By Corey Simpson-Pearce –
Huddersfield Town head south to the West Midlands to take on 15th-placed Coventry City on Saturday 28th January. 3 pm Kick-Off.
Team News
After their game against Blackpool was called off last weekend due to a frozen pitch, Huddersfield are still looking to make it 3 wins from their last 6 as they take on a Coventry City side that has been struggling to find form recently.
The Terriers are coming into this game with some rather unfortunate team news. Firstly, Sorba Thomas has taken a loan to Blackburn Rovers as he seeks more game time to further develop as a player.
New signing Anthony Knockaert is no closer to a return with manager Mark Fotheringham not putting a date on the French wingers’ return as he misses out with a bruised bone injury.
The most unfortunate news for Town fans this week is that veteran goalkeeper Lee Nichols has been ruled out for the rest of the season following his shoulder surgery last week.
Young goalkeeper Nicholas Bilokapic will have a massive job to do for the rest of the season should Huddersfield not seek out a goalkeeper in what remains of the transfer window.
Finally, it was confirmed by the head coach that loanee Tino Anjorin would also miss the rest of the season following his ankle surgery in mid-December and new town striker Martyn Waghorn misses out due to loan restrictions.
Joe Hungbo and Matthew Lowton are two new signings that could see minutes this weekend, Hungbo could make his debut and Lowton could look to add to what was an impressive performance against Hull City.
Coventry City
Coventry City are coming into this game on a bit of a decline, after their 1-0 win against West Brom in late December they have gone 6 games without a win including a 4-3 loss to Wrexham in the FA Cup.
The Sky Blues have been trying to turn around their poor form this week by adding fresh competition into their squad, acquiring some new signings including striker Sean Maguire, who signed from Preston North End.
In addition to this, they have added Luke McNally, a 23-year-old defender from Burnley. With these signings registered before the game week deadline, I would expect at least one of them to feature this weekend.
Coventry will be looking for a turn of form and a bounce to get them on their way into a playoff fight so this will not be an easy game.
One To Watch
This week my one to watch is the young goalkeeper Nicholas Bilokapic as he has big shoes to fill with Lee Nichols being ruled out for the rest of the season.
The youngster has already shown how professional he can be between the sticks after featuring and impressing in Huddersfield’s 1-1 draw with Hull City.
With a big task at hand, I fully expect the 20-year-old to fit right in that massive goal and make a difference this weekend.
Prediction
A hard-fought fixture in the past with 3 draws in the last 4 games between these two sides. The only non-draw was Huddersfield’s 2-1 win against Coventry in April last year.
With both teams looking to stay clear of the relegation zone and get their seasons back on track this tie is going to be no different from what seems to be the history of this fixture which is a battle of defences.
With that and Huddersfield’s rise in form compared to Coventry’s decline in form it will be a tough one to call. With that said I am going to go for a 1-0 Huddersfield win with the goal coming late in the second half.