Opposition Lowdown: Mark Fotheringham’s Huddersfield Town

Form

Huddersfield finished the 2021/22 season in third place in the Championship, only six points off second position. They made it to the playoff final after beating Luton Town over two legs in the semi-finals, but lost 0-1 to Nottingham Forest, who secured a return to the Premier League after 23 years away from the top flight.

The Terriers have had a very disappointing start to the season, currently sitting in 23^rd place in the league, having picked up two wins, one draw and six losses so far. Their two victories have both come at home, beating Stoke City and Cardiff City, but they have really struggled on the road, losing all three of their away games.

Huddersfield claimed a double over Reading last season, beating the Royals 4-0 at the John Smith’s Stadium in August and taking the spoils in a 3-4 thriller at the Madejski in January.

The boss

Mark Fotheringham: Huddersfield appointed Mark Fotheringham as head coach this Wednesday, having sacked Danny Schofield in mid-September following only one win in his first nine games in charge of Town. Schofield had only been in the role for two months, having been promoted from the coaching staff following Carlos Coberan’s resignation in the summer.

Photo by William Early/Getty Images

Fotheringham joins from German side Hertha Berlin where he was assistant manager to Felix Magath for the last six months. This will be his first role as a head coach, having also served as an assistant manager at Karlsruhe, Cowdenbeath and FC Ingolstadt. The 38-year-old Scotsman believes in an “aggressive, intense, front-foot style of play”, so it will be interesting to see how his side fare in his first fixture as a manager.

Squad

Two of the highest-profile departures from Huddersfield this summer were midfielder Lewis O’Brien and left back Harry Toffolo, who joined newly promoted Nottingham Forest for a combined fee of £10m. Right back Pipa also left Yorkshire to join Greek side Olympiakos, whereas goalkeeper Jamal Blackman, defender Naby Sarr and midfielders Carel Eiting, Alex Vallejo and Reece Brown all departed on free transfers.

The Terriers spent transfer fees on midfielder Jack Rudoni from AFC Wimbledon, forward Tyreece Simpson from Ipswich Town and defender Michael Helik from Barnsley. They have also signed defenders Will Boyle and Yuka Nakayama, midfielder David Kasumu and winger Connor Mahoney on free transfers. Defenders Luke Mbete (Man City) and Kaine Kesler-Hayden (Aston Villa) and midfielder Tino Anjorin (Chelsea) have all joined on loan from Premier League sides.

New signing Tyreece Simpson is the only injury concern for Huddersfield, with the striker due to miss out as he recovers from a knee injury.

Expected line-up

Nicholls, Turton, Lees, Helik, Nakayama, Kasumu, Camara, Anjorin, Thomas, Ward, Rhodes

Key player

Danny Ward: Striker Ward returned to Huddersfield for a second spell at the club in August 2020 following his release from Cardiff City, having previously been with the Terriers between 2010 and 2015. The 31-year-old forward was Town’s top scorer last season, scoring 14 goals, including a hat trick in Town’s 3-4 win at the Madejski in January.

Ward started his career at Bolton Wanderers but has also played for Swindon Town, Coventry City, Rotherham United and Cardiff throughout his career and has 16 Premier League appearances to his name (with Bolton and Cardiff). Ward is a strong finisher with both his feet and his head, and has two goals to his name so far this season.

One to watch

Sorba Thomas: Attacking midfielder Thomas signed for Huddersfield in January 2021 from Boreham Wood. He had been at the non-league side since the age of 16 after joining from West Ham United’s academy. Thomas made his Huddersfield debut in February 2021 and scored his first goal for the club in the Terriers’ 4-0 win against Reading last season.

The 23-year-old is a full Wales international who was handed his debut in October last year and has since gone on to earn six caps. The exciting winger possesses strong dribbling skills and likes to whip crosses into the box.