Predicted lineup, tactics, creating a cauldron, penalty takers and pride – A preview of Huddersfield Town v Luton Town

Huddersfield Town take on Luton tonight in their most important game for a very long time. At least since the West Brom home game we won at the end of the Danny Cowley era to secure our Championship survival in 2020. Or maybe the draw at Stamford Bridge that secured our Premier League survival in 2018. Or maybe even the playoff final in 2017. Whichever way you look at it, tonight’s game is a big deal. 

Our 1-1 draw last Friday means that both teams head into the game on equal footing. Away goals don’t count for anything extra, so we start from scratch tonight and the winner on the night goes to Wembley. It may take extra time or penalties but one of these two teams will have to come out on top.

Here are a few of the questions I have ahead of the game.

Will Sorba Thomas start? 

Sorba revealed in a tweet yesterday that he had been told his season was over when he picked up his knee injury, so he has overcome the odds to be back in contention. It’s hard to know whether he’ll be in good enough shape to start the game tonight. Generally speaking, Carlos doesn’t like to rush players back from injury but Sorba Thomas isn’t just any player; he’s our most important outfield player so he may be thrown in tonight even if he isn’t 100%. He perhaps wasn’t at his absolute best when he came off the bench on Friday but he still provided a bit of bite to our attacks when he came on. 

Playing devil’s advocate for a minute, the players likely to make way for Thomas are Holmes or Sinani and both were among our better players in the first leg and would be unlucky to lose their starting position. It’s also worth bearing in mind that the game could go on for 120 minutes and having a player like Sorba Thomas to bring on in the second half when Luton are starting to tire could be a potent weapon. 

If the choice were down to me, I’d only start Thomas if he was 100% fully fit and ready for action. We’ve managed well in his absence, so rushing him back could unbalance the team. I’d rather have a full-energy 30 minutes from him off the bench than watch him struggle to put in a full 90 (or 120). 

Who will Carlos pick to start the game?

When it comes to picking the team, Carlos will have to decide whether two days is enough for the players that played most of the last game to recover in time. If not, he could choose to rotate and bring in some fresh faces.

Injuries and knocks may force Carlos’ hand but otherwise I think he’ll mostly stick with the same players. Turton picked up an injury and was swapped out for Pipa at half time, so I suspect he’ll not play as there’s so little time for him to recover. I also think that Colwill will come in for Sarr as it was only a sickness bug that kept Colwill out on Friday and he’s had a few more days to recover. 

In midfield and attack, I think it will be the same players. I’ve already spoken about how I expect Sorba Thomas to stay on the bench. Tino Anjorin is another player that could be considered but he’s not yet started a game, so it would be a major risk to chuck him into such a high stakes game. 

Goalkeeper: Nicholls

Defence: Lees, Hogg, Colwill

Midfield: Pipa, Russell, O’Brien, Toffolo

Attack: Holmes, Ward, Sinani

What tactics will Town use?

After the game both managers agreed that Luton had the better of the first half and Huddersfield were on top in the second half though during those dominant periods both sides were vulnerable to counter attacks. I felt like Town started Friday’s game a little bit too cautiously but grew into the game and took control of the midfield battle in the second half. 

With Town being the home team and needing to win the game, I think we’ll be on the front foot in this game and seek to dictate the pace of the game. Jon Russell could be a key part of making this happen, as he’s often the one responsible for bringing the ball out of defence and bringing attacking players into the game. I hope that he will seek to play the ball forward quickly and to pick out forward runs wherever possible. While holding onto the ball can be useful to build pressure, Luton are likely to be organised at the back and hard to break down if we’re too slow in our build up. 

Both teams are fully committed and like to play at a high tempo, so I expect the game will start at a frenetic pace. However, Luton don’t have as deep a squad as Huddersfield and have struggled with injuries lately. I suspect that they will tire before us in tonight’s game and that could be where Town have the ability to hurt them, particularly if we can make substitutions that introduce attacking players that can make a difference.

Can home advantage be the difference between two closely matched sides?

Prior to the Wagner era, our stadium was often seen as being a tepid environment for football and I often heard Town fans saying the lack of filled in corners made our stadium hard to generate an atmosphere in. The promotion season under Wagner and the big Premier League games that followed showed that our stadium can become a cauldron under the right circumstances and I can see that being the case tonight.

While a handful of tickets remained at the time of writing this, I suspect the stadium will have sold out by kickoff and that will make a big difference in this game. The atmosphere should be electric and Huddersfield Town’s players can use that to their advantage to push them forward. 

There should be a good feeling in the stadium from before the game even kicks off, with the Cowshed Loyal leading a march from the Gas Club at 7.00pm, which will no doubt whip a large chunk of our fans into a frenzy.

Who would take Town’s penalties (if it come to that)

I’m desperately hoping that the game is settled within 90 minutes but it has to be acknowledged that extra time and penalties are a possibility tonight. For a bit of fun, here are my thoughts on who should take the penalties if they are on the pitch when Carlos is looking to make his list of five names:

• Harry Toffolo – In great goal-scoring form and a big character that thrives on pressure
• Danny Ward – Our main striker and can hit the ball sweetly with his left foot
• Sorba Thomas – Superb at set pieces, penalties shouldn’t be too much different
• Jon Russell – So calm under pressure that he’ll barely break a sweat when taking a penalty
• Danel Sinani – Another set piece merchant with a lovely left foot

Jordan Rhodes didn’t take a penalty for Sheffield Wednesday against us in the 2017 playoffs and only took one against Sheffield United in 2012 because we ran right down the list of takers (he was number 6 but he did score). I don’t know why but he doesn’t seem to like taking penalties in shootouts so I suspect he won’t tonight if it comes to that. 

While penalties can be a bit of a lottery, at least we have a goalkeeper that we have 100% faith in between the sticks and there are plenty of players in our squad that are capable of scoring a penalty. I just hope that it doesn’t to that.

One thing is certain, regardless of the outcome… 

Whether Huddersfield Town get through to the final or not, all Town fans can feel proud of their team’s achievements this season. Pundits and fans all expected another difficult season for the Terriers and this squad of players have over achieved everyone’s expectations. While it would be nice to make it to Wembley and have a chance to compete for a place in the Premier League, going out won’t take the shine off an incredible season.