Huddersfield Town will be looking to bounce back from their midweek defeat at Bristol City on Saturday when high flying Stoke City make the trip North to the John Smiths Stadium.

Another tough game promises to be on the horizon for Carlos Corberan's Terriers on Saturday as Stoke City have proven themselves to be a tough side to beat this season.

The visiting Potters will also be keen to make amends after their disappointing defeat at the hands of Watford last Friday.

Michael O'Neill will have been disappointed with the outcome of that game and will hope Saturday's encounter with The Terriers can see them return to winning ways.

Huddersfield currently sit 14th in the Championship table, while their opponents Stoke sit ninth on the outskirts of the play-off spots. Three points are much needed for both sides tomorrow as a win for the Terriers would end a miserable run that has seen them winless in the whole of January, whereas a win would for Stoke could potentially see them edge even closer to the top six.

Team news

Duane Holmes will be looking to make his second debut for the Terriers after resigning from Derby County at the start of the week, his presence in the midfield could be enough to sway the game in Huddersfield's favour tomorrow. 

Carlos Corberan will also be without defensive trio Christopher Schindler, Richard Stearman and Rarmarni Edmonds-Green who are still injured. While the Spanish head coach will also be without Danny Grant and Danny Ward respectively. 

Stoke boss Michael O'Neill will be without trio Morgan Fox, Lee Gregory and Tyrese Campbell.

Goalkeepers Angus Gunn and Adam Davies are back in contention with one of them perhaps getting the nod over Joe Bursik tomorrow.

Predicted lineups

Huddersfield Town (4-3-3):

Schofield; Pipa, Keogh, Sarr, Toffolo, Bacuna, Vallejo, O'Brien, Mbenza, Aarons, Campbell.

Stoke City (4-3-3)

Gunn, Collins, Souttar, Chester, Norrington-Davies, Allen, Obi Mikel, Cousins, Matondo, Fletcher, McClean.

Ones to watch

Juninho Bacuna - Huddersfield Town

Juninho Bacuna put in a mightily impressive display on Tuesday in spite of the Terriers’ defeat at Bristol City, and grabbed only his second goal of the season. Bacuna was one of the best midfielders in the Championship last season and was crucial in ensuring Huddersfield retained their Championship status, if Tuesday's result is the start of a purple patch of form from the Curacao international, you can expect another lively display from him tomorrow.

John Obi Mikel - Stoke City

At the other end, Nigerian John Obi Mikel will be just as important to this affair. Huddersfield Town midfielders have caught the eye in recent times producing some excellent displays in spite of their poor run of form. Former Chelsea man Obi Mikel will be crucial for Stoke tomorrow as he has the quality and experience to prevent the Huddersfield midfielders controlling the game.

Previous meetings

The last time these two sides met was back in November 2020 when Stoke edged past the Terriers 4-3 in a thoroughly entertaining game at the Bet365 stadium. Stoke have had the better of the other recent meeting between the sides and will hope to continue their impressive recent record against Huddersfield tomorrow.

Last time out...

 

How to watch

Due to the current situation the match will be played behind closed doors with Huddersfield and Stoke fans having two ways to watch the game tomorrow. The game is available on both teams iFollow platforms, with passes costing £10. The match is also live on Sky Sports Football.

The game kicks off at 15:00 BST on Saturday 30 January 2021.

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