Huddersfield Town vs Newcastle United
Date: 15/12/2018
K/O: 15:00
Venue: John Smith’s Stadium
Referee: Anthony Taylor
Huddersfield Town play host to Newcastle United on Saturday afternoon, with both sides without wins in their last three fixtures and desperate for points.
The Terriers currently occupy one of the relegation places, just a point ahead of Southampton and Fulham below. Victory over Newcastle would likely see them close the gap to the group of sides narrowly ahead of them and draw level on points with this weekend’s visitors.
Earning a point would represent steady progress after a run of three straight defeats for David Wagner’s side but would not constitute enough to leave them out of the drop zone.
However, an 11th loss of the season could prove to be incredibly costly if the teams surrounding the Terriers makeup ground and could leave the hosts bottom of the table come Monday.
Likewise, Rafael Benitez will be incredibly anxious not to lose this fixture, which even this early into the campaign could go a significant way to deciding both sides fate.
Three points for the Magpies would create a buffer between them and the threat of relegation, but a single point would offer little consolation to either club.
Team News
Unfortunately for Huddersfield, they will be missing two of their most influential players on Saturday. Aaron Mooy will be out of action until February after sustaining a knee injury in their previous fixture against Arsenal, one which they can consider themselves unfortunate not to have gained a point from. While Steve Mounie serves the last game of a three-match ban he picked up for a tackle against Brighton.
Goals have been incredibly difficult to come by for the hosts, with their meagre current total of ten, the lowest in the Premier League. Laurent Depoitre will have to provide the attacking impetus, as Mooy and Mounie are both this season and last season’s top scorers respectively.
Wagner must begin to goad some improved performances out of his squad as three of Huddersfield’s next four fixtures are against sides in the bottom six. Rafael Benitez’s side would be the ideal place to begin to change their wretched form.
Newcastle will also have a player suspended in the form of DeAndre Yedlin; the American was dismissed against Wolves for a last-ditch tackle against Diego Jota. Benitez questioned the validity of the decision post-match, as the dismissal had a significant impact on the outcome of the tie as Newcastle dropped the point they were clinging on to in the last seconds of proceedings. Javier Manquillo should replace Yedlin while he is absent.
Huddersfield will no doubt feel the effects of their missing men more than the visitors, and Newcastle must take advantage and begin to accumulate points with greater regularity if they are to regroup with the lower mid-table. The bottom seven sides have become cut adrift, the points difference between Cardiff City in 14th and Brighton in 13th currently stands at seven. However, it only takes a few good results from teams at the bottom to close that gap.
Predicted Starting XIs
Huddersfield Town: Lossl; Zanka, Schindler, Kongolo; Durm, Williams, Hogg, Billing, Lowe; Pritchard; Depoitre
Newcastle United: Dubravka; Manquillo, Lascelles, Fernandez, Dummett; Diame, Ki; Ritchie, Perez, Atsu; Rondon
Prediction: Huddersfield 0 Newcastle 1
Newcastle should have the capability to capitalise on the loss of two of the hosts most influential players, which may stifle Huddersfield’s goal threat. Even so, the Terriers were tenacious in defense against Arsenal and should prove to be stubborn once more. This means that a goal for either side may be decisive.
