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
Alan Kearney
Roar Guru
Full time report It finished in a scoreless draw between Huddersfield and Southampton and while the scoreline suggests it was a snore fest this certainly wasn't the case. The game was played at a frantic pace in the opening 45 minutes. Both teams were pressing with high intensity leading to a number of turnovers in midfield.Once the game settled down the terriers got most of their joy from wide positions slinging numerous crosses into the box but to Southampton's credit they put in some crucial blocks to keep the home side at bay. The hosts were lively with Ince, Mounie and Mooy impressing helping to create some decent opportunities that they couldn't put away. However Southampton had the best chance of the first half when Redmond was put through on goal by Davies only to curl the ball around the keeper and past the post. Davies and Tadic were showing glimpses of class to keep Huddersfield on their toes but in the end both teams cancelled each other out going in at the break. The Saints started the second half the better side and were moving the ball nicely keeping possession but they never really troubled Lossl in goal for Huddersfield. As expected when games are played at such a high tempo it entered a lull in the second half until the 70th minute. It wasn't until the introduction of a number of substitutes were made that it got going again with Long for Southampton and Palmer for huddersfield making a real difference when coming on. The last 20 minutes were end to end with Huddersfield putting balls in the box, but again the best chance of the second half fell to Southampton. Long, who was stretching the defence got played in behind and stood the ball up to the back post for Bertrand to nod home but unfortunately for him Huddersfield had a man on the line to clear the ball away from danger. All in all a good game to watch with a draw being the fair result. Both managers will be happy with the starts they have made to the season with both undefeated after 3 games which isn't an easy feat in the EPL. Hope you enjoyed the coverage of the game tonight!! Kearns
Alan Kearney
Roar Guru
93'Romelu heads wide from the free kick and the Ref blows the whistle to end this highly entertaining battle which ends in a stalemate. Huddersfield 0 Southhampton 0
Alan Kearney
Roar Guru
92'Free kick from outside the box for Southampton. Huddersfield 0 Southhampton 0
Alan Kearney
Roar Guru
Chance Southampton! 90'Big chance again for Southampton, great ball by Long who stands the ball up and Bertrand should score from yards out with a header. Huddersfield 0 Southhampton 0
Alan Kearney
Roar Guru
88' Looks like this one is starting to wind down, both teams dropping the pace.2 minutes on the clock. Huddersfield 0 Southhampton 0
Alan Kearney
Roar Guru
Chance Southampton! 86' davies pulling then strings at the minute in midfield, Long should of scored from 5 yards, lucky for him he was offside. Huddersfield 0 Southhampton 0
Alan Kearney
Roar Guru
Chance Southampton! 83'Long cuts it back to Redmond and he shoots straight at the keeper, that was a good chance and he had more time than he thought. Saints looking dangerous on the counter. Huddersfield 0 Southhampton 0
Alan Kearney
Roar Guru
81' Great ball by Long to Ward Prowse who looks like he is in one on one and once he tries to cut back inside the defender it looks like he slips and the chance slips away with him, Huddersfield then counter with Mounie shooting at the keeper. End to End- NBA Huddersfield 0 Southhampton 0
Alan Kearney
Roar Guru
79'summed up by Jorgensen booting one into the stand. HAVE ITTTT!! Huddersfield 0 Southhampton 0
Alan Kearney
Roar Guru
78' Sloppy play from both teams at present, lots of turnovers, hot spuds everywhere. Huddersfield 0 Southhampton 0
Alan Kearney
Roar Guru
76' Well the John Smith stadium sounds lively, 15 left on the clock and they are still singing. Huddersfield 0 Southhampton 0
Alan Kearney
Roar Guru
74' Strike from Ince which took a deflection on route to goal. Huddersfield 0 Southhampton 0
Alan Kearney
Roar Guru
72' The home side are looking to finish the game strong are are putting Southampton under pressure again. Good use of the ball and their intensity has picked up. Huddersfield 0 Southhampton 0
Alan Kearney
Roar Guru
70' Palmer has looked lively since coming on, has made a real difference, free kick to huddersfield, Mooy standing over it. Huddersfield 0 Southhampton 0
Alan Kearney
Roar Guru
69' Long shows his pace and then his rust , silly foul giving away after a heavy touch. Huddersfield 0 Southhampton 0
Alan Kearney
Roar Guru
65' 2 corners in a row for Southampton,this game could go either way!! Huddersfield then break quickly but a cross into the box fails to cause any trouble. both teams are committing men forward which will leave gaps. Which way will this one go ? Huddersfield 0 Southhampton 0
Alan Kearney
Roar Guru
63' Sub for the Saints with Long coming on, can my fellow Irish man make the difference?? He will be looking to get off the mark this season. Huddersfield 0 Southhampton 0
Alan Kearney
Roar Guru
60' 30 left and still all to play for , I have a feeling this won't finish 0-0, Southampton pushing now and Redmond strikes but is off target. Huddersfield 0 Southhampton 0
Alan Kearney
Roar Guru
58' Huddersfield have come back into this in the last 5 minutes, Palmer making a difference. The home crowd are still chanting, loving life with the big boys. Huddersfield 0 Southhampton 0
Alan Kearney
Roar Guru
56; Chance Huddersfield !! Smith with a great ball into the box and Mounie rises high but heads it over the bar. Huddersfield 0 Southhampton 0