Corrigendum: We apologise for the previous title
Huddersfield Town will face defending Premier League champions Manchester City today. The Terriers will seek to avoid another humiliation after being battered by a reinvigorated Chelsea in their opening fixture.
But, coach David Wagner is well aware of the problems the Sky Blues can create as it was evident in their convincing win over Arsenal last week. They completely outclassed the North London giants to register a 2:0 victory with Raheem Sterling playing a key role.
Here is the predicted Huddersfield eleven to feature against the Premier League champions.
Team News
Wagner will be facing a dilemma when it comes to team selection. New signing Ben Hamer could start again with Jonas Lossl not being deemed fit enough to play.
Zanka and Jonathan Hogg are also unlikely to start with both players struggling with injuries. Although Hogg requires a late fitness test in order to be considered for the playing eleven.
Additionally, the likes of Erik Durm, Danny Williams, Juninho Bacuna and Isaac Mbenza are also expected to feature in this week’s crunch encounter.
Defence
As mentioned earlier, Ben Hamer will be starting in between the sticks following the likely absence of first choice keeper Jonas Lossl.
Due to the potential absence of star defender Zanka, Wagner is expected to revert to a four-man backline with Christopher Schindler and Terence Kongolo being deployed as the central defenders. This will enable the duo of Florent Hadergjonaj and Chris Lowe to shift in deeper and operate as fullbacks.
Midfield
Aaron Mooy and Philip Billing will retain their places at the base of Huddersfield’s 4-2-3-1 formation. Billing, in particular, will look to take full advantage of this opportunity after providing an all-round performance against Chelsea last week.
Mooy, on the other hand, attempted seven tackles against the Blues with a success rate of 71%. He also attained a passing accuracy of 81%, meaning he is definitely set to be an important weapon against his former team.
Further up front, Alex Pritchard will be deployed as the number ten. The former Norwich City starlet was ineffective in the last game, providing zero key passes but could prove to be a vital creative outlet in this encounter.
Attack
Huddersfield’s attack will be led by Steve Mounie. His astounding aerial prowess was evident as he won a whopping 11 aerial duels against Chelsea last week. And thus, he will play a key role in pressurizing the Manchester City defenders. Mounie will be partnered by the wide-duo of Rajiv van La Parra and new signing Adama Diakhaby.
Stat courtesy: Whoscored
