Bristol City v Huddersfield - Match Day 19

[Davefevs]

So, after Wednesday, the mood has changed.  Was it a blip, or had it been coming?  Bit of both i reckon.  The squad has been pushed by injuries and in some cases to be sat 7th, a point off 6th, and 3 points off 3rd, was a fantastic achievement.  However the grumbling of discontent regarding the way we are playing had foundation, and if ever there was a team in town to provide the answer it’s Huddersfield Town.

Our Opponents:

From Yorkshire, do not have a good record at AG in recent times. Two 4-0 home wins for us in the league and whilst they had a breather from us in the league following promotion to the Premier, we still found a way to play them and gain a victory in last season’s FA Cup.  Having gone all German-classical with Wagner and Siewert, it all went more like Brahms and Liszt with relegation and an awful start back in the Champ, prompting them to go for Lincoln’s pop-duo The Bewley (sorry, Cowley) Brothers.  Things have become more Hunky Dory at the John Smith Stadium since.  But they come here on a 3 game winless run, and still hover just above the relegation places, so perhaps a little Under Pressure as they put their wits against the Laughing Gnome!!

Line-up:

Another team that have Modern Love for the Fashionable 4231.  They are not a side I’ve watched this season other than highlights, so not a lot I can add other than they aren’t a direct team like the Lincoln side the Cowleys brought back into the EFL.  They have adapted their team style as they’ve got to work with better players.

The Players:

GK - Kamil Grabara (20) - Polish u21 international on loan from Liverpool, hoping to be as successful as Danny Ward (now Leicester) was in 16/17.  Tall, slight, with a similar look to Fabian Giefer.

RB - Juninho Bacuna (22) - younger brother of Cardiff’s Leandro, who usually plays in CM, but currently playing RB.  Curacao international of Dutch heritage, signed from Groningen for £2m last summer.  4 goals to his name already this season suggests he won’t be shy in coming forward.

LB - Lewis O’Brien (21) - came through the Huddersfield ranks, playing most games thus season.  Like Bacuna, a midfielder (left sided) who’s been drafted in at full-back.

CB - Christopher Schindler (29) - German defender, with a lot of experience in the Bundesliga with 1860 Munich.  Part of the Wagner revolution and ever-present this season, however lost the captaincy two games ago, so interesting to see how that affects him.

CB - Jon Gorenc-Stankovic (23) - Slovenian u21 international, signed from Dortmund Reserves in 2016.  Been in and out of the side since arriving and mainly back-up to the likes of Kongolo.

DM - Trevor Chalobah (20) - suspended for a head-butt v Swansea.  Good player, a Future Legend, on loan from Chelsea.  Unsure who will come in for him....possibly Bacuna moves back into midfield.

DM - Jonathan Hogg (30) - experienced midfielder, who started out at Villa.  Signed from Watford in 2013.  Will have bad memories of Ashton Gate following a very nasty collusion with his own player in 17/18, following a little nudge from Tomlin, leaving him Unwashed and Somewhat Slightly Dazed .  That is if he can remember it at all!  Steady-Eddie midfielder.

RW - Elias Kachunga (27) - former German u21 international who has now switched allegiance to DR Congo (Afobe).  Signed initially on loan during their promotion season, was made permanent, but had a disappointing season at the higher level.

CM - Alex Pritchard (26) - diminutive playmaker with a bit of Stardust, who has started at West Ham, before becoming sought after when being loaned out by Spurs to Peterborough, Swindon and then Brentford.  Moves to West Brom then Norwich (£8m) before arriving last summer for £11m!  Suffered from injuries this season, but has been back for last 3 games.

LW - Karlan Grant (22) - ex-Charlton youngster who signed for £1.5m last January.  Despite the step-up he scored 4 goals in 13 appearances in a low scoring side.  Has 10 goals to his name this season and is their Starman.

CF - Frazier Campbell (32) - ex-England international who’s been around a bit.  Most will remember him as the Hull City loanee from Manchester United in our play-off defeat.  Good goals record in terms of minutes played throughout his career, but a lot of sub appearances.  2 goals in 9 starts this season.

Other Players:

Terence Kongolo, big CB, just coming back from injury.

Tommy Elphick, out for the season

Danny Simpson, ex-Newcastle and Leicester title winning RB. Wonder if he might come back in at RB to allow Bacuna to replace Chalobah.

