Huddersfield Town begins its second season in the Premier League as they host the Chelsea in their season opener at John Smith Stadium on August 11, 2018.
The Terriers defied the odds and avoided being relegated during their Premier League debut. David Wagner’s side were the odds on favorite to return to the Championship last time, but they fought tooth and nail to ensure that they get to fight another day in the Premier League.
Huddersfield Town opened their Premier League season nicely, with five wins in their first six games including a 3-0 opening day road victory at Crystal Palace. But the success was short-lived as the Terriers won only three of their next eleven games and ended up winning only six more games the rest of the way.
But while the Terriers were a mere four points away from relegation, their first season should still be considered a big success. Huddersfield Town will be among those tipped to be in the relegation zone next May but the team has filled some holes and bridged some gaps. If their new talents can contribute and the team continues to play with the same hunger and resilience, then expect the Terriers to return for a third time.
The home team has had an excellent preseason, winning all but one of their exhibition matches including a 3-0 conquest over Top 6 German side RB Leipzig. Their preseason success shows that the team is in good form and ready for the Premier League. However, facing Chelsea may be hard to do for a team like the Terriers.
On the other hand, Chelsea underwent a managerial change during the summer as ex Napoli boss Maurizio Sarri took over Antonio Conte’s job. The Blues missed out on a spot in the Champions League and instead went to the Europa League after finishing last season in fifth place.
Still, the Blues were busy in the summer making additions as the likes of goal keeper Kepa Arrizabalaga, Jorginho from Manchester City and midfielder Mateo Kovacic who is on loan from Real Madrid. Chelsea did lose lose Thibaut Courtois to Real Madrid but with Eden Hazard coming from an excellent outing at the 2018 FIFA World Cup, the Blues are still a formidable team very much capable of returning to the Champions League.
Chelsea was outclassed by Manchester City in the FA Community Shield final as they played without Hazard and Ngolo Kante as well as Oliver Giroud. Losing to the English Champions wasn’t the big deal, it was the fact that the Blues aren’t settled in on Sarri’s system.
One of the big changes that Sarri has implemented at Chelsea is using the 4-3-3 formation which he used to make Napoli one of the more entertaining teams to watch during his term there. But while the style appears to play to Chelsea’s strengths given their midfield talent, the shift from Conte’s three at the back formation has not been smooth for the Blues.
Here are the possible starting XI for both sides:
Huddersfield Town boasts a better winning record in head to head in league competition with 25 wins against Chelsea’s 24. But the Terriers have not won on Chelsea’s home turf since 1962. Chelsea beat Huddersfield Town 3-1 last May in a game where Hazard and Willian featured. But it was that goal in that match that ensured that the Terriers would keep their top-tier status for at least another season.
There is some concern though on the lack of creativity on the Chelsea side as we saw in the Community Shield. So a lot may depend on Eden Hazard’s role in this game. Sarri and his boys had a difficult time creating scoring opportunities during their preseason games so they will have to look to Hazard to give them those chances as Hazard was Chelsea’s top goal scorer in the Premier League last season.
On paper, there is too much skill difference between the squads. Chelsea’s lineup looks too much for the Huddersfield side to handle. If they can put the crowd away early in this fixture, then it should be an easy win for the Blues. We’re picking Chelsea to beat Huddersfield Town on 8/11/18.
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