A look ahead to Huddersfield Town’s next Sky Bet Championship opponent.
- Huddersfield Town vs Stoke City
- Town host Stoke on Wednesday 20 September 2023
- Full preview of what to expect from the Potters
We’re back at the John Smith’s Stadium for the second time this week, when we take on Stoke City in the Sky Bet Championship.
Town achieved back-to-back wins on Saturday against Rotherham United after our first win of the season before the international break against West Brom and will be hoping this momentum continues as we go into the game on Wednesday.
The fixture against the Potters will be the final one with Manager Neil Warnock at the helm, as announced on Monday.
THE OPPOSITION
Currently sat in 19th place in the Sky Bet Championship after having won two and lost four of their opening six games, the Potters will be looking to improve this form and their 16th place finish last season.
Despite starting the season with a confident 4-1 win over Rotherham United, the Potters won their last league game against Watford on Saturday 19 August. This puts them on six points, just one point below Town, as we head into the game on Wednesday evening.
There has been a change in the squad over the summer, with 13 players joining the team, with the likes of Mark Travers, a goalkeeper from Bournemouth, joining on loan alongside former loanee Ben Pearson (pictured below).
Also joining the Potters on loan were Chiquinho from Wolves and Luke McNally from Burnley.
On the flip side, Tom Edwards moved on loan to Town over the summer - he'll be ineligible to face his parent club on Wednesday night - whilst goal scorer Jacob Brown transferred to new Premier League side Luton Town.
MANAGER
Alex Neil was appointed Manager of Stoke City in August 2022, following the dismissal of Michael O’Neill, who had managed the club since November 2019.
Neil earned his move to Stoke City after guiding Sunderland back to the Sky Bet Championship. The former Barnsley player had joined Sunderland in February 2022 and had successfully got them promoted back to the second tier in May.
LAST TIME OUT
Stoke City fell short against Norwich City at the weekend as they were defeated 1-0 away from home by the promotion hopefuls.
Norwich’s summer signing, Jack Stacey, found the net late into the first half and secured their win at home, despite Stoke’s attempts to equalise towards the end of the game.
FORMATION
Fluid between a 4-2-3-1 and a 3-5-2 formation, Stoke City have won a game with both of these formations this season, however, in their recent defeat to Norwich City, they changed to a 4-1-4-1 formation.
Stoke City’s line-up (4-1-4-1):
Mark Travers; Mehdi Léris (Junior Tchamadeu, 74’), Michael Rose, Ben Wilmot, Lynden Gooch; Ben Pearson; Tyrese Campbell, Josh Laurent, Wouter Burger (Dwight Gayle, 88’), Bae Junho (Sead Hakšabanović, 61’); Wesley (Daniel Johnson, 61’)
WHO TO WATCH
Mark Travers
The 24-year-old joined on loan from Premier League side AFC Bournemouth in the summer and has quickly established himself as the number one this season.
Standing at 6' 3" tall, the Republic of Ireland international built his senior minutes through early loan spells at Weymouth and Swindon Town before replacing Asmir Begovic as the Cherries' number one. He's subsequently made over 60 appearances for his parent club before this loan to the Midlands.
Ben Wilmot
The 23-year-old defender already has a lot of experience, having played for Stevenage and Watford, with loan spells at Udinese and Swansea City, before he made the move to Stoke City in the summer of 2021.
Multiple clubs were interested in Wilmot at the time as he had just played a vital role in securing Watford automatic promotion back to the Premier League.
Last season, Wilmot was voted as Stoke’s Player of the Year after he made 41 appearances and scored three goals as the Potters escaped a relegation battle and finished 16th.
Tyrese Campbell
Campbell came through the ranks at Stoke City and signed his first professional contract with the Potters in 2018 and made his debut against Leicester City in the Premier League in February 2018.
In order to gain more experience, Tyrese went on a loan spell to Shrewsbury Town for the second half of the 2018/19 season, where he scored five goals in 15 appearances.
Whilst at Stoke, the 23-year-old has scored over 25 goals in over 125 appearances.
TOWN TEAM NEWS
Neil Warnock provided a full insight into his squad availability in his final press conference as Town Manager on Monday 18 September 2023.
Check out what he had to say below via HTTV and HTAFC Sounds.
KIT
Town will wear their blue and white stripes for the game on Wednesday evening!
CLICK HERE to get your replica home kit via shop.htafc.com now!
TICKET NEWS
CLICK HERE to get your ticket for Wednesday’s Sky Bet Championship fixture against Stoke City now!
iFOLLOW HTAFC
If you’re unable to attend the game on Wednesday evening, you can watch and listen along via iFollow HTAFC!
A single match pass for the games is just £10, and supporters will be able to stream the full 90 minutes of action for that price.
Town fans will also be able to listen to Wednesday’s game through our live audio commentary by purchasing either a Monthly or an Audio Match Pass to tune in live. You can purchase a Monthly Pass for £4.49 or an audio Match Pass for £2.50.
CLICK HERE to sign up to iFollow HTAFC!
