Huddersfield Town vs Wolverhampton Wanderers; Premier League
Huddersfield Town vs Wolverhampton Wanderers. Premier League.
The Accu StadiumAttendance22,714.
Huddersfield vs Wolves preview: Karlan Grant in line for first start
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Tuesday 26 February 2019 18:56, UK
Karlan Grant is in line for his first Huddersfield start as they look to get vital points on the board when they host Wolves in the Premier League.
Grant joined the club from Charlton in January but the 21-year-old striker is yet to make a start since arriving at the John Smith's Stadium.
Siewert believes Wolves might just be the match for him but is wary of putting too much expectation on his shoulders, saying: "It's possible [he could start], it's definitely possible.
"But we have not just Grant in our squad, we have other players who are responsible and I don't want to put the pressure so big on him because all the other players who have been here right from the beginning of the season have to know that they're responsible for everything.
"He's not that kind of type who I have to tell something. He shows me in training and because of the situation which happened in the game with our sending off I had not the possibility to substitute him [on]. I don't have to explain anything to him, he's very clear and he knows what our long-term view is."
Wolves have been a revelation in the Premier League this season - unbeaten in their last eight games in all competitions - but Nuno Espirito Santo is not taking bottom side Huddersfield lightly, especially as they won 2-0 at Molineux in November.
He said: "What we know is that it will be a very tough game. Huddersfield are a good team in a bad moment. We respect them and they have quality which will make our task very hard."
"Of course it is a tough job [for Siewert at Huddersfield] to try to re-motivate the team, to try to know that there are still games to be played. It's a very competitive team.
"They are aggressive. They try to press, try to play. We don't underestimate them at all. That would be the worst mistake, we cannot allow it to happen."
Team news
Alex Pritchard will be back for Huddersfield, who are also hopeful over Erik Durm. Isaac Mbenza, Danny Williams and Adama Diakhaby will remain sidelined.
Wolves team news to follow...
Opta stats
Huddersfield have won 11 of their last 13 league meetings with Wolves (L2), including each of the last four in a row without conceding a single goal.
Wolves have lost seven of their last eight away league games against Huddersfield, winning only in a Championship game in February 2015 (4-1).
Huddersfield have never won a midweek Premier League game (D2 L7), losing each of their four such games on Tuesday or Wednesday this season.
Wolves have lost six of their 11 Premier League matches (55%) against teams starting the day bottom (W3 D2 L6); they are one of just three teams in the competition's history to have lost more than half of such matches, along with Blackpool (75%) and Hull City (58%).
Huddersfield have lost their last seven Premier League home matches - only two teams have ever lost more in a row, with Wolves losing nine between January and April 2012 and Sunderland losing 10 consecutively between January 2003 and August 2005.
Huddersfield have taken four points from a possible 69 in their last 23 Premier League games against teams starting the day in the top eight of the division (W0 D4 L19) since beating Manchester United in October 2017.
Only Manchester City (9) and Liverpool (8) have conceded fewer away Premier League goals than Wolves (15) this season.
Jan Siewert has lost his first four Premier League matches as a manager of Huddersfield Town and could become the third to lose his first five in charge of a club, after Mick McCarthy at Sunderland and Eric Black at Aston Villa.
Raul Jimenez has scored 10 Premier League goals for Wolves this season, becoming only the second player to hit double-figures for the club in a season after Steven Fletcher (10 in 2010-11, 12 in 2011-12).
Merson's prediction
I know Huddersfield had a player sent off against Newcastle, but they were ripped to shreds. I can see Wolves winning this quite comfortably, as long as they're up for it.
Wolves could finish seventh or eighth, which would be a huge achievement for them coming from the Championship.
Hope for Huddersfield? Not a chance. What they have to do to stay up... if Liverpool matched that, they'd win the league. No chance.
PAUL PREDICTS: 0-2 (6/1 with Sky Bet)