Predicted Huddersfield Town XI to take on Luton & pre-match talking points

Huddersfield Town are in Luton tonight to try and extend their winning run to four games. Luton Town were in the Premier League just a few seasons ago but are a completely different proposition at the moment, with their last outing being a 5-0 thumping from Barnsley. 

It’s a sad state of affairs that both Luton Town and Huddersfield Town are coming into this game as mid-table League One teams when it wasn’t that long ago that we knocked them out of the Championship playoff semi-finals thanks to a Jordan Rhodes goal. Both teams find themselves in reduced circumstances but my impression is that Luton are roughly were Town were last season and haven’t hit their rock bottom yet. My hope is that Town’s limp finish to last season was their rock bottom and this season will be the one where we bounce back.

To get into the mood for this game I’ve had a go at predicting Huddersfield Town’s likely lineup and pulled out a few of the main talking points ahead of the game…

Predicted Huddersfield Town XI to take on Luton Town

Lee Grant fielded an unchanged team for Mansfield as the one that won against Plymouth before the international break. If everyone was fully rested and 100% fit, I’m sure Grant would like to play the same eleven again tonight but my suspicion is that we’ll see a few changes. In his pre-match press conference, Lee Grant mentioned a few players were going to have late fitness tests to see if they are available, but didn’t name any names. 

My guess would be Lasse Sorensen is doubtful for this match, as he looked to have picked up a knock before he was subbed off on Saturday. Then players like Mickel Miller and Radinio Balker have just come back from injury and are more broadly injury-prone players, so it would be a gamble to play both of them. Charles and Radulovic have also only just got into the starting eleven recently, so their match fitness may not be developed enough to put in a full shift twice in the space of a few days. 

Though the other factor that will pull Lee Grant in the other direction will be the desire to not change a winning team. With five subs available, I think there’s leeway for a few gambles with selection but this could backfire if we lose a player like Balker for an extended period because he was run into the ground.

Here’s how I think we’ll lineup:

Goalkeeper: Goodman

Defence: Gooch, Feeney, Balker, Roosken

Midfield: Wiles, Harness, Ledson, Ashia

Strikers: Radulovic & Charles

With so many games coming up, Sorensen’s likely knock will keep him out and Miller has a history of picking up injuries when we play twice a week, so they would be the players I would take out, with Gooch and Ashia providing good alternative options. I’d particularly like to see Ashia given an extended run against a decent level of opposition. He plays with such a fearless approach that I don’t think he’ll be daunted and he has a tendency to drive us up the pitch whenever he plays. Balker playing another game would be a gamble but he’s been so instrumental to our turnaround in form that I’d not want to remove him for a defender that isn’t as good on the ball.

Will Luton Town be as bad as they were against Barnsley?

From the highlights of Saturday’s game, it looks like Barnsley played well to achieve their 5-0 victory over Luton but several of their goals also included some pretty shocking defending from Luton. They looked so poor that I would believe you if you told me that Luton’s defenders only had the rules of the game explained to them during the warm up. 

While there can be an element of needing to be cautious around a wounded animal, I also struggle to believe a team that played so badly three days ago will suddenly be able to stop making mistakes. League One is wide open this season and every team has picked up and dropped points in unexpected ways but I’m hopeful we might have met an opponent at just the right time in this game.

If I was Lee Grant, I’d instruct the players to go out there and try and force as many errors as possible from Luton. The more we can put them under pressure, the more they’ll be likely to blunder like they did against Barnsley. There is also the added advantage of being able to turn their crowd against them. We’ve experienced a similarly toxic atmosphere at our own stadium at times and it can flip playing at home into a disadvantage rather than an advantage. 

Will Alfie May be involved? 

Alfie May’s three-match ban has now been served and he will be available for selection in this game. Radulvoic and Charles’ good form means he’s not likely to be involved from the start but it will be interesting to see if he comes off the bench in this game. Joe Taylor is also fit and available, so both will most likely have a point to prove if they get minutes on the pitch. 

My uncertainty about whether May will play is because Lee Grant seemed so disappointed with him after his red card at Wycombe. When you consider May’s scoring record at this level, it feels unthinkable that he wouldn’t at least get a spot on the bench but if Lee Grant doesn’t trust him anymore, then he may decide to pick someone else for the bench. With several players now back from injury, there are more senior players than places in the matchday squad, compared to not so long ago, when we were having to fill places with kids from the academy.

I wrote in my notes about the Mansfield game, that Town could easily get to a situation where we have four fit and in form strikers if we play our cards right. So while it’s great to watch Charles and Radulovic developing a relationship and scoring goals, I hope that May and Taylor can come off the bench and show they’ve still got something to offer too.

Will Town return to the playoff spots tonight?

Peterborough v Stevenage is the only other fixture taking place tonight, so if Town win it is certain that they will return to the playoff spots. If Stevenage lose, then a Town victory would propel us up the table to at least third but a win by a margin of three goals or more would have the marvellous outcome of pushing Bradford down to third and leapfrogging them into the second automatic promotion spot.

Of course, it’s a dangerous game to start counting points you’ve not yet won but it’s nice to consider the possibilities. The league is so congested right now that any team that puts together a decent run of form can push themselves quickly up the table. Without a standout team like we had in Birmingham last season, it feels like there is a big opportunity available to Town to push up and compete at the top end of the table. 

Want to read more? Check out my write up of Town’s 3-1 victory over Mansfield at the weekend. Includes reference to fake goalkeeper injuries, Bojan’s straight fringe and also some stuff about actual footballing matters.