Huddersfield Town
- Huddersfield Town have been solid at home recently, avoiding defeat in their last two league matches.
- The Terriers average 2.08 goals per game at the Accu Stadium, scoring 27 times in 13 home league matches.
- The Terriers have won one, drawn two and lost two of their last five matches, but they have avoided defeat in their two most recent outings on home turf and thrashed Rotherham United 3-0 in the EFL Trophy at this venue a few days ago.
- The home side’s new head coach, Liam Manning, has signalled a shift in tactics from previous boss Grant’s rather aggressive but inconsistent 3-5-2 to a more organised possession-based approach.
- He will try to get the ball down and play through the thirds in a structured build-up while looking to press the opposition intelligently by setting up in numbers.
Bradford City
- Bradford City have won four, drawn five and lost three of their 12 away league games this season.
- Alexander’s Bradford City are a very different beast, but will no doubt give it a good go with their 3-4-2-1 system designed to get the ball forward in vertical, high-tempo attacks.
- The only problem is that they are not in form at the moment, having won two, drawn one and lost two of their last five.
Head-to-Head
Bradford won 3-1 at home to Huddersfield earlier this League One season, so they have the bragging rights at the moment, but the odds on both teams to score at 1.7 make sense.
Key Players
- Leo Castledine is the main man for Huddersfield up front with ten goals in 23 League One appearances.
- Bradford City have several attacking threats, but Antoni Sarcevic leads from the front with seven goals in 23 and Jenson Metcalfe is in good form with two goals in his last five appearances.
Betting Insights
- The bookies are leaning towards the hosts, making Huddersfield slight favourites at 2.08 with Bradford and the draw both at 3.4.
- Given the odds on the game are all quite short, it seems best to swerve the match betting for this clash and take the Under 2.5 goals at 1.85 - a play that looks good given how tight the teams are expected to be with Manning’s new system and Alexander’s high-tempo approach likely to clash in midfield.
Prediction
The recent head-to-head record and both sides’ recent form suggest this game will be a tense one, but Huddersfield are strong at home and will have the new manager bounce on their side.
