Following opening-day draws, Huddersfield Town and relegated Fulham meet at the John Smith's Stadium on Saturday, both seeking a first win of the Championship season.
While the Terriers took a point home from Derby last weekend, amid testing circumstances, Marco Silva's side began life back in the second tier with a disappointing draw against Middlesbrough.
Match preview
© Reuters
Having lost head coach Carlos Corberan and four members of their playing staff to COVID-19 infection not long before their Championship curtain-raiser, Huddersfield's start to the season appeared to be going from bad to worse when they fell behind to a Curtis Davies goal at crisis club Derby last week.
Only a quick-fire equaliser from Naby Sarr on the stroke of half-time denied Derby the win, as Town escaped from Pride Park with a point - to the relief of stand-in boss Danny Schofield.
The West Yorkshire outfit had previously enjoyed a positive kick-off to their 2021-22 campaign, when they overcame Sheffield Wednesday in a penalty shootout to make the second round of the EFL Cup - since being handed an attractive home tie with Everton later this month.
That success came as a relief for Corberan - who joined the Terriers from local rivals Leeds United after helping them gain promotion - following back-to-back friendly losses to end a virus-hit pre-season. However, COVID-related complications have continued to disrupt affairs in Kirklees, so an encounter with Fulham's expensively assembled squad is perhaps not ideally timed.
Huddersfield lost both home and away the last time the Cottagers were at this level - including a 2-1 home reverse almost exactly two years ago - and will be up against it to avoid a fourth successive defeat to them in all.
© Reuters
Still adapting to their new surroundings in the Championship, frustrated Fulham picked up only a solitary point to kick off their league campaign last weekend and will be eager to record their first win on Saturday.
After their demotion in the spring, Fulham endured an unedifying saga which eventually saw former manager Scott Parker make the switch to rivals Bournemouth, before ex-Hull boss Marco Silva stepped into the Craven Cottage hot-seat.
Securing the signings of former Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper Paulo Gazzaniga and Liverpool midfielder Harry Wilson proved a positive move for the Portuguese coach, and he led his side into an opening-day clash with Middlesbrough in expectation of a maximum-points haul. However, the London club were unable to make their dominance of the ball pay, as despite having two-thirds of possession, they failed to build on Wilson's 29th-minute opener and were ultimately forced to settle for a 1-1 draw.
Fulham's new Welsh winger signed a five-year deal with the club upon his arrival from Anfield last month and that debut goal will raise hopes among their fanbase that he can improve on a seven-goal tally while loaned to Cardiff last term.
Undoubtedly, his progress is set to be closely linked with the fortunes of Silva this season, as the jury remains out on the latter and wins from fixtures such as Saturday's are considered a requirement.
- D
- W
- L
- L
- D
- D
- D
- D
- L
- L
- D
- L
- W
- D
Team News
© Reuters
Huddersfield remain embroiled in uncertainty ahead of the game, as Lewis O'Brien, Lee Nicholls, Harry Toffolo and Josh Ruffels were all ruled out of the draw with Derby as they entered quarantine.
The quartet's return depends on providing a negative COVID-19 test and subsequently proving their fitness, so the hosts are unlikely to field their strongest XI.
Town handed Championship debuts to defenders Ollie Turton and Levi Colwill at Pride Park - and the pair could start again - while former Boreham Wood winger Sorba Thomas has impressed so far and should feature. Goalkeeper Ryan Schofield will start in the probable absence of Nicholls.
Marco Silva, meanwhile, has few such concerns to deal with, though Andre-Frank Anguissa was left out of Fulham's squad against Middlesbrough due to his desire to leave and will not be involved. The former Marseille midfielder is subject to interest from clubs across Europe and is not willing to play in the Championship.
It is expected that Silva will consider bringing in Bobby Decordova-Reid from the start, though, as the Jamaica international - who recently played in the Gold Cup for the Reggae Boyz - could provide support for star striker Aleksandar Mitrovic.
Huddersfield Town possible starting lineup:
Schofield; Sarr, Pearson, Colwill; Turton, High, Hogg, Holmes, Thomas; Ward, Rhodes
Fulham possible starting lineup:
Gazzaniga; Tete, Ream, Adarabioyo, Robinson; Reed, Onomah; Cordova-Reid, Carvalho, Wilson; Mitrovic
We say: Huddersfield Town 0-2 Fulham
Not only have Huddersfield seen their season already disrupted by infections, their form this calendar year makes them one of the candidates to be battling against the drop. In 2021, the Terriers have recorded just three league wins, and are not likely to add to that meagre tally on Saturday.
Fulham should dominate the ball, so must now focus on finding a more clinical edge - which their experienced forwards are more than capable of doing at this level.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Fulham win with a probability of 43.97%. A win for Huddersfield Town had a probability of 28.88% and a draw had a probability of 27.1%.
The most likely scoreline for a Fulham win was 0-1 with a probability of 12.2%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-2 (8.74%) and 0-2 (8.32%). The likeliest Huddersfield Town win was 1-0 (9.4%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.81%). The actual scoreline of 1-5 was predicted with a 0.4% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Fulham would win this match.
