Huddersfield Town vs Tottenham Hotspur
Date: 29/09/2018
K/O: 3.00pm
Venue: John Smith’s Stadium
Referee: Craig Pawson
Spurs make the long journey up north to Huddersfield this weekend with Mauricio Pochettino’s side trying to capitalise on their narrow win against Brighton last week.
The North London side go into the game off the back of their first win in four and after conceding late against Brighton, memories of their Champions League fixture a fortnight ago in Italy would surely have come flooding back.
Spurs will still be ruing the missed chances against Inter Milan as they were robbed of all three points, and a point at that, late on at the San Siro. Tottenham’s form prior to their Champions League game had been equally demoralising; it started when they squandered a one goal lead to a determined Watford side who fought back to snatch all three points.
This was followed by a commanding visit from rivals Liverpool, as Pochettino’s side were trampled on by the league leaders. But Spurs will be looking to harness their recent wins against 13th placed Brighton and Wednesday’s cup victory against Watford to spark some momentum into their Premier League campaign.
Huddersfield lost yet again in the Premier League last weekend as Leicester put three past them in a 3-1 defeat. The first half performance for Huddersfield looked promising but their standards came up short in the second half, as the Foxes showed their Premier League quality and dispatched the Terriers rather easily.
At the moment it doesn’t seem to be working anywhere on the pitch for Huddersfield – defensively they are poor and far worse than last year and this is a huge concern for Wagner and his side. At this stage of the season last year (after six games) they were eighth in the Premier League and had four clean sheets; winning twice, losing once and drawing three times. This shows a vast difference to this season’s form, sitting bottom they have now lost four times and drawn twice, and have currently kept just one clean sheet.
Looking to capitalise on his opponent’s poor defensive record is England skipper, Harry Kane. Similarly though, Kane is struggling to find his optimum form having only scored in three games out of seven this year. However, last year Kane was instrumental in the Terriers defeat as he netted a brace in a 4-0 drubbing. Come Saturday, he will be hungry to increase his tally for the year and boost Tottenham’s chances of victory.
Huddersfield’s strike force also needs some serious impetus. All of their goals this season have been from set pieces; two from long throws and one from a corner. Having not yet scored from open play, this reiterates how poor the Terriers are offensively and proves why it is vital to make summer signings. Currently their offensive force seems to lack any other threat than from set pieces, and in order to break down the Spurs back line they are in need of some serious attacking inspiration.
Team News
Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur are likely to be without captain Hugo Lloris who has been out of action since August’s defeat of Manchester United with a thigh injury. Substitute goalkeeper Michel Vorm has an ongoing knee issue meaning that reserve keeper Gazzaniga will most likely start again after starring in their midweek penalty shootout as he saved twice against Watford in the Carabao Cup.
Moussa Sissoko has a long-term hamstring injury and is unlikely to take part on Saturday.
Huddersfield Town
Egyptian midfielder Ramadam Sobhi is out injured with a knee injury and could return as early as October sixth. Other then the Egyptian, Wagner and his side have no other injury concerns and his side have a fresh bill of health.
Predicted Starting XI’s:
Huddersfield: Lossl; Zanka, Schindler, Kongolo; Durm, Mooy, Billing, Lowe; Kachunga, Van La Parra; Mounie
Spurs: Gazzaniga; Tripper, Alderweireld, Vertonghen, Rose; Dembele, Dier; Lucas, Eriksen, Alli; Kane
Score Prediction – Huddersfield 1 Tottenham 3
It’s hard to see Huddersfield winning this game, let alone getting any points. Spurs haven’t been brilliant recently but they returned to winning ways against Brighton, and Kane’s midweek rest will most likely have given him a boost for the weekend, which means he should be firing on all cylinders.
