The Sky Blues travel to the John Smith’s Stadium to take on Huddersfield Town on Saturday afternoon. Here’s everything you need to know about our opponents.
Fact File
Name: Huddersfield Town
Founded: 1908
Stadium: John Smith’s Stadium (first opened 1994)
Capacity: 24,121
Nickname: The Terriers
Address: The John Smith’s Stadium, Stadium Way, Huddersfield, HD1 6PX
Pitch Size: 115 x 75 yards
The Opposition
Huddersfield are currently 20th in the Sky Bet Championship table, eight points clear of safety and one place below the Sky Blues in the table.
The Terriers top scorers are Frazier Campbell and Josh Koroma who have both scored seven goals this season whilst Isaac Mbenza has provided seven assists as well as chipping in with five goals.
The West Yorkshire club have won just three of their last 22 games since the turn of the year and have secured their place in the second tier next season.
Manager
Carlos Corberan was appointed Huddersfield head coach in July last year, relinquishing his role as Leeds United under-23’s manager to take up the post.
The 38-year-old began his managerial career in Cyprus and spent brief spells in charge of Doxa and Ermis Aradippou before becoming Leeds’s under-23 manager in June 2017.
He was promoted to first-team coach, alongside his existing role, following the arrival of Marcelo Bielsa at Elland Road, and led his under-23’s side to the PDL Northern League title, before becoming national PDL champions after beating Birmingham City on penalties in the final.
After helping Leeds win the Championship last season, ending the club’s 16-year exile from the top-flight, he was snapped up by Huddersfield to replace outgoing manager Danny Cowley after a disappointing season saw the Terriers finish just three points above the drop zone.
With Huddersfield, Corberan has managed 46 matches recording 12 wins, 11 draws and 23 defeats.
Last Six Games
Lost – Blackburn 5-2 Huddersfield (Sky Bet Championship)
Lost – Huddersfield 0-1 Barnsley (Sky Bet Championship)
Won – Nottingham Forest 0-2 Huddersfield (Sky Bet Championship)
Lost – Huddersfield 1-2 Bournemouth (Sky Bet Championship)
Drew – Huddersfield 0-0 Rotherham (Sky Bet Championship)
Lost – Norwich 7-0 Huddersfield (Sky Bet Championship)
Last Time We Met
The two sides last met in December last year when the Sky Blues were held to a goalless draw at St Andrew’s in a game of few chances.
Gus Hamer’s early shot flew over the crossbar before Ben Wilson made an excellent save low down to his left to keep out Isaac Mbenza’s strike.
From the resulting corner, City produced a blistering counter attack which ended with Callum O’Hare playing in Hamer whose powerful effort went inches over the crossbar from the edge of the penalty area.
The visitors should have taken the lead when Mbenza broke clean through on goal before moving the ball beyond Wilson and somehow finding the side netting with the goal at his mercy.
Hamer and Allen were both denied by Terriers keeper Ryan Schofield before the ball somehow stayed out when Fankaty Dabo squared for Max Biamou in the middle with the ball rolling across the goal line before being cleared to safety.
The Terriers almost snatched a winner through Alex Pritchard who was denied by another fine save from Wilson as both teams were forced to settle for a point.
Head-to-Head Record
Sky Blues Wins – 5
Draws – 3
Huddersfield Wins – 8
Club Connections
Chris Cattlin
Former Sky Blues legend Chris Cattlin began his career with Huddersfield before spending eight seasons with City.
The Lancashire born defender began his career with the Terriers where he made 61 appearances scoring one goal before joining the Sky Blues in 1968.
During his eight years at Highfield Road he was part of the side that beat Bayern Munich in the European Fairs Cup, making an impressive 217 appearances in a City shirt.
He departed for Brighton & Hove Albion in 1976 where he would spend the next three seasons, scoring one goal in 95 appearances, before later becoming manager of the South Coast club.
Robbie Simpson
Current Chelmsford City player-manager Robbie Simpson spent two seasons with the Sky Blues before making the switch to the Terriers.
Simpson began his career with Cambridge City where he made over 100 appearances before completing a move to Cambridge United, impressing in his only season with the U’s.
He signed for the Sky Blues in June 2007 and scored on his debut in the League Cup, going on to score seven goals in 71 appearances during his two seasons with the club.
The forward joined Huddersfield in June 2009 but struggled with injuries during his first season with the club and was loaned to Brentford before being sold to Oldham Athletic having made just 16 appearances for the Terriers.
After two seasons with the Latics he spent one season with Leyton Orient before returning to Cambridge United in June 2014.
He then spent two seasons with Exeter City before achieving promotion out of League Two with Milton Keynes Dons during his sole season with the club.
Simpson joined his current employers in August 2019 before being appointed interim manager the following January and taking permanent charge of the National League South side in March of last year.
Match Officials
Keith Stroud will be the man in the middle on Saturday afternoon, taking charge of his 36th game of the 2020/21 season.
He last refereed the Sky Blues in December last year when City were beaten 2-0 by Preston North End at Deepdale.
This will be Stroud’s 17th season as a Football League referee and he has officiated the Sky Blues on 16 previous occasions, with City winning three, drawing four and losing nine of those matches.
So far, Stroud has awarded 94 yellow cards and two red cards across 35 matches in the Sky Bet Championship, Sky Bet League One, Sky Bet League Two, Emirates FA Cup and Carabao Cup.
He will be assisted by Jonathan Hunt and Sam Lewis with Michael Salisbury acting as fourth official.
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