Predicted Huddersfield Town XI to take on Morecambe

Huddersfield Town take on Morecambe tonight in the first round of the Carabao Cup. Which is great news if you’re a fan of sickly-sweet energy drinks or unloved cup competitions. I’m actually in the latter camp, and quite enjoy games in the league cup. So it’s a bit of a disappointment that our usual approach is to pick a weak team, play badly and bomb out of the competition straight away. Maybe it will be different this year. Duff has already all-but confirmed he’ll be playing a second string team but it’s possible that the team he sends out might make a better fist of this game than our previous attempts to make progress in this cup.

The good news is that Town currently have remarkably few injuries to their first team and the competition for places is fierce in several areas. So even though tonight’s team will be, for the most part, a second eleven, it will still have plenty of quality players and will give fans a chance to take a look at some of the players who are pushing for a place in the starting eleven.

Here’s how I think we’ll line up tonight…

Goalkeeper: Chris Maxwell

Maxwell is still Town’s backup keeper while Nicholls remains on the books but one with enough experience to be considered for the number one slot if we do accept a bid for our first choice. He’ll want to impress in the cups because he’s not played a huge number of competitive games lately and if he struggles that could create doubts about him. I don’t know how much shot-stopping he’ll have to do this evening but I’ll be watching to see how well he commands his box and to see if his distribution gets the balance between safety and creativity right.

Defence: Turton, Pearson, Ruffels

If you’ve not watched much of Town under Michael Duff, it will seem a bit odd for me to suggest two fullbacks to play on the left and right side of the three central defenders. But having watched this 3-5-2 system a few times now, I can see why traditional fullbacks can be repurposed into this role. The wide defenders end up playing like fullbacks a lot of the time anyway, to fill in for the wingback when they bomb forward (which happens a lot) and they also get forward themselves to add numbers to midfield at times. So both Turton and Ruffels are suited to this position because of the increased emphasis on carrying the ball forward out of the defence. 

With Tom Lees and Brodie Spencer the current first choices for the defensive positions down the sides, Turton and Ruffels will both want to show that they have something to offer to Town this season. In theory they should. Both have been OK or better at Championship level for the past few seasons when injuries haven’t got in the way and prior to being at Town, both have done well in League One. However, both looked a bit rusty at times in preseason (hardly a crime in friendly games) so hopefully this game will be a chance for them to show they can be decent backup options this season. 

Matty Pearson as the middle of a back three feels like a good option to me. He looks comfortable when he’s the main man for heading and kicking balls away but he looks least comfortable when he’s given more footballing responsibilities. So hopefully he’ll play in the central role, keep things simple and let those around him try the more elaborate parts of the game.

Midfield: Pat Jones, Tom Iorpenda, David Kasumu, Herbie Kane, Jaheim Headley

Pat Jones as a wingback might be a bit risky as he’s a winger by trade and is probably more likely to be converted to be a striker rather than a wingback if you were picking a position for him based on his natural abilities. However, we’ve got plenty of strikers on the books (not enough good ones, but that’s a different story) and not enough backup in the wingback areas. In theory Brodie Spencer and Oli Turton could cover Lasse Sorensen in the right wingback role but both have been playing as central defenders for Duff so I think Pat Jones is the most likely deputy in the squad at the moment. Particularly against Morecambe, and there’s no way to put this without sounding disrespectful to a team from a league below, who we should be attacking a lot more they attack us. 

I’m quite excited to see how Tom Iorpenda gets on in midfield, as Michael Duff has said that he’s been so impressed with him so far that he won’t send him out on loan this season because he wants him for himself. The chance is there for Iorpenda to get minutes in the league if he can prove himself in cup games first. Tonight will most likely give him his first chance. From the bits I’ve seen, he’s got a lovely range of passing, covers a lot of ground and isn’t afraid of putting in a tackle. He’s got huge potential if he makes the most of the opportunities he gets in the team.

I have mixed feelings about David Kasumu, because it’s hard not to love a player that works as hard as him and he has a decent amount of pace to go along with his work rate. The conflict comes in when I see him on the ball due to the repeated basic errors he makes. Though he’s far from alone in this habit in the last few seasons, he’s one of the worst offenders for struggling to find a teammate a few yards away. His poor technical ability is even more exposed when he gets in the final third and attempts to shoot, with few of his efforts ever testing the keeper due to the way he snatches at chances. He’s a player that has obvious qualities, which are ones that tend to be well-liked among Town fans, because we love a grafter, but I worry his skill level lets him down too often. I hope, after the game tonight, I can feel foolish for making these comments because there’s a Kasumu masterclass coming in but based on the evidence of the last few seasons, I doubt I’m going to have to eat my words.

One player that clearly does have technical skill on the ball is Herbie Kane. After he failed to make the starting eleven on Saturday, he’ll most likely start the game tonight to keep his fitness levels up. After Town played so well against Peterborough, it’ll be tough for Kane to force his way into the starting lineup now but if he plays well in this game it will put pressure on Duff to find a place for him.

Jaheim Headley finished last season under a cloud after getting dropped by Andre Breitenreiter around the time he was bemoaning the attitudes of several unnamed players. Headley’s thrived under Michael Duff in preseason though and the fresh start seems to have improved his game. Wingback is probably his best position too, with fullback too much defensive responsibility and an out-and-out winger role often leading to disappointing outings for him. Miller’s arrival has bumped him down to backup for now but given his injury record, Headley will get chances if he stays fit and in form.

Attackers: Callum Marshall & Danny Ward

When Carlos Corberan was at Town it would take an age to bed in new players and we would be left frustrated as they were put through their paces in training before being given minutes in the first team. Callum Marshall experienced this first hand when he was on loan at West Brom last season and Carlos, despite being very complimentary about Marshall in the press, didn’t play him in any games. I suspect Duff won’t be so cautious and will throw Marshall straight into tonight’s game to give him a chance. 

It’ll be Harratt or Ward partnering him and I suspect Duff will favour the experience of Ward over Harratt’s youthful exuberance. But whichever doesn’t start will be on the bench and will most likely get minutes in the second half. 

Marshall, Ward and Harratt are all facing the same challenge as strikers, despite being at different stages of their career, and that’s to get goals. While effort and neat play are all commendable, we need our front men to stick it in the onion bag and that’s the main way they should be judged. While I’m hoping that Town dip into the transfer market to find the reliable goalscorer we obviously need, I’m hoping one of our strikers already on the books might kick into gear and suddenly start scoring too. Healey seems most likely but I don’t particularly care who it is, as long as we find someone who can consistently score.