Steve Mounié, big old unit up top

How Do We Pick Up 3 Points:

Having not really seen anything of HTFC, I’m gonna have to say it’s all about us.  Obvious threats from the front 4, but glad Chalobah is suspended.  He ran the game for Ipswich at AG last season (the Marinovic game!).  Whoever LJ selects as his “trusted ones” (because there will be Changes from Wednesday) they will need to be Heroes, even if for one day / game.  Perhaps he’ll play a 41212, his Diamond Dogs!  

Prediction:

Completely heart over head, 3-1, and we’ll be Dancing In The Streets of BS3 at 5pm.

[BCFC Grim]

I do enjoy reading these Dave however you  could have saved your self alot of bother by simply putting......Huddersfield, what can we expect?...........another dull saturday afternoon!

[The Saturday Boy]

Will Johnson make Changes at 60 minutes and take off All the young dudes? Or will he play a couple of debutants who will be Absolute Beginners?   

[redsquirrel]

id  tell eliasson he has to shoot at any opportunity,and brownhill.both can hit the target when they want to.

[underhanded]

A mate of mine says Trevor Chalobah has looked like their best player this season, so good to see he's suspended

EDIT: Just seen you agree after his performance last season for Ipswich!

[Partridge is a robin]

Eliasson to whip the ball in to find the header from diedhiou and weimann

2 - 0 to city with a few nervy moments in defence

Hard to know what to predict after the last few games but I'll go with that and cross my fingers

 

[ExiledAjax]

1 hour ago, Davefevs said:

Another team that have Modern Love for the Fashionable 4231.  They are not a side I’ve watched this season other than highlights, so not a lot I can add other than they aren’t a direct team like the Lincoln side the Cowleys brought back into the EFL.  They have adapted their team style as they’ve got to work with better players.

 

Having been comprehensively dismantled by a 4231 on Wednesday it will be interesting to see if we try anything different tomorrow. Huddersfield possibly lack some of the individual talent that WBA had in Pereira, Diangana and Sawyers  but Pritchard and Grant could easily cause us problems.

It's a big game for our central midfielders who were simply by-passed by WBA in mid-week. 

1 hour ago, Davefevs said:

Perhaps he’ll play a 41212, his Diamond Dogs!

With the failings of our central midfield on Wednesday I'd be ok with playing a narrow diamond. Alternatively if we want to make slightly less radical changes then perhaps a return to the 352 from earlier in the season (when we played very well against a 4231 at Derby). We'd need to replace Kalas, Moore, Afobe and I think Hunt from that line up but iirc that was pretty much our best performance this season and was up against a team and formation that is pretty similar to what we'll be facing tomorrow.

Another option - and one that would probably appease the fans more - is to play Eliasson (probably in some flavour of a 442) against these makeshift fullbacks you mention. Maybe stick him on the left against Bacuna? would either a) pin Bacuna back in his own half so nullifying that attacking threat, or b) Bacuna would play forward anyway, so giving Eliasson time to stick in a load of in-swingers from the left...would you like that @Davefevs? Would you?

[Dullmoan Tone]

I expect a City shot on target and I'm not going home until I see one.

[Major Isewater]

1 hour ago, BCFC Grim said:

I do enjoy reading these Dave however you  could have saved your self alot of bother by simply putting......Huddersfield, what can we expect?...........another dull saturday afternoon!

Always crashing in the same car.

[marmite]

I would hope we will attack from the start for a change instead of waiting to see how good the opposition are and how well they can play. We are at home and it should be us that dictate how the game should be played.  On paper and player for player we should feel we can win this but if we start cautiously and give them momentum then it could be a long afternoon. I just want to leave AG feeling I've been entertained and got my money's worth. That's not happened much this season despite our league position. Positive not cautious from the start please. At least let's try to get some shots on target. The crowd will respond to what they see on the pitch so if we start brightly the crowd will react positively. Then it's a win win situation. ( I hope !!).

[Kingswood Robin]

2 hours ago, Masala said:

Will Johnson the Laughing Gnome make Changes at 60 minutes and take off All the young dudes? Or will he play a couple of debutants who will be Absolute Beginners?   

 

[oldstandrobin]

If we attack from the word go like we did in last 25 minutes v Forest, the football gods MUST give in and start letting us score. That last period with Eliasson pumping them into the box showed we can go forward with determination. All thats left to do is score.........................................I hope

[Sir Geoff]

2 hours ago, Dullmoan Tone said:

I expect a City shot on target and I'm not going home until I see one.

Might be a long night.

[Bainsey]

You usually state who the dangerman is - who do you think it is for Huddersfield?

[Davefevs]

12 minutes ago, Bainsey said:

You usually state who the dangerman is - who do you think it is for Huddersfield?

