Huddersfield Town travel to Swansea on Saturday after what feels like another endless international break. It’s now nearly two weeks since the 4-0 defeat against Spurs and Town will be desperate to get back into action.
This won’t be an easy game for the Terriers, the Swans might not be the strongest team in the division but they’ll be tough to break down and have a canny manager. Here’s everything you need to know in advance of the game.
Swansea City v Huddersfield Town – Match details
Kickoff – 3 pm Saturday 14 October 2017
Tickets – At the time of writing, there were a handful of tickets left on general sale at the ticket office for Town fans. By the time you’re reading this they may have been sold out.
Referee: Paul Tierney – Town have won 6, drawn 1 and lost 3 with Tierney as the ref, so he’s almost a good luck charm. The last game he reffed involving Town was the first leg of the playoff semi.
Travel – Swansea is a bugger to get to, but there are some good tips on the football ground guide website about public transport, where to park if you’re driving and which roads to take.
https://twitter.com/htafcslo/status/918095211884138497
Likely lineup
This could be the game that Scott Malone gets his chance at left-back. While I love Chris Lowé, he should be given time out of the starting XI to recapture his form. I think Wagner kept selecting him in the hope that he’d improve by playing more games, which has happened with Tommy Smith after a shaky start.
The attacking three behind the main striker is another area I’m expecting changes. Ince is one of our best players, but he’s most effective in the wide areas, so I’d put him back out on the left. Then I’d drop van La Parra and bring in Sabiri.
The deep-lying midfield pair is uncertain because Aaron Mooy has travelled all over the world and played 110 minutes for Australia against Syria in their World Cup playoff game on Tuesday. If Mooy feels fit then I think it’ll be him and Hoggy in the middle, but if not Billing may step in, though he’s played a couple of Denmark U21 games this last week.
The continuing niggling injuries limit the number of players available for selection, meaning the other areas of the pitch are easier to predict. Zanka and Schindler will continue to build on their partnership. I expect Smith will keep his spot given his steady progress. Depoitre is the only fully-fit striker in the squad so I expect he’ll play. In fairness, his performances warrant continued selection even if Mounié is fit.
Pre-match comments
David Wagner repeatedly had to point out that Town have nine points from their first seven games and are in a good position right now. I get the feeling he’s a bit annoyed about some of the negativity coming from the press ahead of this game.
He was respectful about Swansea but also pointed out that this is one of the games that we’ve got a better chance of winning. I’m sure he’ll be saying this to the players too. We’d have to be playing at our absolute peak to stand a chance against the likes of Spurs but Swansea is a much more level playing field.
Talking points for the Swansea game
It’s not a must-win game
Games against teams like Swansea are important to Town because we’re probably going to struggle to get points from the top teams. I expect we’ll be fighting for survival with Swansea at the end of the season too, so beating them is doubly good because it deprives them of points as well as gaining them for us. It’s not must-win though.
David Wagner quite rightly pointed out that Wembley in May was a must-win game, but eight games into the season it’s silly to start talking about having to win.
I don’t have any expectations about where Town will finish this season, but obviously, I’d be delighted if we stay up. So, in my opinion, we can’t have a “must-win game” unless we reach the point where we have to win to avoid relegation becoming a mathematical certainty.
A win against the Swans would be very nice but our season is still on track if we lose or draw.
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Who’s going to be available after injury?
There are quite a few Town players coming back from injury but it seems that most aren’t quite there yet. Danny Williams has been back in training, so is potentially going to be available for selection. Given Mooy and Billing played twice in the international break it would be good to have another midfield option.
Steve Mounié’s ankle injury is making him a doubt for this game too. While Depoitre’s done a good job in his absence we really could do with another striker, even if just from the bench.
Are we going to see any goals?
Town have scored five goals in seven games so far, three of them coming in the first game at Palace. Swansea have scored just three in the same period. So the form book suggests this has the potential to be a low scoring game.
Given that both sides are fairly strong at the back but struggle to get goals going forward it’s foolish to expect a high-scoring thriller on Saturday. I’d be happy with a tense affair, but if we can be ruthless in front of goal and disciplined at the back we can get something out of it.
Opposition info: Swansea City
Swansea currently sit 18th in the Premier League table, with five points from their opening seven games. Their only victory of the season came against Palace, with draws against Spurs and Southampton.
The Swans have lost their first three home games of the season so far, so the Liberty Stadium is hardly a fortress. The other side of that coin is that the players will be desperate to turn that around with a win in front of their fans.
They’re are managed by Paul Clement, who’s been in charge since the back end of last season, where he helped steer them to safety after flirting with relegation. He’s a relatively new manager but has vast experience as a coach, most notably under Carlo Ancelotti at Spurs, PSG, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich.
I think Clement’s a good manager and Swansea are a better team than their recent form suggests. They’ve lost their best players in the summer window, in Sigurðsson and Llorente, and are still bedding in their new players but they will be tough to break down and have forwards that could hurt us.
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Man to watch: Tammy Abraham
Town fans may remember last season’s away defeat at Bristol City for Jonathan Hogg’s horrible injury, that was initially diagnosed as a broken neck. The other memorable thing from that night was Chelsea loanee Tammy Abraham absolutely tearing us to shreds as they beat us 4-0.
Swansea have signed Abraham on loan for this season and he’s scored two of Swansea’s three goals this season so is likely to be their main threat. He’s quick, stronger than he looks, and last time we played against him he was a constant threat.
Admittedly, Town’s central defence is quicker and more reliable with Zanka alongside Schindler but they’ll need to be on form to contain Abraham. He scored 23 in 40 games in a fairly poor Bristol City team last year, and he looks like he’s going to continue to get goals this season as he continues his development in the Premier League.
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Swansea v Town history
Town are winning the battle of the history books against Swansea, winning 24 of their 52 meetings, with 14 drawn and the other 14 going to the Swans. We first played each other on Christmas Day (I didn’t know that used to happen) in 1952, winning 3-0 in the old Second Division.
The most recent meeting between the two clubs came in 2008, with Swansea beating us 1-0 at what was then known as the Galpharm Stadium. Town started that game with Phil Jevons, Malvin Kamara and Robbie Williams on the pitch. Anyone that thinks van La Parra is rubbish clearly can’t remember watching Kamara play.
Terrier Spirit prediction – 1-0 to Town
It seems likely that this game is going to be tight and it will to be decided by one side creating a moment of quality or committing a terrible mistake. Depoitre has been getting into good scoring positions in all the games he’s played so far, so I’ll predict him to get himself on the score sheet.
I think Town’s performances this season haven’t produced the number of points they’ve deserved, Leicester and Southampton at home both could have been wins. I’m predicting we’ll be able to turn that around and get maximum points from a game that looks destined to be a draw.
The most winnable fixture of any games we’re going to play this month. I’m not disputing the fact that any game you can pick up points – but the possibility of a three-point haul is significantly greater than on home turf to Man Utd or on the road at Liverpool. I can’t reiterate enough that Swansea is, on paper, one of the sides we have to pick up a victory against in our battle to survive in our debut season in the Premier Leavue as we know it today. They’re in a bracket of teams like West Brom, Watford Burnley etc.
So right TerrierSpirit, so many games that results should have been better than how they ended. The chances have to be taken then the wins should come. Draws occasionally are useful and, in the context of things against the big clubs, draws are especially nothing to sniff.