MX23RW : Monday, April 29 14:49:38| >> :120:80596:80596:
[monks data]
Attendance: 23,805
Huddersfield logo
Championship | Gameweek 20
Dec 7, 2019 at 12.30pm UK
 
Leeds logo

0-2

FT(HT: 0-0)
Alioski (50'), Hernandez (78')

Preview: Huddersfield Town vs. Leeds United - prediction, team news, lineups

Sports Mole previews Huddersfield Town's meeting with Leeds United in the Championship, including a prediction, team news and predicted lineups.

Leeds United will be expected to put in a dominant performance against a struggling Huddersfield Town team when two Yorkshire sides meet at Kirklees Stadium in the Championship on Saturday.

Marcelo Bielsa's side are once again pushing hard for promotion to the Premier League, while Huddersfield, following relegation from the top division last season, are languishing in 19th place.


Match preview

Huddersfield Town's Karlan Grant celebrates scoring in October 2019© Reuters

Following such a dismal second campaign in the top flight last season, it is no surprise to see Huddersfield in a state of free fall in the Championship.

Despite all the excellent work done by David Wagner to take Huddersfield into the Premier League, an overall lack of foresight has culminated in things going wrong quite quickly.

With players such as Aaron Mooy, Jonas Lossl, Laurent Depoitre, Rajiv van La Parra, Erik Durm and Philip Billing all leaving over the summer, Huddersfield's essential core has vanished, leaving in its place a less stable set of options.

For a while, though, it looked as if Huddersfield could challenge for a return to the Premier League after manager Danny Cowley, appointed in September, went eight games without a defeat, only for results to very rapidly deteriorate.

Such a wild oscillation between two extremes highlights how Huddersfield, following its venture into the top division, now needs a new base from which to build a new crop of players.

Patrick Bamford celebrates scoring for Leeds United on November 9, 2019© Reuters

At Leeds, on the other hand, not much has changed from last season, with Bielsa's men two points behind leaders West Bromwich Albion after 16 games.

Under the tutelage of the meticulous Bielsa, it seemed inevitable that the fluid, punctilious football on display would guide Leeds to the Premier League for the first time in over a decade last season.

Somehow, though, the Yorkshire club blew their lines when the decisive part of the 2018-19 campaign approached, missing out on an automatic promotion spot and then missing out through the playoffs following defeat to Derby County.

Once again, Bielsa's men are the pacesetters this season along with West Brom, winning their last five games in a row and continuing to produce a dynamic brand of football that looks somewhat out of step with Championship convention.

While they will be expected to stroll past Huddersfield this weekend, the real challenge for Leeds comes through whether they can maintain this level right up until May.

Recent Huddersfield Town form: WWLDDL
Recent Leeds United form: DWWWWW


Team News

Huddersfield manager Danny Cowley watches the action on October 19, 2019© Reuters

Danny Simpson and Jaden Brown both have outside chances of returning for Huddersfield on Saturday.

However, it remains to be seen as to when Collin Quaner and Fraizer Campbell will recover from respective hip and leg injuries.

Tommy Elphick is out for the season with a knee ligament injury, while Trevoh Chalobah misses out after receiving a red card against Swansea City.

Leeds have no injury concerns ahead of this game, although Kalvin Phillips will miss out through suspension having picked up a certain number of yellow cards in recent weeks.

Huddersfield Town possible starting lineup:
Grabara; Hadergjonaj, Schindler, Kongolo, O'Brien; Kachunga, Stankovic, Hogg, Ahearne-Grant; Bacuna, Koroma

Leeds United possible starting lineup:
Castilla; Ayling, White, Cooper; Dallas, Berardi, Klich; Costa, Hernandez, Harrison; Bamford


Sports Mole Logo

We say: Huddersfield Town 1-3 Leeds United

Huddersfield feel like a team in a state of deep uncertainty, meaning that predicting what performance they will produce is difficult.

Leeds, on the other hand, are motoring forward under Bielsa, and should be able to comfortably claim all three points if they play with their usual cut and thrust this weekend.



ID:381793: cacheID:381793:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:8438:No Data Analysis info

Previews by email

Click here to get Sports Mole's daily email of previews and predictions for every major game!


Restore Data
Share this article now:
Bristol City manager Lee Johnson pictured on September 28, 2019
Read Next:
Bristol City manager Lee Johnson: "We were absolutely brilliant"
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
2Leeds UnitedLeeds45279980413990
3Ipswich TownIpswich442612688563290
4Southampton452591185622384
5Norwich CityNorwich4521101479631673
6West Bromwich AlbionWest Brom4520121367472072
7Hull City451913136859970
8Middlesbrough45199176861766
9Coventry CityCoventry4417131468551364
10Preston North EndPreston44189175661-563
11Bristol City451711175347662
12Cardiff CityCardiff45195215165-1462
13Swansea CitySwansea451512185964-557
14Watford451317156058256
15Sunderland45168215252056
16Millwall451511194455-1156
17Queens Park RangersQPR451411204557-1253
18Stoke CityStoke451411204560-1553
19Blackburn RoversBlackburn451311215874-1650
20Sheffield WednesdaySheff Weds45148234268-2650
21Plymouth ArgylePlymouth451212215870-1248
22Birmingham CityBirmingham451211224965-1647
23Huddersfield TownHuddersfield45918184875-2745
RRotherham UnitedRotherham45412293287-5524


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!