Simon Grayson takes charge of his first Huddersfield Town match today and the visitors are Exeter City.
Many are expecting the Terriers to get off to a winning start under Grayson, especially with Exeter’s away form and league positioning not being the best.
However be warned that Exeter have picked up points recently, having beaten Sheffield Wednesday and Bury recently at Home – they have shown that they do have the quality.
They have however suffered successive defeats on the road to Notts County and Bournemouth but gained a credible draw at Oldham and won at Chesterfield.
Exeter come into the game in 19th position and just 2 points above the drop zone also having played a game more than most down at the wrong end of the table.
Huddersfield on the other hand are sitting comfortably in the play-off spots and with a new manager at the helm have set their sights firmly on catching the top two.
That gap currently stands at 7 points but with 16 games to go and the two Sheffield’s facing each other today it is still an achievable feat.
Tommy Miller & Skipper Peter Clarke are the only injury concerns as both are recovering from double hernia operations.
Simon Grayson has stated that everyone will have the chance to stake a claim and even Joey Gudjonnson ‘Has impressed in training’
We will are look forward in anticipation at today’s line-up and formation.
Vital Quotes: Simon Grayson
‘We will be fair to all the players within the squad,’
‘We will give them one or two weeks time to prove themselves. We have got a very busy schedule coming up so we are going to need as many bodies around as possible. We won’t be doing anything immediately in terms of players coming in or going out – it is a vital part of the season and I think it is best to keep around as many players as possible.’
‘As I said on the first day I arrived, there isn’t a great deal to change around in terms of personnel. We will bring a couple of different ideas to the training field and on a match day to try and get the most out of the players. There is a great team spirit within the squad; we have a group of players who have enough quality to achieve the aim of promotion.’
‘It will be difficult to make too many changes, but again we will see how things go. There are one of two players who have been out of the picture and this is a fresh opportunity for them. The players have shown a good attitude and produced good quality in everything we have asked them to do this week. We will put together a team that we believe is good enough to win at the weekend and that is why it is difficult to make changes, because there hasn’t been much wrong with the team that has been playing recently.
‘It is about winning football matches. It would be great to kick things off on Saturday at home with three points. We want to put on a good performance for our fans and for them to create a positive atmosphere and environment. If you look at the results this season we have probably had too many draws at home, but the away form has been superb. Hopefully we can start things off in a positive manner.’
Huddersfield Town Team News:
Peter Clarke & Tommy Miller out after both had Double Hernia Surgery.
Joey Gudjonsson could be in contention after impressing in training.
Oscar Gobern is expected to have recovered from a bang to the head that saw him substituted at Half-Time vs Sheffield United
There are no other injury concerns as all of the squad press for a place in Grayson’s first team selection.
Player to watch: Jordan Rhodes
He is bound to be number one on the team sheet – the hot-shot will be looking to get back on the goal-scoring trail today
Exeter City Team News:
Steve Tully is an injury doubt (broken Hand)
Fellow defender Richard Duffy is also a doubt
David Noble and Jake Taylor have both shaken off injuries and could feature.
Liam Sercombe, will play through the pain barrier and Billy Jones is also expected to continue at left-back
Player to watch: Daniel Nardiello
Top-scorer with 9 goals this season.
The former Barnsley man will be looking to get amongst the goals today
Match Facts & Stats
Last Meeting: npower League 1.
Saturday 15 October 2011.
Exeter City 0 Huddersfield Town 4
Alan Lee 8; Jordan Rhodes 26, 65, 89)
Match Prediction:
Huddersfield Town 5-1 Exeter City.
Next Fixtures: Huddersfield Town
Tue 28 Feb – Stevenage (A) 19:45
Sat 03 Mar – Bury (A) 15:00
Tue 06 Mar – Hartlepool (H) 19:45
Sat 10 Mar – Rochdale (H) 15:00
Sat 17 Mar – Colchester (A) 15:00
Tue 20 Mar – Chesterfield (A) 19:45
Sat 24 Mar – Charlton (H) 15:00
Tue 27 Mar – Stevenage (A) 19:45
Sat 31 Mar – Carlisle (A) 15:00