David Bowie never wrote a song called “Dangerman”, so.....

[freezer]

10 hours ago, Davefevs said:

So, after Wednesday, the mood has changed.  Was it a blip, or had it been coming?  Bit of both i reckon.  The squad has been pushed by injuries and in some cases to be sat 7th, a point off 6th, and 3 points off 3rd, was a fantastic achievement.  However the grumbling of discontent regarding the way we are playing had foundation, and if ever there was a team in town to provide the answer it’s Huddersfield Town.

Our Opponents:

From Yorkshire, do not have a good record at AG in recent times. Two 4-0 home wins for us in the league and whilst they had a breather from us in the league following promotion to the Premier, we still found a way to play them and gain a victory in last season’s FA Cup.  Having gone all German-classical with Wagner and Siewert, it all went more like Brahms and Liszt with relegation and an awful start back in the Champ, prompting them to go for Lincoln’s pop-duo The Bewley (sorry, Cowley) Brothers.  Things have become more Hunky Dory at the John Smith Stadium since.  But they come here on a 3 game winless run, and still hover just above the relegation places, so perhaps a little Under Pressure as they put their wits against the Laughing Gnome!!

Line-up:

Another team that have Modern Love for the Fashionable 4231.  They are not a side I’ve watched this season other than highlights, so not a lot I can add other than they aren’t a direct team like the Lincoln side the Cowleys brought back into the EFL.  They have adapted their team style as they’ve got to work with better players.

The Players:

GK - Kamil Grabara (20) - Polish u21 international on loan from Liverpool, hoping to be as successful as Danny Ward (now Leicester) was in 16/17.  Tall, slight, with a similar look to Fabian Giefer.

RB - Juninho Bacuna (22) - younger brother of Cardiff’s Leandro, who usually plays in CM, but currently playing RB.  Curacao international of Dutch heritage, signed from Groningen for £2m last summer.  4 goals to his name already this season suggests he won’t be shy in coming forward.

LB - Lewis O’Brien (21) - came through the Huddersfield ranks, playing most games thus season.  Like Bacuna, a midfielder (left sided) who’s been drafted in at full-back.

CB - Christopher Schindler (29) - German defender, with a lot of experience in the Bundesliga with 1860 Munich.  Part of the Wagner revolution and ever-present this season, however lost the captaincy two games ago, so interesting to see how that affects him.

CB - Jon Gorenc-Stankovic (23) - Slovenian u21 international, signed from Dortmund Reserves in 2016.  Been in and out of the side since arriving and mainly back-up to the likes of Kongolo.

DM - Trevor Chalobah (20) - suspended for a head-butt v Swansea.  Good player, a Future Legend, on loan from Chelsea.  Unsure who will come in for him....possibly Bacuna moves back into midfield.

DM - Jonathan Hogg (30) - experienced midfielder, who started out at Villa.  Signed from Watford in 2013.  Will have bad memories of Ashton Gate following a very nasty collusion with his own player in 17/18, following a little nudge from Tomlin, leaving him Unwashed and Somewhat Slightly Dazed .  That is if he can remember it at all!  Steady-Eddie midfielder.

RW - Elias Kachunga (27) - former German u21 international who has now switched allegiance to DR Congo (Afobe).  Signed initially on loan during their promotion season, was made permanent, but had a disappointing season at the higher level.

CM - Alex Pritchard (26) - diminutive playmaker with a bit of Stardust, who has started at West Ham, before becoming sought after when being loaned out by Spurs to Peterborough, Swindon and then Brentford.  Moves to West Brom then Norwich (£8m) before arriving last summer for £11m!  Suffered from injuries this season, but has been back for last 3 games.

LW - Karlan Grant (22) - ex-Charlton youngster who signed for £1.5m last January.  Despite the step-up he scored 4 goals in 13 appearances in a low scoring side.  Has 10 goals to his name this season and is their Starman.

CF - Frazier Campbell (32) - ex-England international who’s been around a bit.  Most will remember him as the Hull City loanee from Manchester United in our play-off defeat.  Good goals record in terms of minutes played throughout his career, but a lot of sub appearances.  2 goals in 9 starts this season.

Other Players:

Terence Kongolo, big CB, just coming back from injury.

Tommy Elphick, out for the season

Danny Simpson, ex-Newcastle and Leicester title winning RB. Wonder if he might come back in at RB to allow Bacuna to replace Chalobah.

