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Huddersfield Town host Southampton at John Smith’s Stadium. Join The Roar for live scores and a blog of the match, starting from 12am AEST.
Huddersfield will be looking to add to the impressive start they have made to life in the EPL, meanwhile Southampton will be looking to bounce back from a mid-week cup exit to Wolves.
The last time these two sides met in a top-flight fixture was back in December 1971, a season where Huddersfield finished bottom of the old first division.
Many pundits and critics alike have also tipped the Terriers to finish where they ended up at the end of the 71-72 season.
However Dave Wagner’s men obviously have different ideas as they went about proving the doubters wrong so far with two wins from two in their blistering start to life in the EPL.
It’s been a remarkable journey so far for the Yorkshire club considering one year ago they were also tipped for the drop from the Championship.
The Huddersfield manager has worked wonders and installed a real team ethos into his squad which has been evident in their first two games.
They have showed real discipline and hunger which helped them knock Palace over in the opening day and back it up with last week’s win over Newcastle.
It shows that you don’t necessarily have to break the bank to compete and by creating a real team culture in the dressing room Wagner has driven his club onto the recent success they have enjoyed.
One man who has been pivotal during this journey has been Australian Aaron Mooy. He has taken the opening two games of the season by storm and is making the English media and fans stand up and take notice of his talents.
Those of us that have watched Mooy during his time in the A-League shouldn’t be surprised by the level he is currently showing in the EPL.
He has always had outstanding ability but the difference is now he is surrounded by better players, pitches and stadiums which is contributing to his talent shining even more.
His goal last week was all class, the clever reverse pass, losing his man and then the composure to put the ball in the top corner proves he belongs on the biggest stage.
Huddersfield will be looking to Mooy again today to provide the spark in midfield to help them claim a third win in a row.
Southampton, on the other hand, will be looking to bounce back from a midweek cup upset when they lost to Wolves in the Carabao Cup.
They have also made a decent start to the campaign under new manager Mauricio Pellegrino. The Argentinian will be happy with 4 points from 6, especially after last week’s game when they nearly threw away a two-goal lead at home to West Ham, only to come away with the three points after a controversial penalty awarded to them in the 90th minute was tucked away by Charlie Austin.
They will once again be without the services of wantaway centre back Virgil van Dijk but could include Dutch defender Wesley Hoedt for his debut after paying 15 million pounds to Lazio for the 23 year old.
It will be interesting to see how Southampton fare this season as they were extremely goal shy towards the back end of last season’s campaign.
They will be looking to Dusan Tadic to create once again, the Serbian has now made over 100 appearances in the Premier league and has been involved in 39 goals (15 goals, 24 assists).
I get the feeling if you offered the Saints another top ten finish this year they would snap your hand off.
Fun Facts
Huddersfield haven’t won their opening three league games of a season since the 1979-80 campaign.
Southampton have failed to score in seven of their last 10 Premier League games, scoring just seven goals from 138 shots in these matches (5.1 per cent).
One to watch
It has to be Aaron Mooy. Hopefully he can continue his form and carry it into the International break for the Socceroos.
It will be interesting to see how he deals with team’s man marking him but with the football brain he possesses he is more than capable of running the show.
Prediction
I feel this will be a very tight encounter with Huddersfield just edging it. They haven’t conceded yet in the EPL but that bubble will burst today and Southampton will cause them problems, but with home advantage and the confidence of 2 wins under their belt they will come away with the 3 points.
Huddersfield 2, Southampton 1
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