Stage set for Pritchard to make his play
IT WILL come as no surprise that bookmakers have Huddersfield Town tagged as big outsiders in the two-horse race against Tottenham Hotspur.
With Town bottom of the table and without a goal on John Smith’s Stadium soil this season, Sky Bet reckon David Wagner’s side are a 13/2 chance to take all three points.
They have the draw at 10/3 while Mauricio Pochettino’s Tottenham are hot favourites at 4/9 to build on their 2-1 win at Brighton.
Bet365 have Town at 7/1 to win, with Tottenham at 2/5 and the draw priced 7/2.
Go to Oddschecker and they will give you 15/2 for a Wagner winning celebration in front of the North Stand Loyal, while Spurs are 6/13 for the points and the draw at 18/5.
For the record, five of Tottenham’s seven matches in all competitions this season have finished with a 2-1 scoreline, either for or against.
That was ahead of their Carabao Cup third-round clash with Watford at MK Dons last night.
When it comes to scoring, Town aren’t given much of a chance.
William Hill reckon a 1-0 Town win is a 16/1 shot, while they have 2-0 priced up at 35/1.
For those two scorelines in a Tottenham favour, your odds are much shorter at 11/2 and 5/1.
For Town to win 2-1, as they did at home against Manchester United last season, Hills will give you 20/1.
Spurs are 7/1 to record a 2-1 win.
Steve Mounie is the favourite among Town players to score at any time, with odds of 13/5.
Laurent Depoitre is rated 14/5 in the same market, with Adama Diakhaby (19/5) and Alex Pritchard (9/2) next in the betting.
Mathias Jorgensen, who scored his first Premier League goal at Leicester last week, is 22/1 to repeat the feat against Tottenham. THE stage could be set for Huddersfield Town playmaker Alex Pritchard to upset the club where he began his senior career.
The 25-year-old No 10 will be itching for a chance to start against Tottenham Hotspur at the John Smith’s Stadium on Saturday.
A £10m purchase from Norwich City in January, Pritchard started the opening two matches of the campaign against Chelsea and Manchester City, having impressed in Town’s run to survival last term.
He was taken off at half-time against Chelsea in a dramatic switch by head coach David Wagner, who sent on Laurent Depoitre to partner Steve Mounie up front.
And he lasted just 16 minutes more at Manchester City, where Town were under the cosh in a crushing defeat.
Since then, the friend and former team-mate of Harry Kane has featured only has a half-time substitute for Abdelhamid Sabiri in the Carabao Cup at Stoke and as a 72nd-minute replacement for Terence Kongolo at Leicester City last weekend.
Pritchard has cut a frustrated figure at times, so what better time HUDDERSFIELD Town are heading for their highest attendance of the season when star-studded Tottenham Hotspur visit on Saturday.
And David Wagner’s side will need every ounce of backing from the home faithful as they bid to record a first Premier League victory of the to release him into the fray, with Town looking for a first win of the season and a first goal on home soil since Tom Ince scored the winner against Watford back in April?
Maybe it will hinge on how Wagner decides to combat Tottenham’s 4-2-3-1 formation, but Town do need the kind of extra creative spark which Pritchard can provide.
All three goals they have scored this season have come from set pieces. season. The best attendance so far was on the opening day of the 2018-19 campaign for the clash with Chelsea, when 24,121 rocked up to cheer on Town against the 2017 champions.
Chelsea’s travelling support was logged at 2,090, but that was bettered by Cardiff City when 2,093 came up from South Wales to support Neil Warnock’s side.
Despite that slightly bigger
Jon Gorenc Stankovic netted on what was his Premier League debut at the Etihad Stadium, prodding home against Manchester City after Mounie flicked on a Philip Billing long throw.
At Everton, Billing was the scorer, nodding home from close range at Goodison after Mathias Jorgensen flicked on Chris Lowe’s corner.
Then at Leicester City last weekend, Jorgensen scored after Depoitre flicked on another Billing long throw.
That’s not to say Town didn’t have chances in open play at the King Power Stadium.
Depoitre passed up on a one-onone in the 62nd minute, when he failed to dispatch a shot.
A goal at that stage would have completely changed the complexion of the game, with Town back in front at 2-1, but instead it was Leicester who made the most of Town mistakes to finish with a 3-1 victory.
Pritchard brings an urgency to following of away fans, the total gate was down to 23,787.
Town played to fewer than that in the defeat by Crystal Palace, with 23,396 clicking through the turnstiles, including 2,070 from London. Now, seats are selling fast for Saturday’s encounter with a Spurs side who were last night in Carabao Cup action against Watford (at the home of MK Dons). One thing is certain, when the head coach Town’s approach play and, with Depoitre back up front, he could flourish against his former employers. Depoitre did a lot of good things on the ball when handed his first start against Leicester, and there is no reason to suggest he won’t cause the same sort of problems for Tottenham. The willingness of Pritchard to link well and root out openings alongside him could also be a boon. While Pritchard’s only goal in Town colours, against Bournemouth last season, came in partnership with Mounie, he looks equally comfortable alongside the big Belgian Depoitre. In the seven months since Pritchard found the net at the John Smith’s, only that Ince goal against Watford has warmed the hearts of the home faithful. That’s eight home matches in the top flight and just one goal to show for Town’s efforts – so that extra creativity and better protection of the ball offered by Pritchard could not be more timely.
Pritchard has cut a frustrated figure at times, so what better time to release him into the fray
holds his pre-match press conference tomorrow he will be calling for unstinting backing from the home sections of the stands.
Town have had a tough start and, with only two points so far, sit bottom of the Premier League table. They will need that backing more than ever against Mauricio Pochettino’s side, who won 4-0 in the same fixture last year with the help of a Harry Kane double.