PREVIEW: BRISTOL CITY (A)

25 January 2021

A look at Town’s Sky Bet Championship opponents

- Preview to Town’s match against Bristol City
- A look at Dean Holden’s key players
- Watch the game on iFollow HTAFC

Huddersfield Town travel to the Ashton Gate Stadium on Tuesday 26 January 2021 to take on Bristol City in the Sky Bet Championship; 7pm kick-off.

Carlos Corberan’s side will be looking to find their first win of 2021, coming into this match on a 1-0 defeat to Millwall at the John Smith’s Stadium on Wednesday 20 January 2021.

This is the second time the two Clubs have met this swason. Last time out the Terriers were beaten 2-1 at the John Smith’s Stadium. Josh Koroma opened the scoreboard in the first half, but Bristol City turned the game on its head in the second half to take all three points.

THE OPPOSITION

Bristol City currently sit 10th in the Sky Bet Championship table with 36 points from 24 games as they look to push towards Play-Off places.

Last season saw the Robins finish mid-table with Dean Holden stepping in as Caretaker Head Coach. This led to him being offered the permanent position as Head Coach following the conclusion of the season.

Dean Holden.jpg

Bristol City have won their last three home games, including their FA Cup Third Round tie against Portsmouth, so they will be looking to continue this run as they welcome the Terriers to the Ashton Gate Stadium.

FORM GUIDE

The Robins come into the match after being beaten 2-0 away at Norwich in the Sky Bet Championship. However, they were in FA Cup Fourth Round action on Saturday 23 January, boasting a 3-0 win away at Millwall.

Their home form so far this season has been impressive, seeing them take 20 points from a possible 36 at Ashton Gate. They’re currently three unbeaten at home and will be looking to extend their run.

ONES TO WATCH

Nahki Wells

The former Terrier signed for Bristol City in January 2020 from Premier League side Burnley after a season-and-a-half loan at Queens Park Rangers. Wells took the title of the top goal scorer for the Robins last season, scoring 15 goals in all competitions. The Bermuda international currently holds on to that title having scored six goals in 27 appearances across all competitions.

When the two Clubs last met in November 2020, Wells came close to scoring against his former teammates, but his shot hit the crossbar instead.

Nahki Wells.jpg

Antoine Semenyo

Having worked his way through the ranks at Bristol City, the 21-year-old made his professional debut on the final day of the 2017/18 season, coming on as a second-half substitute for Lloyd Kelly in a 3-2 loss to Sheffield United. Loan spells at Bath City, Newport County and Sunderland followed, but since returning to BS3 Semenyo’s become an integral part of the Robins’ squad.

This campaign has seen him make 28 appearances, net three goals and bag five assists across all competitions.

Antoine Semenyo.jpg

Chris Martin

Martin was announced as the second new signing for the Robins in September 2020 after departing from Derby County as a free agent. The 32-year-old arrived at Ashton Gate with plenty of attacking experience, having made 211 appearances for the Rams and scoring a total of 74 goals in his seven years there.

His first season with the Robins has seen the striker appear in every Sky Bet Championship fixture so far, scoring four goals and making five assists in the process.

Chris Martin.jpg

PREVIOUS ENCOUNTERS

Town have the better record against the Robins, winning 26 of the 60 encounters to Bristol City’s 23; the remaining 11 fixtures were played out as draws.

In their last meeting this season, Bristol City beat Town 2-1 on their travels to the John Smith’s Stadium.

ACTION ELSEWHERE

Tuesday evening’s meeting with the Robins is one of just five games in midweek fixtures this week; all games kick-off at 7pm.

Tuesday 26 January 2020

Bristol City vs Huddersfield Town
Millwall vs Watford

Wednesday 27 January 2020

Barnsley vs Cardiff City
Coventry City vs Sheffield Wednesday
Middlesbrough vs Rotherham United
Swansea City vs Brentford

TEAM NEWS

Carlos Corberán will provide an update on his side ahead of Tuesday’s game during his virtual press conference on Monday (26 January 2021).

KIT

Town will be wearing the yellow and purple kit at Ashton Gate – CLICK HERE to get yours!

HOW TO WATCH

Town supporters can watch Tuesday’s game against Bristol City on iFollow HTAFC!

Even though the match is taking place on Tuesday 26 January 2021, kicking off at 7pm, the EFL still considers this match to be a weekend fixture as it was originally meant to take place on Sunday 24 January 2021.

Unfortunately, the EFL’s decision means that Season Card holders will NOT be able to get free access to the game on iFollow HTAFC, as they usually would for an away midweek fixture.

That does, therefore, mean that all supporters will have to purchase a match pass on iFollow HTAFC to watch the game.

The match pass will cost £10; CLICK HERE to get yours.

