By Nathan Findlay –
Huddersfield Town faces Sheffield United at Bramall Lane on Saturday 21 August; 15:00 K.O.
This is going to be a tough game for The Terriers and they are going to need to be on their A-game for this one.
Team News
Huddersfield has won one, drawn one and lost one so far in the Championship, which isn’t a bad start by any means.
For many, the win on Tuesday was extremely lucky after an own goal was scored by the Preston defender, but with no shots on target, it doesn’t bode well when it comes to facing the tougher teams.
On the other hand, one could argue this doesn’t matter as a win means 3 points, no matter what the scoreline and no matter how the game has been played out.
Regardless of how you feel, the result is the result, and it puts Huddersfield on a more positive track heading into the weekend.
With Huddersfield’s performance, their attack needs to be created and formed with more men – this was something that was noted in my post-match review for the game.
When going up the field there need to be more options to pass and release the ball.
Match-Up
The last time that The Blades and the Terriers matched up was a long time ago now, all the way back in 2012.
The game was a League one playoff match which resulted in a 0-0 final score.
This isn’t much to go off, but something to look at is the overall record between the two clubs. In total, Huddersfield has won 41 games compared to Sheffield’s 29 and there has being a total of 35 draws. So fairly close overall.
Press Conference
Huddersfield’s Head Coach Carlos Corberan spoke to the press ahead of the upcoming game.
Regarding some of the side changes for the Preston game, Corberan noted that Matty Pearson felt dizzy before the game and he felt that he could not manage to play. He’s been to the hospital and had a scan and all is well.
Danny Ward started to have palpitations on the pitch so was brought off to be safe. Again checked at the hospital and nothing of concern found
Coberan noted that while it was important to get their first win of the season, “every game is just important as each other.”
For the Sheffield game he added that against a high-level opponent, the key is to focus and compete against them.
Sheffield United F.C.
Last season was a very unfortunate one for Sheffield, and not too dissimilar from Huddersfield’s recent foray into the Premier League.
The Blades gave it their all but loss after loss eventually piled up and they were relegated by May.
Now Championship football has come knocking, and Sheffield has lost two and has drawn one so far, meaning that they are going to be hunting for the first win of the season.
After a 4-0 drubbing from table-toppers West Bromwich Albion, Sheffield is going to do everything it takes and really push for a win at the weekend, which will really test Huddersfield as to what they can do.
I think it is going to be an interesting game and for sure a very close one.
One player to watch for Sheffield is forward, Billy Sharp. This player might be one of the older players in the Championship, but he is still the striker upfront for The Blades and is hunting for goals each week.
His performance in the 2016/17 season was outstanding, with a total of 30 goals in 46 games. I think he is a great forward and a player to look out for at the weekend.
Predictions
I think that it is going to be a close game at the weekend. Huddersfield hasn’t given us the most exciting start to the season, and there are definitely tweaks that need to be made in the attack. But Sheffield has also struggled to get off the mark as they adjust to life in the Championship.
As mentioned before, Sheffield is going to be hunting for the first win of the season and the same goes with Huddersfield. I think the game is going to be too close to decide a winner for this game. Therefore I predict…