tricky problems to resolve when he picks his team to take on Pep Guardiola’s men. How will he deal with replacing Zanka, following his training ground injury this week? Will Hogg be able to shake off a hip problem? Should he stick to a similarly negative gameplan to the one that led to a 3-0 defeat last weekend?
Here’s my attempt to answer those questions…
Tactics: Town to stick with 3-5-2
Town looked good in the first half against Chelsea last week when they played a three-man central defence. They allowed Chelsea possession in non-threatening areas but pressed hard when the ball game near Ben Hamer’s goal. I expect we’ll try the same plan again, and hope for better luck in the key moments.
This system restricts our attacking options but it means there are fewer gaps for superior opposition to expose, making us harder to break down. It’s not nice to watch, but it’s a system that has potential to help us get points against the big boys.
Goalkeeper: Lössl
Ben Hamer didn’t have a great competitive debut last weekend, and Lössl has had a further week of training to regain his form after his post-World Cup break. I wouldn’t say Hamer was at fault for any of the goals, but he could have done better with a couple of them. His distribution also seemed flawed at times. I was impressed by Hamer in preseason, so I’m not too concerned by one sub-par performance, but I’d rather see Lössl reinstated for this match.
Defence: Smith, Schindler, Kongolo
Zanka’s injury leaves a bit of a hole in our defensive line. Jon Stankovic is the obvious replacement as he’s our only other central defender. However, in a three-man back line the right-hand side centreback plays a bit like a fullback anyway, so I think Tommy Smith could do this job well. Smith started his career as a central defender and adapted to rightback, so it wouldn’t be a huge task for him to step into Zanka’s role.
Wingbacks: Hadergjonaj and Löwe
If Smith is used in central defence then it leaves Hadergjonaj to play as the right-sided wingback. He had a tough afternoon up against Willian last week, so will hope to have a better time of it against City. Given the talent in City’s forward line he’ll have to be on top of his game. Löwe is also a fairly likely selection, as Durm is still building up his fitness and isn’t expected to play until Town’s League Cup game at Stoke the week after next.
Midfield: Hogg, Billing, Mooy
Hogg is potentially going to miss this game due to a hip issue he’s picked up this week, but I think he’ll be played if he’s even close to fit. Given that Hogg shook off a (misdiagnosed) broken neck within a few weeks during our promotion season, I’m confident he’ll do everything he can to play this game.
If Hogg isn’t fit then we could see Juninho Bacuna get his competitive debut for Town, or possibly see Hardergjonaj reprise his role as a makeshift central midfielder.
Attackers: Mounié and Pritchard
Pritchard was unfortunate to be subbed at halftime against Chelsea last weekend, and I think his exit contributed to Town’s grip on the game slipping away in the second half. I’d like to see him given another chance in this supporting striker role, as his workrate and determination were leading to openings for Town last weekend.
Mounié or Depoitre is a tough decision for these kind of games. Chances will be limited, so it would make sense to play our best finisher (Mounié) but the main striker may be isolated, so it would also be sensible to field the striker that’s best at holding the ball up (Depoitre). I’d expect to see both strikers at some point, but I think Wagner will start with Mounié to give Town the best possible chance of scoring if we can create chances.
