David Wagner looks on as his Huddersfield side endured a tough afternoon against Man City (photo credit: Huddersfield Examiner).
<h3> Huddersfield Town and Cardiff City seek first league win </h3>
By Ryan Conway
Both sides head into their third game of the season with defences at opposite ends of the scale. Huddersfield Town have shipped nine goals in their opening two matches while Cardiff City have conceded just the two. Cardiff’s goalkeeper, Neil Etheridge has saved a penalty in each game to boot.
Bluebirds manager Neil Warnock returns to the John Smith’s Stadium as the two teams clash in their first ever Premier League game. The 69-year-old manager was in charge of the Terriers in 1995 and guided them to promotion from Division Two.
Wagner is the new hero in West Yorkshire having guided Town to the Premier League and keeping them in the division last term. Points and goals have not come easy for both sides so far and both sides will need to register in their win column sooner rather than later.
Warnock is under no illusion that David Wagner’s men will provide a stern test at home, “David has done a great job,” the former Sheffield United manager told Wales Online, “he’s improved the squad no end and it’ll be tough. They’ll be looking at our game as a must win.”
Last season Huddersfield already had six point at this early stage of the season. While their early struggles will not worry Wagner, having been drawn against the champions of the last two seasons in Manchester City and Chelsea, the opportunity to get off the board with a victory and propel themselves up the table cannot be passed up.
Team spirit as well as quality and organisation kept the Terries in the England’s top tier last season. The atmosphere in the dressing room is still high as Terrence Kongolo explained to #HTTV, “I think the dressing room is really strong, we learned a lot from our mistakes in the last two games. We now play at home and the whole team is ready for this game.”
The 24-year-old Dutch international also highlighted the importance of the supporters in their efforts to get points on the board, “The fans are great, they make a lot of noise and give us support. They are positive and support us in home and away games and it gives me a lot of confidence.”
Huddersfield striker Steve Mouine will be hoping to register his first league goal of the campaign having had little to feed off during their opening two clashes. The Beninese forward logged seven goals in 2017/18 but his presence and overall work rate is critical to the way Huddersfield play. Having had a year in England and in Wagner’s team the hopes are he can build on his maiden campaign.
The Terriers enter a run of three games in a week, a chance for some early season momentum to lift the Yorkshire outfit and jumpstart their season. Cardiff face the same run, however their next three league games are against three of the top six as they clash with Arsenal, Chelsea, and Manchester City. While still at the dawn of the season, both sides will feel it is a must to take all three points on offer.
