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Huddersfield Town
Sheffield WednesdayA Yorkshire Derby at the top of League One. That is what we have got this Saturday, and honestly, it does not get much better than this at the third tier level. Huddersfield Town sit third and are on a genuine roll under Martin Drury, while Sheffield Wednesday are breathing right down their necks just a point behind and with a game in hand still in the bank. The gap at the top is razor thin, the stakes are enormous, and these two clubs absolutely cannot stand each other. Whatever your weekend plans are, clear the 3pm slot.
Drury has quietly done an impressive job since taking the Terriers hotseat, steadying a club that has stumbled through back to back mid table finishes and injecting some real belief into a squad that looked like it was drifting. Meanwhile Henrik Pedersen has Sheffield Wednesday firing on all cylinders despite everything that club has been through in recent years. Two teams, one prize at the top of the table, and a ground that will be absolutely rocking. This one matters.
This Yorkshire Derby takes place at the Accu Stadium in Huddersfield, with both sides locked in a genuinely competitive battle at the summit of the League One table. The fixture carries serious promotion weight, with the hosts in third and Wednesday sitting just behind them with games in hand, meaning every point between now and May could prove decisive in who finishes in the automatic spots.
Huddersfield are carrying a fairly significant injury list, though Drury has enough quality available to put out a strong side. The bigger decisions are about selection rather than desperation.
Sheffield Wednesday have their own lengthy absentee list, though Pedersen has managed to get results regardless.
Drury looks set to name a very similar side to the one that won 3-1 at Burton Albion, with the main question being whether Taylor comes straight back into the starting eleven after his international commitments. Given his five goals from seven league games, it would be a brave call to leave him out, and the likelihood is he slots in alongside either Bojan Radulovic or Fletcher up front. Archie Collins and Cameron Humphreys will again anchor the midfield given the number of absentees in that area.
Huddersfield: Young; Bronkhorst, Balker, Wallace, Bowat; Sanches Fernandes, Collins, Humphreys, Mumba; Fletcher, Taylor
Pedersen meanwhile is expected to stick with Ricardo Santos and Liam Cooper as his central defensive pairing, a combination that has already kept two clean sheets in league football. Callum Slattery provides the creative spark in behind the striker, with Bannan pulling the strings deeper. Wednesday look well organised and difficult to break down.
Sheffield Wednesday: Lumley; Valery, Santos, Cooper, James; Bannan, Mitchell; Keillor-Dunn, Slattery, Morrison; Lowe
Huddersfield come into this in strong nick. Four wins from eight league games, 14 goals scored and only seven conceded, and after suffering that one blip against Bromley they have bounced back emphatically. The 3-1 win at Burton Albion was a professional job, Sanches Fernandes getting them off the mark, Mumba doubling the lead before the break, and Fletcher putting it to bed after the hour. Then midweek brought a 5-0 hammering of Rochdale in the EFL Trophy which will have done confidence no harm at all. There is genuine momentum here and Drury has his side playing with a clear identity.
Sheffield Wednesday have been quietly excellent. Fourteen points from seven league games, 13 goals scored and only six conceded. Only one side in the division have a better defensive record than Pedersen’s outfit right now. The one concern you might flag is those two consecutive goalless draws before the international break, against Wigan and Stockport at Hillsborough. That slight dip in attacking output is worth noting, though both were decent opponents and 0-0 on your own patch is hardly a disaster when you are building a promotion push. Their EFL Trophy form has kept them ticking over with wins against Salford City and Sunderland Under 21s.
What is clear is that both sides know how to defend, both can hurt you going forward, and neither has been consistently leaky. The form guide does not scream goals galore. It actually screams a tight, nervy, contested Yorkshire Derby where the margins will be small.
These two clubs have a long and often feisty history in Yorkshire football, and meetings between them at this level tend to be competitive, physical affairs with neither side willing to give an inch. Huddersfield’s home record in this fixture has generally been solid, with the Terriers making the Accu Stadium a tough place to visit for Wednesday over the years. Expect the crowd to play its part in creating an atmosphere that gets under the skin of the away side from the first whistle.
Recent encounters between the two have not tended to be goal fests. These clubs know each other well, the managers will have done their homework, and the tactical caution that comes with a genuine six pointer at the top of the table tends to produce cagey football rather than open exchanges. History supports the view that this will be close.
This is a match where I am not chasing big returns from a wild swing. Both defences are organised and well drilled, both managers will set up with an awareness of what is at stake, and the form guide points strongly to a tight encounter. My angles here are built around that reality rather than against it.
I am going with yes on BTTS, but not with huge conviction. Huddersfield carry a real goal threat and Taylor being fit and fresh from international duty is a boost. Wednesday have creativity through Slattery and Bannan and they have scored in the majority of their league games. Both defences are good but neither is impenetrable, and in a Yorkshire Derby with the crowd cranked up, I would expect at least one opening on each side to be taken.
Under 2.5 goals is where I am landing. Two well organised sides, two managers who will not want to get turned over in a derby of this magnitude, and a pattern of tight, low scoring games in the head to head record. This feels like a 1-1 or 1-0 type of fixture rather than one that opens up into a free flowing thriller.
Yorkshire derbies at this level are physical and competitive, and players on both sides will be fired up from the first whistle. I would not be surprised to see five or more bookings across the ninety minutes. The intensity of a promotion six pointer between two clubs with genuine rivalry tends to produce robust tackling and flashpoints, particularly in midfield where both sides have combative characters. Over on cards looks a reasonable shout.
With both sides set up solidly defensively and the likely outcome being a tight game where teams probe without overcommitting, I would lean towards the over on corners. Teams that struggle to break each other down tend to generate a lot of set piece situations as they look for a way through, and both Huddersfield and Wednesday will be getting bodies into the box at every opportunity in a match this important. Over 9 corners looks decent value.
Joe Taylor is the pick here. Five league goals in seven games, back fresh from representing his country, and playing at home in front of a crowd that will be desperate to see Huddersfield go top. He has the movement and the finishing instinct to punish a Wednesday defence that, despite its excellent record, has not faced a striker quite this hot recently. If Huddersfield score first, the smart money is on Taylor being the man who opens the account.
I am going with 1-1. It reflects the quality of both defences, the likely caution both managers will show given how much is at stake, and the historical tendency for this fixture to be close. A draw also keeps both sides ticking along nicely in the table without seriously damaging either promotion campaign, which feels like a realistic outcome when two top three sides meet this early in the season.
| Market | Selection |
|---|---|
| Both Teams To Score | Yes |
| Under 2.5 Goals | Under 2.5 |
| First Goalscorer | Joe Taylor |
A 1-1 scoreline with Taylor breaking the deadlock fits all three of these selections neatly and reflects exactly the kind of tight, competitive Yorkshire Derby that the form and context of this fixture points towards.
Huddersfield Town 1-1 Sheffield Wednesday. This is a game between two of the best organised sides in League One right now, managed by two men who will approach it with real tactical discipline. Drury has his Terriers playing with confidence and cohesion, Taylor is in brilliant nick, and the home crowd will be a factor. But Wednesday are no pushovers. Pedersen has built something genuinely solid and their defensive numbers are exceptional for this level.
A point each feels like a fair reflection of where both clubs are. Neither will be devastated by a draw, both can take pride in their performance in what promises to be a proper, full blooded Yorkshire Derby. Huddersfield stay in the top three, Wednesday keep their game in hand, and the promotion race in League One stays as tight and compelling as ever. That suits me just fine.