Huddersfield Town are primed for a busy end to 2023 with nine Championship matches to be played, starting with Southampton on Saturday. As assignments go, they don’t come much tougher than the Saints.
The players seem to have got to grips with Russell Martin’s possession-based football. Southampton entered the international break on the back of a hard-earned win over promotion rivals West Bromwich Albion. It was their third victory on the bounce and the result stretched Southampton’s unbeaten league run to eight matches.
With just over a third of the season gone, the Saints trail the automatic promotion places by nine points. Things are going in the right direction.
Southampton head to West Yorkshire with good selection problems to have. Poland international Jan Bednarek is pushing to start after serving a one-match suspension for collecting five bookings. Mason Holgate and Taylor Harwood-Bellis were paired together at the heart of their defence last time out. Will Martin hand Bednarek an immediate recall or resist the temptation to make a change to his back line?
It is also conceivable that Martin could freshen up his attack. Scottish striker Ross Stewart is fit again after recovering from an Achilles problem.
The former Sunderland man made his long-awaited Southampton debut as a late substitute against the Baggies. Martin hopes Stewart will give them an extra dimension in the final third
Leave a Reply