By Daniel Wood – Kirklees Local TV Contributor
Huddersfield Town host Bristol City at the John Smiths Stadium in the SkyBet Championship on Tuesday 3rd November; 7 pm KO.
The Terriers come into this game sitting in 12th in the Championship on 13 points. They are only two points behind the play-off places and a comfortable seven points above the relegation zone.
Last time out saw Town in a strong display, winning 3-0 away from home at Millwall. The result was seen as a huge upset as many expected the Lions to win the fixture.
Before the big win at Millwall, Town suffered 2-1 defeats to Birmingham City and Preston North End. However, they held their own in both games and had more possession in both defeats, which included 77% possession of the ball against Birmingham City.
They have scored ten goals in the opening nine games this season, but they have also conceded ten which has left them on a zero-goal difference up to this point.
Bristol City
The Robins are currently one point ahead of Town in the league table (10th). They have won four of their opening nine games, drawing two and losing three.
Things were looking great for Bristol City after four games, as they won every single one of their Championship games at that stage. However, since then, they have not won a game in the division.
An away victory at Nottingham Forest was the last time the Robins won in the Championship and that was a month ago on the 3rd October.
This means Bristol City are winless in their last five games, which consists of two draws and three defeats. They have lost their last two fixtures, 3-1 to Norwich City and 1-0 to AFC Bournemouth.
Dean Holden, their permanent manager, became the main man at Bristol City at the start of the season after being assistant manager at the club since 2016.
He currently has a 41.7%-win rate as manager of the club, including his time as Caretaker Manager at the end of last season.
His only other first team coaching experience came with Oldham Athletic in 2015, however he only won three out of 15 games in charge of the first team and his time at the club was short lived.
Bristol City fans were not happy with the appointment at the start of the season, with most of the fans suggesting that Holden was not experienced enough to be managing in the Championship.
Holden played for a variety of difference English league clubs and most of his appearances came with Oldham Athletic (108).
Ones to Watch
JAMIE PATTERSON
The attacking midfielder has started all nine Championship games for the Robbins this season. Within that time, Patterson has played the second-most minutes of any outfield player at the club (778) and has been a key attacking threat. The former Town loanee has the joint-most goal contributions for Bristol City this season. He has scored twice and assisted twice.
CHRIS MARTIN
The striker signed from Derby County at the start of the season. He has featured in every game in the league for the Robbins this season and has pitched in with a team-high four assists so far. He is yet to find the goal in the Championship for Bristol, but he has scored for them in an EFL Cup game against Southampton in September.
NAHKI WELLS
The former Terriers player has been a goal threat for the Robbins this season. Wells has three goals for them so far this season, finding the goal against Stoke City, Nottingham Forest and Swansea City. The forward is coming to the end of his first calendar year at the club, having signed from Burnley back in January 2020. The Bermudian striker played 143 times for Town between 2014 and 2017, scoring 44 times. He has featured for Huddersfield Town more than any other club in his career.
Team News – Huddersfield Town
The Terriers were without Tommy Elphick (knee), Álex Vallejo (quarantine), Naby Sarr (suspended), Danny Ward (hamstring) and Rarmani Edmonds-Green (hip) in their last outing.
PREDICTION
The Terriers lead the head to head records against Bristol City. Since their first meeting in 1911, Town have won 26 times, there have been 11 draws and the Robbins have won 22 times.
In the same fixture last season, Town were 2-1 winners. Before that win, they had not won against Bristol City since 2016.
Huddersfield Town are in better form coming into this game, as Bristol City have not won in their last five games. Confidence seems to be low for the Robbins, as they have been in a rut.
Town are coming into this game off the back of a great win away to Millwall and should be feeling very confident after that convincing victory.
However, I do see this being a close encounter with both teams eager to get a positive result. Town may be slight favourites to win this game, but something in the back of my mind is thinking that this game will end in a draw.
Therefore, I predict: