Wigan Athletic vs Huddersfield Town | League One Preview
Wigan Athletic kick off 2025 with a home clash against the high-flying Huddersfield Town side.
Part One | An overview of our opponents. 🔎
Part Two | “Who to Watch” players. 👓
Part Three | What can we expect from this game? 🏟️
First and foremost, Happy New Year! 🥳
2024 is now over and Wigan Athletic kick off the new year with a home tie against Huddersfield Town who start 2025 fourth in the League One table.
The Latics and the Terriers met on December 3rd with Michael Duff’s side securing a 1-0 victory after Ollie Turton diverted David Kasumu’s cross beyond Sam Tickle.
Let’s see what we can expect from this game 👇
Huddersfield Town
Of the three teams to be relegated from the Championship last season, Huddersfield Town are currently performing second-best of the trio but join the leaders, Birmingham City, inside the top four places of League One while their fellow newcomers Rotherham United are battling in the bottom eight.
The Terriers began the season with a trio of victories against Peterborough United (0-2), Stevenage (2-1), and Shrewsbury Town (1-0), but then lost five of the next six with a 4-0 victory against Bolton Wanderers the only plus point.
A 2-0 home victory against Michael Duff’s former side, Barnsley, has set Town on a thirteen-game unbeaten streak in which they have won nine and drawn four. 👏
With 43 points on the board, Huddersfield Town are just two points off their Championship tally from last season, and they have picked up four more wins and two more clean sheets than they managed in the second tier.
Football clubs managed by Michael Duff are renowned for their no-thrills but hardworking style where a 1-0 or 2-1 scoreline is usually a good shout for a weekend betting slip.
That said, a recent 4-0 victory over Cambridge United shows that they are ready to punish sides when the opportunity arises. 🎯
When Wigan Athletic and Huddersfield Town met on December 3rd, the shooting stats suggested that our hosts dominated us. However, in reality, the game was much more even with very little for either side to get excited about for the most part.
Maleace Asamoah had a big opportunity to open the scoring in the 15th minute. However, Jonny Smith’s effort was parried with pace towards the winger and a rushed attempt was sent over the bar.
Huddersfield then had a couple of dangerous free kicks, with Ben Wiles hitting the post on the first attempt. The attacking midfielder then tested Tickle with a rasping effort from the left side of the box but the scoreline was kept at 0-0.
After a welcomed halftime break, Huddersfield took the lead in the 53rd minute after a short-corner routine. 💢
Dion Rankine ran out to meet Kasumu and prevent a long-range shot, which was great to see. However, Rankine needed to make a strong attempt to tackle and stop Kasumu from carrying the ball forward.
The midfielder was able to run it to the byline before driving a low cross into the box, which was met by Oliver Turton who had escaped the marking from Matt Smith and Will Aimson.
Duff was happy with his side to sit back and defend their lead, which Town did very well to see out a narrow victory.
Overall, I have been very impressed with the steady pace at which our visitors have been growing into the season and I would not be surprised at all if they are challenging for the top two places at the end of the campaign based on their consistency.
Huddersfield Town’s Last 5 League One Results
Mansfield Town 1 - 2 Huddersfield Town
⚽️ Goals: B. Wiles (8’), J. Koroma (33’)
🅰️ Assist: D. Ward (33’)
Huddersfield Town 2 - 2 Lincoln City
⚽️ Goals: B. Spencer (49’), C. Marshall (89’)
🅰️ Assists: J. Koroma (49’), B. Spencer (89’)
Cambridge United 0 - 4 Huddersfield Town
⚽️ Goals: D. Kasumu (12’), B. Spencer (32’), C. Marshall (38’, 72’)
🅰️ Assist: C. Marshall (32’)
Huddersfield Town 1 - 0 Stockport County
⚽️ Goal: Own Goal (1’)
Huddersfield Town 1 - 1 Burton Albion
⚽️ Goal: M. Helik (88’)
🅰️ Assist: B. Wiles (88’)
Michael Duff has a wealth of talented players at his disposal, and these are the top three who have stood out for me 👇
Callum Marshall
👕 Number 7 | Forward | Age: 20
✍️ On a season-long loan from West Ham United
Northern Ireland international, Callum Marshall, is having a wonderful campaign for the Terriers after joining on a season-long loan from West Ham United in the Summer.
