Predicted Huddersfield Town XI to take on Reading

Town are back in action again this afternoon when they face Reading. Unusually for Town, we go into this game feeling pretty positive after back-to-back wins in the league followed by a respectable 2-1 defeat to Everton where we were unlucky to not at least go to penalties.

I wasn’t able to find time to write a full article about the Everton game but it was unusual to enjoy a game involving Town so much. Maybe it was the freedom that comes with playing in a relatively unimportant cup fixture but the players seemed to express themselves more going forward and it was the best Town have played in a long time despite fielding a supposedly weakened team. The players that came into the starting lineup on Tuesday have now given Carlos a few selection headaches for this afternoon.

Here’s how I think we’ll line up.

Goalkeeper: Lee Nicholls 

Things seem a lot calmer at the back with Nicholls between the sticks, as he carries himself with more authority than Schofield and is more vocal with the defenders in front of him. He may not be a better shot stopper but that’s less important if the whole unit is functioning better and conceding fewer shooting opportunities. I’m not fully convinced of Nicholls just yet but I’ve been impressed with what he’s done so far.

Defence: Pearson, Sarr, Colwill 

Tom Lees was one of the several players that came in and did a good job on Tuesday night, putting Pearson under pressure for his slot on the right side of defence. While I’ve not been hugely convinced by Pearson’s ability on the ball, he keeps connecting with Sorba Thomas’ corners at the other end and does the rest of his work well, so for now deserves to keep his place. 

Naby Sarr didn’t look quite as assured when he switched to the left side of the back three against Everton as this role exposes his limited mobility. Shifting him back to the centre and having Colwill’s recovery pace alongside him will surely get him back to the fine form he’s been in recently. 

I believe Colwill was rested in midweek purely because he’s not used to playing so many competitive games close together, so he should be straight back into the lineup before he goes away on international duty with England Under 21s. His recent performances merit a call up to the national side and I genuinely believe he will be a future full England international.

Midfield: Thomas, Hogg, O’Brien, Toffolo 

The secret is out about Sorba Thomas, as the stats he’s generating in every match are widely circulated as proof he’s one of the hottest players in the Championship right now. His challenge is to sustain the amazing start he’s had to the season, which I think he can do, as switching to a right-sided wingback at least puts him naturally on his stronger foot when he gets down the wing. On the left he kept having to turn inside to cross or play the ball with his weaker foot, which hampered him at times. 

I really enjoyed watching Alex Vallejo play against Everton, he drifted into space, received the ball and moved it forward quickly and accurately. He’s got great vision, can execute forward passes well and generally looks a class act. But Everton sat off us most of the night and gave him plenty of room in which to operate. In the Championship that is almost unheard of and someone like Hoggy is better equipped for the frenetic nature of the midfield battle. So I hope we see more of Vallejo in that deep-lying playmaker role but I think we need Hogg today for his battling qualities. Particualrly as Reading’s Swift plays in the number 10 role and will need careful attention from whoever plays in defensive midfield. Maybe Vallejo will be a better option when we come up against the “park the bus” types of teams that sit deep and let us have the ball but today we should revert to Hogg.

I keep thinking we might have seen Lewis O’Brien for the last time and then nothing happens on the transfer front other than endless speculation. I sincerely hope we keep hold of him beyond Tuesday’s transfer deadline but I’ll be watching him carefully today to see what he does when he comes off the pitch. Anything that looks like a farewell to the fans could be a sign he’s on his way.

A normal player returning from a period of illness, particularly something that can have long-term health implications like coronavirus, wouldn’t usually start two matches in a week when they’ve just returned to fitness but Harry Toffolo isn’t like normal footballers. I expect him to start today and most likely play the full ninety minutes because he’s freakishly fit and will always want to play if at all possible. His back injury last season was an anomaly in a career which has seen him hardly miss a match.

Forwards: Holmes, Campbell, Koroma 

Danel Sinani was superb on Tuesday night, barring the miss he blazed over, but he’s still building up his fitness so I doubt he’ll be ready to start the match again today so soon after starting his first game for Town. Instead, I think Duane Holmes will get the nod and Sinani may be kept back as an impact sub for the closing stages of the game. 

I’m not Holmes’ biggest fan but he’s put in some decent performances when he’s been given the chance lately. Despite being a central midfielder by trade, I think he may be better suited to playing the inside forward role that allows him to get on the ball further up the field and link play with the other attackers. 

Ward has been the main striker in league games for us this season but has yet to do anything of note in the games he’s played, so surely Fraizer Campbell will be preferred? That would be the conclusion the majority of fans would think but Carlos clearly sees something in Ward that we don’t. Whichever striker starts today, hopefully we can give them a bit more support from the other attacking players and provide some service.

The final piece in the puzzle is Josh Koroma, who I hope will be played on the left side of a front three, allowing him to play his natural game. When we switched to that shape against Sheffield United last weekend he suddenly looked a huge threat and caused all sorts of problems for the Blades defence. He’s good enough now for the rest of the team to make it a priority to give him the ball in the right areas and let him do the rest.