By Nathan Findlay –
Huddersfield Town face up against Middlesbrough for their 20th game in the Championship (15:00 KO). This is another tough fixture for The Terriers and another game where getting 3 points out of it certainly is not going to be an easy one.
Huddersfield previously played Queens Park Rangers, where they, unfortunately, lost the game after conceding a late goal from Luke Amos in the 81st minute.
This was not the best performance from The Terriers, which was mentioned in the post-match review. The Terriers were almost playing as individuals rather than as a unit on Wednesday night. This is even more frustrating as Huddersfield played well together at the weekend and fought the game out for 3 points.
Overall, I think that this performance should be looked at to find where the mistakes were made, so as not to repeat them in the future.
After this result, Huddersfield Town is currently 8th in the Championship table and will try to push back up into the play-off positions as soon as possible.
Middlesbrough F.C.
The Boro have had a mixed start to the season with very average results across the board. After a 1-1 draw away from home against West Brom, Neil Warnock was sacked by Middlesbrough and this is where things changed for the club.
After Neil Warnock was sacked, Chris Wilder was brought in as was appointed as the new Middlesbrough manager. It was a positive move for the club and with Norwich and Aston Villa sacking their managers shortly after, it is clear that Middlesbrough played a blinder here by getting Chris Wilder and his team into the club.
For Wilders first game at the club, Middlesbrough drew to Millwall. This game was very unfortunate for Boro as they put on a great performance, but Middlesbrough could not get the win from this one.
Middlesbrough’s previous performance was another frustrating one. After holding the lead and piling on the pressure for most of the match, a 5-minute spell from Preston managed to get the two goals and they managed to claim the 3 points from the game.
This is something I am sure Wilder will be looking at this week during the training sessions before the game this weekend.
There are a couple of players on the watch list for Middlesbrough. The first of these is Duncan Watmore. The youngster has stood out this season with his pace and goal creation. He is a very hungry player and is a defender’s nightmare with his pace and dribbling.
Another player on the watch list is Josh Coburn, another Middlesbrough youngster who has stood out this season. He is a tall forward with exciting potential, another player that The Terriers will have to look out for on the field.
Middlesbrough will be looking for their first win under the new manager this weekend, meaning this is significant pressure on Huddersfield to stop them from doing so.
Pre-match conference
Here are some key points from Carlos Corberán from the pre-match conference:
- ‘No new injuries since the mid-week match’
- ‘Jordan Rhodes should be back for the games running up to Christmas’
- Short Turn-Around Period – ‘The same things that we normally do in 6 days we have had to do in 48 hours, we have had a lot of players working with the medical staff.’
- Concerning Middlesbrough – ‘Starting to play with a new style of play with their new manager, they are a big physical side and I think it is going to be one big competitive game and it is going to demand a lot of energy.’
Prediction
Looking onto the game this weekend, I think it is going to be a tough battle between the two sides, and I don’t believe that either side will come to the John Smiths Stadium and easily claim 3 points from this game.
The last time these two teams met was back in February this year. The game finished 2-1 to Middlesbrough, but it was a close game. The game set off quickly with Town getting the first goal, but Boro then soon turned around, and they managed to get two more to bring the game back in their favour.
There is great pressure on Middlesbrough and Chris Wilder to get the first win at the Boro under his belt.
Huddersfield Town looks strong and is a fair bit above Middlesbrough in the Championship table, but I think it’s going to be a tight game.