Town are experiencing a tough time in the Premier League, so this weekend’s visit of Birmingham City in the FA Cup is a welcome respite. While managers like to pay lip service to the “magic of the cup”, we’re likely to see wholesale changes from David Wagner.
Rotation policy
This won’t be the first time that Wagner has rotated his players for a game against Birmingham. Last season’s away game in the Championship came shortly before our playoff games, and Wagner changed the bulk of the team to rest his best players. Much to Blackburn fans displeasure, who went down instead of Birmingham, in part because our reserves were soundly beaten by Birmingham.
David Wagner, quite frankly, doesn’t care about criticism though. His desire to play a high-pressing game and his background in sports science means he wants to rotate his squad whenever he gets the opportunity. The cup gives him a chance to get some competitive minutes for the fringe players and a chance to rest the star men.
Who will David Wagner pick for the Birmingham game?
I’d expect our key players to all be rested. This means Lössl, Zanka, Schindler, Mooy and Hogg. Alex Pritchard is cup-tied after playing for Norwich in the third round of the cup, so won’t feature either.
David Wagner will more than likely pick a couple of players that are regulars in the starting XI and then throw in a few fringe players and those coming back from injury.
So Hefele and Kongolo are likely to start as the centre-back pairing. Coleman or Green could start in goals, but I think the younger keeper might get the nod as he needs game time more than an old-hand like Green.
Billing and Williams would make sense as the defensive midfield pair. With Mooy’s recent dip in form, it could be a chance for one of them to push their way into the Premier League starting team.
I’m guessing Quaner, Lolley, and Sabiri will play in the attacking three, with Sabiri central and the other two on the wings. Ince or van La Parra could start too. It depends on who Wagner wants to keep fresh for the Liverpool and Manchester United games.
It’s hard to know who will play up front. Mounié didn’t do himself any favours last week with his performance against Stoke but I’m not sure we’ll want to tire Depoitre out in a less important game. Because the big Belgian is needed for next week’s games I think Mounié will play. I just hope he puts in a shift and keeps the boo boys off his back.
How will Town approach this game?
Despite the personnel being mostly different from our recent games, I still see this game as an opportunity to regain some form and confidence. For that reason, I think we’ll really go for it against Birmingham.
Expect to see a high-pressing game from Town, with a lot of pressure being put on Birmingham’s defenders and goalkeeper to try and force an error. That could lead to a scrappy game, but once Town win possession I’d hope to see us try to attack with intent and speed. Birmingham may set up quite defensively, so we’ll need to stretch them to find gaps.
What about Birmingham?
Birmingham are currently second from bottom in the Championship and are almost certain to be involved in another relegation scrap this season. They beat Burton in the previous round to get through to the fourth round of the cup, which isn’t saying a lot as they’re the only team beneath Birmingham in the Championship currently.
Brum manager Simon Cotterill didn’t sound particularly inspiring in his pre-match interview either:
“If we’re realistic people won’t expect us to beat Huddersfield, but you never know. We’ll look to win it whatever team we put out.”
Less a rallying cry and more of a vaguely optimistic shrug.
TerrierSpirit.com prediction: Huddersfield Town 2-0 Birmingham City
Town are in a slump in the Premier League right now, but the chance to play in the cup against weaker opposition may give us a chance to recapture some form. We’ll play a weakened team, but it should still be good enough to beat Birmingham.
The timing of goals will be important. If Town start well and get a goal in the opening stages I’d expect an easy afternoon. Should we struggle to break Birmingham down then it could easily end up a draw. The replay is the last thing David Wagner would want, adding an unwanted match to the schedule, so I’m expecting Town to really go for a win.
Lolly is subbing and playing lol ?