Match Reports

REPORT: BRISTOL CITY 2-1 TOWN

26 January 2021

Despite a valiant second-half display, Huddersfield Town were beaten 2-1 by Bristol City in the Sky Bet Championship.

Two goals in the space of four first-half minutes from Famara Diédhiou had put the hosts two goals ahead before the break.

Juninho Bacuna pulled one back for the Terriers after the interval but even with a strong pursuit of a comeback, which included hitting the woodwork four times across the 90 minutes, Town came away from the encounter at Ashton Gate empty-handed.

Carlos Corberán made one change to the side that faced Millwall nearly a week earlier, with Isaac Mbenza coming into the Spaniard’s starting XI in place of the injured Danny Ward.

It meant that Pipa started on his 23rd birthday and Lewis O’Brien made the 100th league start of his career whilst new signing Sorba Thomas was included in Town’s match day squad for the first time, taking up the place vacated by Ward’s absence.

It was the Terriers who registered the first opportunity of the encounter. O’Brien, on his milestone outing, drove through the hosts’ defence before his low strike was well tipped onto the post by Robins ‘keeper Dan Bentley.

But after a sustained period of pressure at the other end, Bristol City got their reward for the better of the starts at Ashton Gate.

Alfie Mawson’s through ball was cleverly dummied into the path of Famara Diédhiou who kept his composure to go round Ryan Schofield and place the ball into an empty net.

The Senegalese forward had his, and the Robins’, second less than four minutes later. Having been found in behind by Kasey Palmer’s pass, Diédhiou’s strike across goal went in off the post to double the hosts’ lead on 26 minutes.

What followed in the period up until the half was a positive spell going forward for Town. Naby Sarr headed narrowly wide from a corner before another delivery in the moments leading up to half-time saw Álex Vallejo have a volley that had bounced up off the ground cleared off the line and onto the bar by Jack Hunt.

Just before the break, a neat exchange between Harry Toffolo and Pipa nearly saw the former get the Terriers back into the encounter.

Toffolo, donning the captain’s armband for Town again, drove a strike into the side netting after he was found by his full-back counterpart with a through ball into the centre of the box.

Town picked up in the second half where they had left off in the first with a flurry of early chances after the interval.

After O’Brien had a goal-bound strike blocked, Toffolo again hit the side-netting with another right-footed strike following a corner from the left.

The Terriers’ perseverance paid off shortly before the hour, however, as they found a way back into the game.

Mbenza backheeled Rolando Aarons’ ball across the goal into the path of Juninho Bacuna who found the net with his second goal of the campaign to make it 2-1 on 59 minutes.

Moments later, Fraizer Campbell nearly drew Town level. The forward connected with Toffolo’s drifted cross from the left, but his effort on the stretch went narrowly wide of the near post.

Corberán’s side couldn’t have gone closer to an equaliser shortly after the 70-minute mark. Having already hit the woodwork earlier in the evening, Vallejo ran onto a ball from the right and saw his curling effort from range cannon back off the crossbar.

As the clock ticked into the final five minutes of the encounter, Bacuna spectacularly attempted to get Town level with a half-volley from around 25 yards out that needed a good stop from Bentley between the sticks for the Robins to keep it out.

In stoppage time, a driven effort from Pipa deflected off Campbell and beat the keeper but flicked off the wrong side of the post and went behind for a goal-kick as Town went agonisingly close to an equaliser in the final moments.

The final whistle sounded soon after with the Terriers’ comeback efforts in vain at Ashton Gate, as the hosts held firm to claim all three points.

Next up for Town is a return to the John Smith’s Stadium to face Stoke City in the Sky Bet Championship on Saturday 30 January 2020; 3pm kick-off.

BRISTOL CITY (4-4-2)

Dan Bentley; Tommy Rowe (Jack Hunt, 41’), Alfie Mawson, Tomáš Kalas, Adrian Mariappa; Kasey Palmer (Taylor Moore, 80’), Tyreeq Bakinson, Zak Vyner, Antoine Semenyo; Nahki Wells (Ádám Nagy, 64’), Famara Diédhiou (Chris Martin, 64’)

Unused subs

Max O’Leary; James Morton, Sam Bell, Owura Edwards, Han-Noah Massengo

HUDDERSFIELD TOWN (4-3-3)

Ryan Schofield; Harry Toffolo (c), Naby Sarr, Richard Keogh, Pipa; Álex Vallejo (Alex Pritchard, 73’), Lewis O’Brien, Juninho Bacuna; Rolando Aarons (Kieran Phillips, 81’), Fraizer Campbell, Isaac Mbenza

Unused subs

Joel Pereira; Demeaco Duhaney, Sorba Thomas, Romoney Crichlow, Aaron Rowe, Pat Jones, Scott High

REFEREE

Steve Martin