Preview: Huddersfield Town vs. Stoke City - prediction, team news, lineups

Looking for their first points of the new Championship season, Huddersfield Town will entertain Stoke City on Saturday.

The Terriers have suffered back-to-back defeats to start the term and dropped out of the EFL Cup on Tuesday, while their visitors come in having earned a victory and suffered a loss in their first two matches before also dropping out of the cup.

Match preview

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Huddersfield Town have experienced plenty of change over the summer, after Carlos Corberan guided them to the Championship playoff final last season, only to suffer a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Nottingham Forest.

Ahead of the new term, Corberan departed alongside key players Lewis O'Brien and Harry Toffolo, while defender Levi Colwill's loan deal also came to an end, with Danny Schofield now at the helm in West Yorkshire.

Their season began with a home contest against newly-relegated Burnley, and the Terriers came away empty-handed after Ian Maatsen's first-half goal made the difference in a dominant display from the visitors, before Schofield's men travelled to take on Birmingham City.

Scott Hogan and Przemyslaw Placheta put the hosts 2-0 up in the first half, and, despite Danny Ward pulling a goal back on the hour mark, Huddersfield were unable to share the spoils and turned their attentions to an EFL Cup tie with Preston North End.

That would not produce any more success, though, as they were thrashed 4-1 on home turf, with Jordan Rhodes's goal nothing more than a consolation, and the Terriers will now be desperate to put their first points on the board at the third time of asking and avoid being cut adrift at the bottom end of the division as the table begins to take shape in the coming weeks.

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Stoke City, meanwhile, will make the trip hoping for back-to-back Championship wins after suffering a losing start.

Following on from a 14th-placed finish last season and an encouraging summer, the Potters began with a trip to Millwall, but they were beaten 2-0 as Charlie Cresswell scored a goal each side of half time.

Michael O'Neill's side would then host Blackpool in their second outing and were able to instantly bounce back, dishing out a 2-0 beating of their own with Harry Clarke and Jacob Brown on the scoresheet in Staffordshire.

They most recently travelled to take on third-tier outfit Morecambe in an EFL Cup first-round tie on Tuesday but would drop out of the competition having lost a penalty shootout after a goalless draw in normal time, with Morgan Fox's opening miss proving costly as the Shrimps converted all five of their penalties.

Hoping to put that disappointment behind them and return to the prioritised league campaign in a positive manner, O'Neill's side will likely see Saturday as a good chance to take their tally to six points against a seemingly vulnerable Huddersfield outfit.

Team News

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Huddersfield Town will likely remain without defender Matty Pearson due to an injury, while new signing David Kasumu could also continue to miss out after his debut against Burnley on the opening day was cut short.

New defender Yuta Nakayama was handed a first start for the club in the Preston cup game, and he will likely battle with Will Boyle and Rarmani Edmonds-Green for the spot alongside Tom Lees, unless Schofield opts to deploy the Japanese international on the left-hand side of the back four.

Danny Ward will continue to lead the line, having opened his account for the season against Birmingham City after scoring 14 times in the second tier last season, while Sorba Thomas will offer support to the frontman with Jonathan Hogg and Jon Russell set to feature in midfield.

Stoke also have several injury issues to contend with, as centre-back Harry Souttar and attacking midfielder Nick Powell are both in the midst of spells on the sidelines.

After making rotations for the trip to Morecambe, O'Neill should revert back to his strongest starting XI, with the likes of Aden Flint, Ben Wilmot, Lewis Baker and Josh Tymon set to come back in from the outset.

Even without Powell, the Potters have options to choose from in attack, and Jacob Brown is expected to start with Tyrese Campbell, D'Margio Wright-Phillips and new signing Dwight Gayle likely battling for the other spot in the front two.

Huddersfield Town possible starting lineup:

Nicholls; Turton, Edmonds-Green, Lees, Nakayama; Hogg, Russell; Thomas, Rudoni, Koroma; Ward

Stoke City possible starting lineup:

Bursik; Taylor, Flint, Wilmot; Clarke, Baker, Laurent, Smallbone, Tymon; Gayle, Brown

We say: Huddersfield Town 1-2 Stoke City

Huddersfield have struggled so far this season, and, with Stoke City boasting an exciting squad capable of having a much-improved campaign, we see the Potters having enough to leave with all three points.

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