By Nathan Findlay
Huddersfield Town will play Barnsley F.C. on Wednesday 21 April at John Smith’s Stadium. 19:45pm K.O.
Huddersfield Town
Following their win against Nottingham Forest at the weekend, Huddersfield Town is currently 20th in the table. This game will test the Terriers in many ways, but following the win that Huddersfield secured on the weekend, the morale will be high.
The gap between the Terriers and relegation is now 8 points, leaving Huddersfield Town in a slightly more comfortable position. The win will surely relieve a lot of pressure off the Terriers shoulders for now, but now is not a time where they cannot take a pit stop.
Huddersfield last matched up against Nottingham Forest, where they defeated the Red Dogs 2-0. The Terrier’s win was not only three points but a game that would most definitely lift the team’s morale.
Barnsley F.C.
Barnsley F.C. is currently 6th in the table and is fighting to stay in their current play-off position.
They have had an incredible run so far this season and for them to participate in the play-offs would be most definitely deserved. Barnsley’s past five games have been a little mixed with two wins, two losses and a draw.
With Barnsley sitting only 4 points in the play-offs, they will need to keep this great performance up this season as surrounding teams are going to do the same. I am confident that Barnsley F.C. will push for the points in this game, only to be fueled further by the rivalry between the two local clubs.
Tomorrow’s match is going to be a game for points and pride. I am confident that this will be a very interesting game between the two clubs and show how they have progressed through the campaign so far.
The last time Huddersfield and Barnsley faced each other was late December, where Town lost 2-1 with a very late goal from Michal Helik in the 94th minute.
Despite this, Huddersfield looked to have had an average game. There was not too much going on in the attack, as they only had one shot on target. The Terriers played out the game trying to hold out for a draw, which they, unfortunately, didn’t get.
Pre-Match Press Conference
Huddersfield Town Manager Carlos Corberán spoke to the press ahead of the upcoming game. Here are some highlights:
- “It is going to be one very, very difficult attacking game.”
- “The most important thing now is to concentrate on the game.”
- “It is clear that they have been a very competitive team this year.”
- “This is going to be one of the more demanding games that we will play this year.”
Prediction
Every week the Championship seems to get tighter and tighter as we progress, which also makes it harder to predict which team I think is going to win.
Both Huddersfield and Barnsley have adapted many ways through this season and since the last season. We have Barnsley, who managed to scrape and stay inside the Championship last season by a thread, now pushing to play in the most competitive league in the world.
On the other hand, we have Huddersfield. They have had an extremely shaky season due to many different factors, including many long-term injuries from early on in the season to players being carded.
It is safe to say that the Terriers have had it rough, but this is no excuse. There have been many games where Town could have put up a much better performance and many games where Huddersfield have shocked us with the result they have brought back.
The overall record for both Huddersfield and Barnsley is very close. Huddersfield has a total of 32 wins on paper compared to Barnsley’s 28 wins, alongside 15 draws. We can see from this that both clubs are very close on the overall record, with Huddersfield just taking the edge.
Huddersfield will be really pushing for the win with the morale boost that the team is currently on. I’m sure that Carlos will reinforce this and make sure that the team doesn’t stop working after they get one win.
If the Terriers win, this will leave them in an even more comfortable position and lift the team spirit even higher after a dry run this calendar year.