Predicted Huddersfield Town XI to take on Stevenage

Stevenage are the guests at the Accu Stadium today, as first in the league comes to take on fifth. I’ve talked in my pre-match talking points article about Stevenage’s wins mostly coming against weak League One opposition, so today will be their biggest test of the season. Stevenage’s direct and physical approach is likely to be a big test for Town too, so it’ll be an interesting encounter even if the football might be a bit industrial at times (and the tackles potentially agricultural). 

Lee Grant made me look a bit of an idiot in my previous predictions article, where I only picked out six out of the starting eleven correctly. I’ve been better in my previous predictions but Lee Grant is proving to be a tricky manager to second guess as he likes to shuffle the pack most games, making full use of his large squad. So take the following predictions with a pinch of salt, as Grant could confound all expectations and give Terry the Terrier a run in midfield and put Brooky the kitman in goals.

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

Goalkeeper: Goodman

There have been quite a few calls in the comment section for Goodman to make way for Nicholls and I’d guess that reflects the wider mood of Town fans. Though, within this desire is a deeper longing for a Town goalkeeper to play fewer risky passes out from the back. But that’s not going to change while Lee Grant is here unless he completely changes his philosophy. So while we are wanting to play this short passing build up, Goodman is the better choice than Nicholls, whose distribution has never been a strong point. 

Defence: Gooch, Whatmough, Low, Roughan

Is Gooch now the starting right-back and Sorensen the backup? It certainly looks like that based on recent selections and performances. Gooch played all 90 minutes on Tuesday but he’s been rotated plenty in recent weeks, so should be fresh enough to start today. I’d rather see him play today and Sorensen given a run out against Sunderland on Tuesday because the league really should be prioritised when it comes to rotating the squad.

I think the decision about whether to play Feeney or Whatmough in this game is one of the trickiest to predict. Whatmough was poor against Blackpool but had been very good before that. Feeney stepped into his shoes on Tuesday night and was one of Town’s best players. Add in the fact that Grant has made it clear that he wants to pick his team based on the threat the opposition faces and it would point to the fuller figured Whatmough over the spindly frame of Feeney. Dropping Feeney after an excellent outing against Doncaster seems harsh but if we’re picking the best eleven to face Stevenage, then Whatmough should start because he’s bigger, stronger and more experienced against physical opponents. 

Joe Low has been a Colossus at the back for Town so far and he uses his towering frame and extra weight well when dealing with opposition attackers. He’s good at pushing down on players and pinning them to the ground in a way that usually goes unpunished by referees. Though he may find himself up against players just as happy to use muscle instead of skill in today’s game, so it’ll be interesting to see how he copes.

I’ve not held back in my criticism of Murray Wallace on Tuesday night despite the fact I like him as a player and think he’ll do a good job for us over the season. But if Roughan is fit, we really need to bring him back in. Wallace’s way of playing left back in this system held us back at times on Tuesday and Roughan is a much more natural fit for this system. 

Midfield: Ledson, Kane

I’ve talked about Grant liking to chop and change but his central midfield pairing in the league has been consistently Ledson and Kane. As the double game weeks continue to rack up, fatigue may become a factor but for now I can’t see him changing this formula. 

Kasumu and McGuane probably wouldn’t agree with me, but I quite like that we’ve got some consistency in the personnel in this part of the pitch. Kane and Ledson aren’t perfect and each has their weaknesses but they are forming a solid partnership and I’m hoping we see more of it today. And Kasumu and McGuane can make their case to be included when they play against Sunderland on Tuesday or from the bench today.

Attackers: Harness, Wiles, Castledine

The more I watch Harness, the more I like him. He played a beautiful pass to feed Ben Wiles for the opening goal on Tuesday which was only possible because of some clever movement to receive the ball in a little pocket of space. Using smart movement and intricate passing to open up teams isn’t as obvious as skinning a fullback and whipping in a cross but it’s how Harness plays and he’s great to watch when he gets it right.

Dropping either Ben Wiles or Leo Castledine for this game would seem unfair, as Wiles came off the bench to open the scoring on Tuesday but the scores were only level at that point because Castledine had bust a lung to get back and make a sliding tackle that was effectively as good as a goal, given their man was clear through on goal before Castledine caught him up. My way of solving this dilemma would be to avoid the decision by playing both of them together and dropping Roosken to the bench. 

I think Roosken is really growing into the winger role and his performances have been decent since the start of the season. But he’s played a lot of minutes lately and we can’t risk another injury by grinding him into the ground. There’s also the issue that Stevenage might sit quite deep at times in this game, and he’s much less effective when there isn’t space for him to run into behind the back line. Castledine is a different player to Roosken but I believe he’s been billed as being able to play across the attacking three that play behind the main striker. With our lack of other options on the left wing, he seems worth a try. To put it another way, Town have fewer left wingers than a Reform party annual conference.  

Striker: May

I made the point in my pre-match talking points that neither May or Taylor has had a great deal of service this season, so it’s not a huge surprise that each has only scored from the penalty spot so far. It feels like a bit of a coin toss about which of the two strikers starts this game but I would prefer to see May kept in the team. While he hasn’t had many chances lately, he’s still the player I’d like to see on the end of anything Town create as he’s the most consistent finisher in the squad. 

With Taylor, he could be redeployed out wide rather than up front, as his pace is a huge threat in wide areas. But I’d rather he was playing in his preferred position rather than putting square pegs in round holes.