Huddersfield Town vs Wolverhampton Wanderers
Date: 26/02/2019
K/O: 19:45
Venue: John Smith Stadium
Referee: David Coote
A depleted Huddersfield Town take on an ambitious Wolves side who are battling for an impressive seventh-place finish on Tuesday night.
The home side seem to be down and out at the foot of the Premier League table yet their owner Dean Hoyle has recently stated that the Terriers would not ‘sleepwalk into relegation’, however it seems that with every game they are plummeting further towards life in the Championship next season. Last time out Town were a mess again and they were dismantled by a fighting Toon army, the blue and whites looked once again a shadow of their former Championship days. All of the fight, determination and grit in their performance seems to have vanished into thin air since the sacking of David Wagner. A decision that the board may begin to rue.
Wolves, on the other hand, are flying in the top flight. With 11 games to play, the newly promoted side are in a position to finish highly in the Premier League. Off the back of last weeks stalemate draw against the Cherries, Wolves will be keen to get back to winning ways, and what better way to do it than against a disjointed Huddersfield Town. Joshua King netted the only goal against the Wanderers at the weekend, which was later cancelled out by a Raúl Jiménez penalty; King had the opportunity to win it late with another penalty but failed to convert from the spot. The game was tightly contested, with an ongoing battle being fought in midfield but Wolves will be looking to get back to dominating the middle and creating their free-flowing football again on Tuesday evening.
Huddersfield’s dry January transfer window has brought them no inspiration going into the final chapter of the season. A few eyebrows were raised when Town announced the signing of Jason Puncheon. The former City midfielder is on-loan from Crystal Palace and will return come the end of the season. Despite his obvious talent, Puncheon has been slow and off the pace, not creating nearly enough of the impact he was expected to have. Karlan Grant from Charlton Athletic was another player brought in by Huddersfield. The youngster looks promising, and for sure will be good in the future, but he’s not likely to play a major part in any miraculous relegation recovery.
Another major problem is the David Wagner shaped void that is left into the club. Wagner, such a charismatic and positive manger brought the club into the Premier League and kept them up for their first season. Not an easy job, and he did brilliantly, but his second season caused the issues. Jan Siewert is the replacement and is not like the former boss at all. The new boss seems unsure of his best team, unlike Wagner who would consistency stick to his same formation for strength and rigidity. Siewert is constantly changing the line-up, he clearly needs to work out who he does and doesn’t want at the club for the next season in order to form an attack plan.
At times this season, Wolves have looked average and the Terriers actually have a chance to the double over Wolves after beating them 2-0 at Molineux back in November. If this Huddersfield side can manage to win the midfield battle, which is a possibility with the likes of Hogg, Mooy and Billing, there is, believe it or not, a chance of them winning the game.
Team News
Tommy Smith’s suspension after his red card at Newcastle adds to the long list of players unavailable for the Terriers. The former Monaco winger, Adama Diakhaby missed Saturday’s game with a hamstring injury and is unlikely to feature against Wolves – a big blow for Town. Erik Durm was also absent at St James’ Park as he has a ‘minor hip issue’ which could force him out of Tuesday’s clash. Isaac Mbenza and Danny Williams are both suffering from long term injuries and will likely return in a month or so. Sabiri could play an unexpected part against Wolves after being sidelined with a lack of match fitness for some time.
Nuno Espirito Santo’s side are unscathed after their game against Bournemouth, so he could name an unchanged team for the fourth league match in a row. Wolves are in a hectic period, they are currently in the middle of three Premier League matches in a week, which could force Santo into a couple of changes. Romain Saiss and Morgan Gibbs-White are the two options in midfield if the Spanish boss chooses to rests either Ruben Neves or Joao Moutinho. Helder Costa, Ivan Cavaleiro and Adama Traore are also available to Santo in attack should he need their services.
Predicted Starting XIs
Huddersfield Town (4-3-3): Lössl; Hadergjonaj, Schindler, Zanka, Lowe; Hogg, Bacuna, Mooy; Puncheon, Depoitre, Kachunga
Wolverhampton Wanders (3-5-2): Rui Patrício; R Bennett, Coady, Boly; Doherty, Dendoncker, Ruben Neves, Moutinho, Jonny; Raúl Jiménez, Diogo Jota
Score Prediction: Huddersfield Town 1 Wolverhampton Wanders 1
I think that given the home crowd will be restless and desperate for something to cheer about, Town will put up a good fight for the chance to do the double over Wolves. However, it will not be easy for any team to role over Wolves so this one could likely be a draw.
