Predicted Huddersfield Town XI to take on Everton 

Huddersfield Town play Everton at the John Smith’s Stadium tonight in the second round of the league cup. After winning our first cup game in a very long time against Sheffield Wednesday in a penalty shootout three weeks ago we have been rewarded with the chance to host a Premier League club in our stadium for the first time since relegation.

Both teams are likely to rotate their teams considerably tonight, so trying to predict Town’s lineup is a bit like trying to guess the lottery numbers. While it makes sense to rest players that aren’t fully fit, I only hope that the team we put out is one that at least has a chance of competing against Everton’s second string – which could include the likes of James Rodriguez. 

Here’s how I think we’ll line up. 

Goalkeeper: Lee Nicholls 

It has become tradition for backup keepers to take charge of cup matches but I would prefer to see Nicholls keep his place rather than put Schofield under the microscope again. Ryan Schofield looked so bereft of confidence in the Fulham game that I think it would be better to let him build it back in the B Team before he plays in front of fans again. Nicholls has only just come back from his covid-related absence so playing an extra game will help him get his eye in more and fatigue isn’t really an issue for keepers.

Defence: Turton, Lees, Sarr, Jackson 

The news that Pipa needs an operation and will be out for three months (which often means more like four or five before we see him again) means Turton is our only proper rightback. He played lots of games last season without issue, so there’s no reason to think he can’t play three games in a week, particularly as he’ll be able to recover during the international break that follows the Reading game at the weekend. 

Tom Lees needs minutes on the pitch to build up his fitness and should hopefully now be at a point where he can play the full 90 minutes after unexpectedly stepping in to cover Pearson last Tuesday night for 70 or so minutes. He looked pretty good against Preston and getting more time on the pitch should help get him closer to full fitness.

Naby Sarr played more minutes than any other player last season, so he’s shown himself to be resilient and fit enough to play Saturday, Tuesday, Saturday. He’s also in good form at the moment as the middle of a back three, I’d like to see him given a chance as the left sided centre back of a back four tonight.

There isn’t an obvious candidate for the leftback slot as all the possibilities involve some sort of compromise. Here are the options: 

• Ruffels is still recovering from covid so it’s too early in his rehabilitation to risk him.
• Toffolo made a huge impact from the bench last Saturday but surely needs to be preserved for the league game at the weekend.
• Colwill can play as a leftback but he’s played all of our games so far and even though he plays like he’s older than his 18 years, we shouldn’t rely on him too much.
• Ben Jackson might be a bit too green to step in but I’d give him a chance tonight as he’ll have plenty of experienced players around him unlike in other cup games where it’s been mostly kids that have been thrown to the lions.

Midfield: Vallejo, Brown, Sinani 

I’ve not got high hopes for this midfield lineup but all three need time on the pitch and may step up on the night. Vallejo is a bit of a Jekyll and Hyde player in my eyes, he looks so composed and classy when he’s on song but I’ve also seen him look completely overwhelmed and ponderous at other times. Playing as a deep-lying playmaker tonight may give him the space to ping balls out of the wide players and spark counter attacks and his defensive attributes will hopefully protect the back line too.

I’m a bit baffled by Reece Brown’s Huddersfield Town career. He’s starting his third season at the club but has barely been given a chance despite arriving with much fanfare and seeming to be a decent prospect. He’s done reasonably alright in his two seasons on loan at Peterborough but it’s telling that they’ve not come back to buy him this summer after promotion to the Championship. Tonight could represent his last chance to show he can contribute something to the team as otherwise I can see him leaving before the transfer window closes.

Danel Sinani stood out in the B Team game last week with his thunderbolt strike from range. We’re all hoping he can provide some of the creativity that we know we’ve been missing lately and I think he’ll be played in the advanced midfield slot we brought him in to fill. Otherwise he may play on the wings and Holmes could play more centrally, both players can fill either role and may even swap about mid-game.

Attack: Holmes, Ward, Aarons 

Duane Holmes has dropped out of the starting eleven lately after some lacklustre performances, though he did make a vital contribution off the bench against Preston last week. Whether it’s on the wing or in midfield, he needs to make an impact tonight to show he deserves a place in the starting team. 

My prediction of Ward starting as our main striker isn’t because I think he’s the best option, the opposite in fact. I’d like to see Fraizer Campbell start against Reading on Saturday but he’s still building up fitness and probably isn’t ready to start both games. So I’d play Ward tonight to protect Campbell. Hopefully Ward can get a confidence-boosting goal to get him out of his current slump. I know he has shown little evidence of being a competent striker in his second spell at Town but his track record at Cardiff and Rotherham shows he has been able to contribute goals on a regular basis. 

It shouldn’t be a surprise that Rolanda Aarons has struggled with injuries since arriving at Town as his career has been seriously hampered by previous injuries. If he can get himself to full fitness and stay fit then we may have a very talented player on our hands but that’s a big “if” and it’s important to manage him carefully. He managed to play for the B Team last week though, so should be ready to make a tentative return to first team action tonight.

Other options 

I’ve predicted the team tonight by taking Carlos at face value when he says he respects this competition and wants to go through to the next round. Thankfully we have more senior players in the squad this season and can therefore rotate without depending on kids from the academy. However, it may be that we see more of the B Team tonight if Carlos is determined to give most of the first team a night off. 

Here are a few of the peripheral figures that may be involved tonight:

• Brahima Diarra – The hottest prospect in the academy at the moment, he’s capable of scoring lovely goals and can find ways through defenses with his dribbling ability. He didn’t always shine when playing with the senior players during preseason but I’d still like to see more of him.
• Jon Russell – Arrived from Chelsea’s academy and is currently considered a B Team member but having played 25 games in League One last season he will most likely want to break into the first team sooner rather than later.
• Kian Harratt – I’m a bit surprised he hasn’t been shipped out on loan yet but while he’s still here he may be able to do a job for us tonight after making a few appearances for the first team last season.
• Scott High – Now a first team regular but he’s been subbed off fairly early in recent games so may be deemed fresh enough to be used this evening though I think he’ll make way to allow fringe players the chance to impress.