Predicted Huddersfield Town XI to take on Peterborough tonight 

Huddersfield Town kick off a busy weekend by playing Peterborough tonight in the league before switching their attention to Forest in the cup on Monday night. Peterborough sit bottom of the league and have recently parted company with Darren Ferguson and replaced him with Grant McCann. They haven’t had any signs of a new(ish) manager bounce yet, losing to Man City and Hull in their new boss’ opening two games. 

In talking about the selection for the next couple of games it would be easy to talk about resting players and fielding weaker teams but our squad is deep enough to be able to rotate heavily most games without seeing a drop in quality in the team. So I think there will be changes tonight but not out of lack of respect for our opponent or to prioritise the cup but simply to keep legs fresh and to make sure as much of the squad are getting minutes. 

Goalkeeper: Lee Nicholls 

After my opening spiel about it being a squad game and there being plenty of depth, I actually think there’s a clear hierarchy in the goalkeeping department with Lee Nicholls at the top. Whatever the manager says or the fans want, the league is always the priority, so Nicholls will start in goal tonight. Obviously goalkeepers don’t get tired in the same way as outfield players so he may also feature against Forest but I suspect Blackman will be given a run out on Monday as it seems to be our policy to play the backup in cup games.

Defence: Turton, Pearson, Colwill, Ruffels

It was confirmed in the prematch press conference for this game that Pipa is back in training with the squad and is available for selection. Given that we’ve been fine without him, I wouldn’t rush to bring him back in and I have a feeling he may be given half an hour off the bench to ease him back in rather than going straight back into the lineup. He’s a good weapon to have up our sleeve if we need to make an attacking switch later in the game.

While Turton might not be as exciting as Pipa going forward, he’s more dependable at the basics of defending and is more likely to stay in his post rather than chasing glory up the field. While it’s not glamorous, his consistent and dependable performances have been an asset to the team lately.

Pearson and Colwill work well as a defensive pairing, with Colwill able to carry the ball and pass out from the back and Pearson able to do the dirty work. Tom Lees is available again after his head cut but it wouldl be hard to drop either Pearson or Colwill after they were good against Birmingham. Switching to a three at the back system would make spce for Lees but it limits the number of forward players we have in a game where we should be expecting to attack more than defend.

I’ve been consistently wrong in my left back predictions lately. Carlos has been switching back and forth between Ruffels and Toffolo so it’s a coin toss for who starts. I’ve selected Ruffels purely because Toffolo played the last game, so rotating them for this game means Toffolo will be fresh for Forest on Monday. 

Midfield: Holmes, Russell, O’Brien

I like Duane Holmes as an attacking midfielder more than a winger, so I hope he’s given that role today. He’s able to make driving runs through midfield and can score from distance if there’s a chance to shoot. Out wide he drifts inside anyway, so why not start him in the position he prefers to play.

Jonathan Hogg came back in against Birmingham and provided a bit of solidity to our shape but I think we’re less likely to need a defensive enforcer when we’re playing the bottom team in the league at home. Instead I’d like to see Jon Russell given that deep-lying midfielder role so he stroke the ball about from deep and start off attacks. 

Lewis O’Brien is a freak of nature in terms of his fitness. He runs and runs in every match and then will do the same in the next game. It’s not unusual to see him sprinting all over the pitch during injury time when everyone else is starting to look a bit jaded. I expect the club’s sports scientists could produce reams of data to show he needs a rest, his ridiculous fitness levels mean he’ll most likely be fine to start today.

Attack: Thomas, Ward, Sinani

Like O’Brien, Sorba Thomas is close to ever present in the team and I think that will continue today. At the start of the season he was the guy from non-league that looked promising but had yet to fully convince, now he’s the player we rely on most to make things happen in the final third. Rolando Aarons and Aaron Rowe have been out for nearly all the season with injury while Sinani and Koroma have only produced flashes of quality, so it’s a relief that Thomas has stepped up and delivered for us.

Jordan Rhodes didn’t do a bad job against Birmingham last weekend but Ward is better suited to the way Town set up and will surely start this game. Both are a threat in the box but Ward gives more off the ball than Rhodes.

The left of the attack three is a problem for Town at the moment, Sinani, Holmes and Koroma have all failed to make the position their own. Holmes is better centrally in my eyes, Koroma isn’t consistent enough and Sinani lacks the pace to beat a man and too often miscontrols the ball. I have a feeling we’ll see Anjorin come into this part of the pitch when he’s ready but today is probably a bit too soon for him so Sinani is my pick for this area. Despite his failings, he does have some quality and if he can work out how to play at his best he’ll improve his chances of making his loan permanent.