Yuta Nakayama and Jonathan Hogg both come into our forecast line-up with Sorba Thomas and Rarmani Edmonds-Green missing out from last weekend’s trip to Plymouth

Neil Warnock does not want his Terriers side to sit back in abject fear of Leicester City’s attacking talents, but a degree of conservatism is probably still in order when the newly-relegated side come to the John Smith’s Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

Warnock mentioned recently that there are some games where Sorba Thomas will not quite fit into his tactical plans and this feels like it may be one of them, with the more defensively-capable Tom Edwards perhaps the more suitable option against a team that uses its width as expansively as Leicester.

 

With Tom Lees looking at a while longer on the sidelines, Jaheim Headley suspended following his red card on Tuesday evening, and Edwards already in our line-up at right-back, Huddersfield Town would need to call on Yuta Nakayama on the left of a back three again with Josh Ruffels at left-back…or quite conceivably, the other way around. We’ll assume that Matty Pearson is able to shake off his dead leg and complete the centre-back trio alongside Michal Helik.

Jonathan Hogg and Jack Rudoni are dead certs, especially after the skipper continued his comeback from injury with 45 good minutes on Tuesday evening, and Warnock would need to pick between Rarmani Edmonds-Green and Brahima Diarra to complete a midfield triumvirate. Without full-on wing-backs, Town would need someone else to help Town get up the pitch on the counter, so Diarra gets our nod.

 

Kian Harratt and Kyle Hudlin both made cases for themselves with goals in the cup in midweek, but we can only imagine they’ll need to content themselves with places on the bench because it’s hard to look past a rested Danny Ward and Josh Koroma.

Predicted Huddersfield Town line-up to face Leicester City: (5-3-2): Lee Nicholls; Tom Edwards, Matty Pearson, Michal Helik, Yuta Nakayama, Josh Ruffels; Brahima Diarra, Jonathan Hogg, Jack Rudoni; Danny Ward, Josh Koroma.

 

Substitutes: Chris Maxwell, Ben Jackson, Brodie Spencer, Josh Austerfield, Rarmani Edmonds-Green, Pat Jones, Sorba Thomas, Kian Harratt, Kyle Hudlin.