Predicted Huddersfield Town XI to take on Bolton Wanderers

Drawing teams from your own division in the cup is always a drag. It’s even worse when it’s against a team that’s decent enough to beat us but not a big enough scalp for a Town victory to mean a great deal. Add to that the fact we recently allowed today’s opponents to steal three points from us in the league a few weeks ago and this game doesn’t bode well. Lee Grant’s under fire and injury ravaged Terriers will cross the Pennines to take on Bolton in the first round of the FA Cup today, but it’s likely few fans will join them in their journey given the gloom hanging over the club currently.

One of the things I enjoy about writing these team prediction articles is that they often get me into the mood for a game. It’ll take something pretty special to get me excited about this game though, as Town’s dire recent form has really made it hard to watch them. But in football, narratives can flip quickly and there’s always hope in the most dire situation. So maybe this game could be a turning point. You never know. 

Anyway, here’s my prediction for who will play for Town today…

Goalkeeper: Goodman 

Lee Grant describes his squad as having two “number 1” keepers, which isn’t technically possible but it gets across the message. So I’d expect Goodman to be our cup keeper while Nicholls is first choice in the league. I’d like to see more of Goodman as he’s obviously talented but he makes me nervous with his eagerness to get involved. His last few appearances have been littered with mistakes, so hopefully he’ll not try anything too fancy if he plays today. 

Defence: Sorensen, Feeney, Low, Roughan

Three of the back four are easy to predict because we’ve few other options. Gooch is needed elsewhere, so Sorensen is the only experienced right-back available, Feeney and Low are the only central defenders fully fit. Though Radinio Balker was shown in the training pictures the club put out, so he can’t be too far away from playing. Left-back is the only position at the back where there are options, with Roughan, Roosken and maybe even Mickel Miller potential starters. Using Roughan at left-back frees Roosken up to play further forward, which isn’t his best position but Castledine’s injury leaves us very short of left wingers too. 

Midfield: Gooch, Ledson

I don’t think Kasumu, McGuane, Kane or Evans will be fit for this game, so I don’t think Lee Grant has any other options but to pair Gooch (out of position) and Ledson (out of form) for this game. Playing square pegs in round holes is a frequent criticism of struggling managers but it’s understandable when we’ve had so many out injured in this area. Daniel Vost from the academy may be chanced but I think he’s more likely to feature in the EFL trophy against Mansfield on Tuesday. 

Until May was sent off, Ledson and Gooch were working well as a partnership against Wycombe. Both struggled when we were down to ten men but so did everyone else. Gooch may not know this role intimately but he’s always fully committed and is a proper athlete in terms of his willingness to run, so he adds a bit of spark to this part of the pitch. 

Attackers: Harness, Wiles, Roosken

Marcus Harness and Ben Wiles are both among the group of senior players that Grant has publicly called out for not contributing enough this season. But I don’t think there are many decent alternatives to either currently, so I think they’ll keep their place. 

With Castledine, Alves and Redmond all injured, it seems like Ashia or Roosken are the most likely candidates for the left wing slot, at least until Mickel Miller is fit enough to start games. Ashia is more exciting than Roosken but he’s also inexperienced, so I think Grant will stick with the player he’s selected so often on the left wing despite Roosken rarely shining in that position. 

Striker: Taylor 

Alfie May serves the first game of his three-match ban today, so won’t be in contention (though he will be able to play in Tuesday’s cup game because of some weird rule). That makes Taylor the obvious choice though Bojan Radulovic and Dion Charles are both likely to be in contention. I’ve defended some of Joe Taylor’s poorer games this season because we haven’t given him decent service but lately I’ve felt he hasn’t done all that well with the few decent quality balls he’s received. Straying offside, taking heavy touches and drifting out of position have all meant decent opportunities haven’t come to anything. I can see he has a lot of potential but he could do with turning that into goals now.