Predicted Huddersfield Town XI to play Derby amid covid testing uncertainty

I’d hoped that this season may feel a bit like a return to normal but even though fans will be able to watch Town play in the Championship for the first time in an age, the spectre of Coronavirus still looms over today’s match.

This may not be the best game to try and pick the likely lineup, as rumours abound about the availability of Town’s first team players and even the coaching staff. Carlos Corberan made some vague statements in his press conference about uncertainty surrounding the results of covid tests that hadn’t been received yet. Perhaps inevitably, since then there have been several unconfirmed reports on Twitter of key players that are likely to miss out today due to having to isolate.

I’m not going to repeat specific names of players that are suspected to be positive cases as it’s just speculation at the moment but if true, it’s likely today’s team will be significantly weaker than the one named against Sheffield Wednesday last weekend. 

It seems that we’re not going to know who will be available for today’s match until two o’clock this afternoon, so I’m going to predict the team on the assumption that all the covid tests come back negative – let’s hope that’s the case!

Goalkeeper – Nicholls

After his penalty heroics last weekend and public backing from the head coach, Nicholls is currently at the top of the pecking order. I’m happy with this choice for now but unlike many Town fans, I see Schofield as genuine competition for the goalkeeper role and wouldn’t be disappointed if he gets a run later in the season. It’s usually best for continuity to have a consistent presence between the sticks but given Nicholls hasn’t a great deal of experience at this level, having Schofield as backup means there is another option if things don’t go to plan.

Defence: Turton, Pearson, Colwill, Toffolo

I mentioned it earlier in the week, but Pipa has serious competition for the rightback role in the shape of Turton. While the Spaniard recovers his fitness, it’s fairly likely Turton will continue. But even when both are fit, I can imagine Turton being favoured in games where we’re expected to need to defend more. Or even as a right-sided central defender in a back three with Pipa as wingback. 

Pearson and Colwill should also continue to develop their Beauty and the Beast pairing in central defence. Pearson will do the ugly side of things and provide leadership at the back while Colwill has the confidence and ability to add a bit of class to our back line. It may seem strange that we’ve taken on a Premier League team’s academy player then loaned out our two best young central defenders but when you see Colwill on the ball it starts to make sense. Despite being only 18, he’s clearly a class above the players we have at our disposal and should give us something we’ve been missing at the back.

It’s hard to say much about Harry Toffolo because he’s so consistent. So, yeah, Toffolo will be leftback again providing he’s not caught up in any of this covid testing business.

Midfield: Hogg, High, Holmes

Last weekend there were rumours in the paper connecting O’Brien with a potential move to Leeds but he was still selected against Sheffield Wednesday and put in a Man of the Match performance. If the rumour mill is to be believed there has now been a firm bid lodged by Leeds which Town have rejected, so I think O’Brien will be left out today to protect him from injury. If this is the case I hope we’ve learned from the Karlan Grant situation last season and conclude the transfer as quickly as possible so we’re not left in limbo for longer than needed.

If (and it’s still and if not a when) O’Brien departs it may be that High is seen as the natural replacement and the blow of losing one of our best academy products of recent years is softened by another youngster coming to fruition. I don’t think the two players are exact replicas but High has a similar tenacity and workrate in the middle of the park. He doesn’t drive forward with the ball in the same way O’Brien can though and is less likely to break through opposition defensive lines. On a more positive note, High has potential to be a more cultured passer of the ball than O’Brien and has already shown that he’s got a decent long range shot in his locker (he scored an absolute screamer out on loan last season).

Like Toffolo, Hogg is a player that will be on the team sheet whenever he is fully fit and most likely sometimes even when only half fit. Alex Vallejo is a capable understudy but has a different skillset to Hogg and is arguably less suited to the cut and thrust of a Championship defensive battle. So Hogg will surely continue to anchor midfield.

I think most Town fans would prefer to see Holmes to play in midfield rather than the right wing. In fact, I think Holmes himself would prefer this too but he’s been predominantly played as a right winger in preseason and in last weekend’s cup game. I’ve heard some fairly critical comments about him lately but he’s got a wealth of Championship experience and if he stays fit I think he could have a good season this year, even more so if he plays in his preferred position. If my suspicion that O’Brien will be rested is true then I think he may get his wish to play centrally fulfilled purely because there aren’t many other options while Sinani isn’t fully up to speed.

Forwards: Thomas, Ward, Koroma

Surely Thomas has done enough for a start now, hasn’t he? He’s doing everything right on the pitch when given a chance and also seems like a decent character off the pitch too. He provides width, pace and decent deliveries so it’s hard to see why we’re playing a midfielder out of position instead of him. It may be that he’s seen as an impact sub but I’d prefer to see him from the start.

Picking the central attacker is an exercise in picking the best of a bad bunch until one of our three strikers proves otherwise. Ward seems to be the current first choice, so while he’s fit I think he’ll be given a chance to play himself into form. Getting a goal early in the campaign could do wonders for his confidence and may be the first of many. While he was poor when he was given a chance last season, I’m hopeful we’ll see more from him this year with a full preseason under his belt and a bit of time to adjust to the coach’s methods. If not then we’ll most likely see Rhodes given a chance to prove he’s more than just a poacher.

If we had a deeper squad I suspect Koroma would be given more time to build up fitness before starting games after his injury niggles but the lack of available alternatives means he’s likely to start again today despite not quite looking back to full fitness just yet. I suppose the problem is that he’s our most potent goal threat even if not fully fit, so we can’t afford to ease him back in gently.

What happens if the positive covid test rumours are true?

All of the above predictions come with the huge caveat that there may be forced changes if players have to isolate after the most recent round of testing. Based on other clubs that have been hit by large scale outbreaks, I think it’s more likely that we’ll have to play youth players rather than postpone the match.

Derby’s struggles to field a team of professionals today have been well documented elsewhere, so it could be that both teams have to fill gaps with youngsters today. While the circumstances may not be ideal, this game could present some players an opportunity to force themselves into the first team reckoning. 

While Phillips, Daly, Crichlow and Edmonds-Green have all been shipped out on loan, I believe there are still a host of players in our B Team that could step in and do a job for the first team if required today. Brahima Diarra featured several times in preseason, Pat Jones showed glimpses of talent last season, Kian Harratt already has Championship minutes under his belt, as does Ben Jackson and Josh Austerfield is a player that I really like the look of from the few times he’s stepped in to the first team. Hopefully we won’t need to call upon them today but there’s a lot of potential in these youngsters. 

I’ll leave you with a quote from Albert Einstein: “In the midst of every crisis, lies great opportunity.”