The forward joined the Hammers after starting his career in the League of Ireland for Linfield and has been a prolific goalscorer for the London-based Academy in the U18 and Premier League 2 competitions.
With just three appearances on loan at West Bromwich Albion in the Championship last season, this is the first proper experience that Marshall is getting in senior football. And, with 6 goals and 2 assists in his first 21 League One games, you could say that it is going very well for him. 💫
The 20-year-old is an extremely determined forward who mostly plays centrally but drifts into the channels when needed.
When he is in wide areas, he is an excellent crosser of the ball. When in the box, he will tirelessly work across the backline until he finds a dangerous position to operate in to receive the ball.
Our centre-back duo will need to stay in constant clear communication if they are to keep track of Marshall and prevent him from getting a sight on goal.
Josh Koroma
👕 Number 10 | Left Winger | Age: 26
✍️ Joined on June 21st 2019 from Leyton Orient
Leyton Orient Youth Academy graduate, Josh Koroma, has been with the Terriers since the summer of 2019 and has spent time out on loan with Rotherham and Portsmouth on his way to becoming a regular starter at the club.
The London-born Sierra Leone international has plenty of pace to burn down the left side and has directly contributed to Huddersfield’s campaign with 5 goals and 2 assists in 18 appearances.
Latics love to play with advancing full-backs, but this is exactly what Koroma will be looking to thrive on as he finds space behind the right back to take on the centre-back in a 1v1 situation.
David Kasumu
👕 Number 18 | Center Midfielder | Age: 25
✍️ Joined on July 6th 2022 from MK Dons
One of my favourite players to watch from opposition sides so far this season has been Huddersfield Town’s centre midfielder, David Kasumu.
The Nigerian has partnered with Herbie Kane in the middle of the park and plays more on the right side. Kasumu is a battler in the midfield and has won 63% of his ground duels, making the Terriers very difficult to play against in central areas.
Kasumu has netted three goals so far this season, with long-range efforts against Barnsley and Charlton Athletic coming before a six-yard box poacher effort against Cambridge United, and provided one assist which was for Town’s winner against Latics last time out.
Away from home so far this season, Huddersfield have picked up 17 points from 10 games after winning 5 and drawing 2.
They have scored 18 goals - the same as at home - but conceded 8 which is 3 less than at the Kirklees Stadium. Town have picked up 5 of their 10 clean sheets on the road.
Recent away performances, such as the 4-0 victory over Cambridge United, the 2-1 victory at Mansfield Town, and the 2-0 victory at Leyton Orient in late November for the O’s last loss, suggest that Huddersfield are the favourites for this game.
However, Latics have shown very promising signs over our last four games, with convincing victories over Bolton Wanderers and Rotherham United, an excellent first hour against Shrewsbury Town, and a loss against Wrexham where we were the much better side but just could not find the net.
Shaun Maloney is currently dealing with a midfield injury crisis as Matt Smith, Tyrese Francois, and now Baba Adeeko are all out of action for the next months.
Jensen Weir is most likely going to start alongside Scott Smith, with Kai Payne potentially stepping up to the bench after promising cameos earlier this season. 🔄
Like Wrexham, Huddersfield usually deploy a 3-5-2 system where the wing-backs want to push up to become supporting wingers rather than back-tracking defenders.
At the STōK Cae Ras, Michael Olakigbe and Jonny Smith did an excellent job of staying high to force Wrexham’s wing-backs into questioning “Do we advance to attack, but risk being vulnerable when Wigan get possession of the ball?” 💭
Town’s midfield trio of Wiles, Kasumu, and Kane, will make it very difficult to find space to play in the middle of the park and likely will keep Weir and Smith from progressing too high.
Our front four, made up of the wingers, attacking midfielder, and striker, will need to be ready to drop back and play a supporting role when needed but then ready to move the ball quickly if Huddersfield have over-committed with their wing-backs.
I expect this game to be another tight contest, but I have faith that the Latics can back up excellent recent performances to get something out of this one.
👕 Starting XI Prediction: Sam Tickle, Toby Sibbick, Jason Kerr, Will Aimson, Steven Sessegnon, Jensen Weir, Scott Smith, Jonny Smith, Thelo Aasgaard, Michael Olakigbe, Dale Taylor
⚽️ Score Prediction: Wigan Athletic 2 - 1 Huddersfield Town
Up the Tics 🔵⚪️
🙌 Thank you for reading!
✍🏼 Charlie Keegan / Central Wigan
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