Predicted Huddersfield Town XI to take on Sheffield United

Town travel to South Yorkshire today to take on Sheffield United at Bramall Lane. It’s possibly the best time to be facing the former Premier League side as they have yet to score in their last three games and on Wednesday night they were thumped by West Brom. This is Huddersfield Town though, so it’s never quite that easy. We will have to overcome our own demons before we can even think about exploiting the weaknesses of another team. 

I’ve already written about how Tuesday’s 1-0 victory over Preston has done little to settle my concerns about Town. However, the result should have given the players a little confidence boost and if nothing else, takes the pressure off the need to accumulate points for a little while. 

Here’s how I think Town will line up this afternoon:

Goalkeeper: Lee Nicholls

He had a bit of a nightmare late in the Preston game where he came out far too far to punch a ball, didn’t connect and panic followed. Other than that one moment, he looked assured and composed all game. Luckily for him Preston’s finishing was woeful on the night, so he had very little to do. He’s most likely going to be tested more today, so we should get a chance to see what he can do.

Defence: Turton, Vallejo, Sarr, Colwill, Thomas

Matty Pearson had a dizzy spell in the warm up on Tuesday night but no deeper-lying issue was found so he may make a return. I suspect he won’t be risked though and while Lees had a reasonably accomplished debut on Tuesday, especially given the fact he had to step in at the last minute, I don’t think his fitness will be good enough to play two games in a week. 

So that leaves Vallejo as the best option to go on the right side of the back three. I’m not sure he’s mobile enough to play defensive midfield but he’s looked good as part of a back three in the past. I like the way he looks to have plenty of time on the ball even in tight spaces and he’s able to pick out a pass both short and long. 

Sarr and Colwill should both continue as part of the back three, as Sarr is performing well as the middle of the three and Colwill looks like he’s been playing for years despite these being his first few games in men’s football. His physical stature really helps him mix it at this level and he’s got a feisty side that means he doesn’t let men nearly twice his age push him around.

I’m never sure whether to put the wingbacks as part of the defence or midfield but for today I’m imagining they’ll be pinned back more and play like a back five. Turton wasn’t great on Tuesday and probably feels out of his comfort zone pushed so high up the pitch. Thomas on the other flank continues to shine and isn’t just holding his own in Championship games but stands out as one of our star players. Hats off to the recruitment team for plucking him out of non-league football. It’s only fair to give them credit for their successes when their failures are so often pointed out.

Midfield: Hogg, O’Brien, Holmes

Hogg had a very conservative role on Tuesday night, where he rarely ventured far from the defenders behind him and aimed to mostly keep things tidy in the middle of the park and reduce the available space for Preston’s forwards. I like him most when he’s ratting about more and breaking up play further up the field but this more disciplined role does help reduce the pressure on the defence even if it reduces our presence in the middle of the park.

We’ll probably play two of High, Holmes and O’Brien today and I’m not confident in my prediction that it’ll be O’Brien and Holmes in front of Hogg. Holmes was one of the worst players against Fulham last weekend but one of the best when he came off the bench against Preston. OK, his first touch was poor in the build up to the own goal but it was his bursting run from midfield that gave Koroma something to aim for with his pass and it ultimately led to the goal. 

O’Brien looked far from his best on Tuesday night, as his time out with covid meant his usual relentless running wasn’t quite at his normal standard. He’s still worth playing when he’s 75% fit as that’s still better than the alternatives when they’re at 100% (though, while we’re percentages, they should all be giving 110% – an expression that makes my dad incandescent with rage!).

Scott High may be a bit unlucky if he makes way for Holmes today but at this stage of his career he should expect to be in and out of the squad depending on when he’s needed. I love the energy he brings to the team but I thought he struggled to get into the game on Tuesday and wasn’t at his best. It may be that he’s most effective off the bench, when we can add a bit of spark to the middle of the pitch when legs are starting to tire. 

Daniel Sinani is also close to warranting a starting position, particularly after scoring a superb strike for the B Team on Wednesday. He’ll most likely have to settle for cameos from the bench initially but I hope we get to see more than just a few minutes of him today. 

Forwards: Koroma, Campbell

I’m very torn about what tone I should take about Danny Ward’s withdrawal at half time on Tuesday night. On the one hand, he apparently experienced heart palpitations and had to go to hospital to get checked out. After the horrible scenes with Christian Erikson at the Euros it made complete sense to take a safety-first approach. The other side of the coin is that the hospital investigations didn’t show anything serious and Carlos suggested his issue may have been the result of drinking too much coffee before the game. If this is true then he deserves a bit of stick for having to be subbed off because he got jittery after one too many lattes. I’ll leave it up to the readers to decide whether he deserves sympathy or derision. 

However you feel about the reasons Ward left the pitch on Tuesday, nobody was too upset to see him not return after half-time as he was awful in the first 45 minutes. Almost everything he tried didn’t work and he looked lost. Someone in the comments section referred to him as trampoline, as everything that comes near him bounces off him, which is a bit cruel but also not incorrect.

Josh Koroma is still our most potent goal threat and needs to be given more opportunities to get on the ball on the left side of the pitch. Whether that’s as a secondary striker in a two or as part of a front three I don’t care, but in recent games he hasn’t had as many opportunities to get into the area where he’s more dangerous.

Frazier Campbell or Jordan Rhodes is a tricky decision for Koroma’s strike partner. Campbell is a known quantity in this team, he’ll graft, probably pick up a booking but won’t be much of a threat in front of goal. Rhodes is the opposite, which is fine if chances come his way and he finishes them but too expensive a luxury if we aren’t able to feed him the chances he needs. I’d go with Campbell for a game like this, where we’re up against a better team and need to defend from the front.