After a seemingly endless international break, Huddersfield Town return to Premier League action against Crystal Palace later today. Town’s last game was a promising performance against Everton, but we’re still waiting for our first victory of the season.
A key part of getting a good result against Palace will be to get the team selection right. Here are a few of the tricky decisions David Wagner is facing when he picks his team…
How does Kongolo fit into the defence?
Terence Kongolo has been one of the standout players for Town so far this season, so it seems unthinkable to drop him. However, it also seems unlikely that the pairing of Zanka and Schindler would be broken up either.
The lack of a high-quality left-back allowed the option of playing Kongolo in his less favoured position, but now Durm is fully fit it seems like he may be pushing to start in the left-back position.
David Wagner could play a five-man defence, but that would come at the expense of an attacking player. Against Everton this meant not having a number 10, and relying on the wide to bring the ball forward and create attacking openings. While this strategy worked at Goodison Park, I’m hoping we’ll show more attacking intent against Palace.
Managers love these kind of problems, as it means they’ve got too many good options to fit in their starting XI, but it may mean having to either disappoint a player or change formation to fit everyone he wants in the team.
Can Pritchard get a game?
Alex Pritchard has found his opportunities extremely limited so far this season, which has been a source of frustration for many Town fans. Given the principle problem Town often face is a lack of creativity, it seems odd that we’ve not utilised one of our most potent attacking threats.
I sometimes think David Wagner is reluctant to play Pritchard in games where there’s likely to be a physical battle on the pitch, but I think Pritchard is capable of making a difference in those types of games. Admittedly, it’s frustrating when I see him going up for headers with players more than a foot taller than him, but if we play to his strengths he can make things happen in the final third.
I mentioned above that Wagner may stick to playing five defenders, which would mean we don’t have a number ten on the pitch. Alternatively, he may push Mooy up into the advanced playmaker position like he did against Cardiff, even though it didn’t really work in that game.
I personally hope that Pritchard gets picked, as it’s an indication that we’re going to go after Palace and try to create some chances.
Should Mounié or Depoitre start?
So far Mounié has been Town’s first-choice striker but has yet to register a goal this season. In most games he’s come remarkably close to scoring, he created the assist for Stankovic’s goal at the Etihad, and he’s been very strong in the air in every match, so there are reasons to stick with him.
I’d like to see us mix things up and give Depoitre a chance to show what he can do. Given his strength and work-rate, it may help to create goal-scoring opportunties.
Who are Town’s best two wingers?
I genuinely don’t know who Town’s best two wingers are at the moment. Three of the four main contenders are new arrivals and we’ve not yet seen the best of any of them. Rajiv van La Parra and Adama Diakhaby seem to be the preferred two at the moment, but Diakhaby missed a day’s training this week so is an injury doubt.
Mbenza or Ramadan Sohbi are the other two options. Mbenza looked a bit lost when he came off the bench in the Cardiff game, but it may be worth giving him a full 90-minutes against Palace to prove himself. Otherwise, Sohbi should have recovered from his injury by now, and could give Town more skill and trickery in the final third.
Predicted Town XI
I wouldn’t hold too much stock in these predictions, as I nearly always get them wrong. It’s fun to speculate though, so here’s what I think David Wagner will do…
I believe (I may be wrong) Erik Durm can play as both a left and right back, so it could be possible that we use both Kongolo and Durm, although the both would be out of their preferred positions but I’m sure training and tactics will have already taken that into account. Plus, Smith had been lack luster at right back for the majority of last season, and Flo hasn’t really impressed this season so far depsite being the obvious choice of Smith last season. Like you said though, it’s good for Wagner to have these decisions to make as it will lead to interesting/different tactics and styles of play to watch throughout the season.
Good point, Durm played at rightback when he came on late in the Everton game. I think he’s close to being genuinely two-footed.
The almost unthinkable is I think possible, in that why not rest Mooy who to be honest has not quite reached the heights of most of last season to make way for Pritchard in a slightly deeper role than normal and play Durm in the Hogg role.
Interesting idea, but I think I’d rather see Danny Williams get a chance if Mooy’s not sharp enough to start.