Steve Mounié, big old unit up top

How Do We Pick Up 3 Points:

Having not really seen anything of HTFC, I’m gonna have to say it’s all about us.  Obvious threats from the front 4, but glad Chalobah is suspended.  He ran the game for Ipswich at AG last season (the Marinovic game!).  Whoever LJ selects as his “trusted ones” (because there will be Changes from Wednesday) they will need to be Heroes, even if for one day / game.  Perhaps he’ll play a 41212, his Diamond Dogs!  

Prediction:

Completely heart over head, 3-1, and we’ll be Dancing In The Streets of BS3 at 5pm.

Blimey, fair play to you. That's a hell of a write up, and positive too. 

We'll need to train that out of you

[reddogkev]

Whatever Huddersfield bring today, it won't be enough to stop City claiming an important home win; I'd love us to do it with goals aplenty, but doubt this will happen.

Huddersfield won't make it easy, but we'll carve out a couple of chances and grab a 1-0 win.  No doubt a precision Elliason cross and a strong Diedhiou header.

[Son of Fred]

18 minutes ago, reddogkev said:

Whatever Huddersfield bring today, it won't be enough to stop City claiming an important home win; I'd love us to do it with goals aplenty, but doubt this will happen.

Huddersfield won't make it easy, but we'll carve out a couple of chances and grab a 1-0 win.  No doubt a precision Elliason cross and a strong Diedhiou header.

I'm all for a Diedhiou cross & a weak Elliason header..

So long as it's a winner

[DT The Optimist]

I just want to walk away at 4:45 and have enjoyed a decent game.
 

Walking away having won a game is one feeling, walking away with a win and a good performance chucked in is another feeling. Cannot recall  when those two  last went together  Last season, West Brom home under the lights, then we were hanging on as well 

[1960maaan]

21 hours ago, Davefevs said:

they aren’t a direct team like the Lincoln side the Cowleys brought back into the EFL.  They have adapted their team style as they’ve got to work with better players.

I've kept half an eye on the brothers since I saw their Braintree team, the one they got massively overachieving and nearly got in the League. The Lincoln team they left were very much in transition, Morrell being a case in point , more focused on a passing game. They have laid the foundations at Huddersfield, but hopefully the injuries they have may give us an edge. I really think they will do well there , but they need time.
I keep thinking the 433 may be the way to go, and could be good against their set up today. I believe we are due a good performance, I also think the home fans are owed a good performance, long time since we came out of the Gate smiling because of the style of football we had watched. I'm not sure LJ will be drastic or brave enough to make the changes you suggested on the other thread, I think it could work well (specially Watkins), I just think the team sheet comes with Weimann's name pre-printed on ( TBF he may deserve it up to now). We do need to shake it up , and find some fluency .

 

 

[bcfc01]

I don't see that any formation we play would be successful if we leave as much space between the lines as we did against WBA.

TBF, thats the first time I've seen that happen to that extent this season.

Just need to tighten up and compress space better than the other night when defending. For me,  Nagy and Massengo need to play - both are intelligent footballers who know how to compress space. Probably means a change in formation to fit them in. Smith will be a decent back up for them once he gets fit - why LJ chucked him in at WBA with Massengo fit and ready is a mystery to me. 

Looking for a big response today but I'm not holding my breath and fully expect a hard fought draw.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Full nelson]

What’s the Bridlington like for P and R if arriving after 13:30? Is there much space left to park? 
 

[22A]

HTFC fans are as varied as us with predictions of win, draw or defeat. http://downatthemac.proboards.com/thread/113374/bristol-city-town-match-thread

 

[AppyDAZE]

2 hours ago, DT The Optimist said:

I just want to walk away at 4:45 and have enjoyed a decent game.
 

Walking away having won a game is one feeling, walking away with a win and a good performance chucked in is another feeling. Cannot recall  when those two  last went together  Last season, West Brom home under the lights, then we were hanging on as well 

You don't want much, do you? One day I'll ask LJ to explain to you just how satisfying achieving a tactically well thought out 0-0 home draw can be.

Huddersfield are no mugs. They played in the Premier league you know.

[Nogbad the Bad]

Is this the matchday thread?

COME ON CITY, HAMMER HUDDERSFIELD 

[The Fat Controller]

[RedEyez]

4-4-2?

[Fordy62]

Is this the match day thread? 

For once I quite the look of the line up. So pleased to have Hunt back. 

[Jimbo76]

Team I would have picked I think. 

No place for Szmodics in the squad. Disappointing given the hype over the summer. 

[Davefevs]

If Brownhill right side, or 433