Town head into this weekend’s match in good spirits after a two week break to recharge the batteries following a good 1-0 away win against Birmingham City in our last league match. Our opponents also enjoyed a good win in their last outing as they defeated Blackburn Rovers by the same scoreline. Only two points currently separate Town and Wolves in the league table, with the Midlanders currently sitting three places above us in third place.
Both teams come into this match in good form (Wolves sit 4th in the form table with Town one place below in 5th):
| Team | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | GD | Points |
| Wolverhapton Wanderers | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | +6 | 15 |
| Huddersfield Town | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | +3 | 12 |
If we'd managed to maintain our form and avoid the two unfortunate defeats at home to Watford and Leicester City we could have been top of the form table, but that honour surprisingly currently sits with Crystal Palace who have taken 16 points from a possible 18 in their previous six matches.
Second half syndrome:
Town will be hoping to ensure they maintain a good performance over 90 minutes this weekend, as so far it is in the second half of matches (particularly the last half hour as I'll come to later) when we have struggled. If matches finished at half time then we'd currently be sitting pretty five points clear at the top of the league, but unfortunately we often fall short in the second half of matches.
Of the seven matches where we've been in front at half time we've only managed to win three, whilst despite only being behind at half time once so far this season we've gone on to lose four matches because of poor second half performances. In fact while we're top of the league in the first half table, we sit a lowly 17th in the second half table with only 1.2 points per game compared to our 2.3 points per game first half record.
This could perhaps be put down to the intense style of game we play added to a pretty thin squad. There is a definite drop in quality outside of the first choice midfield three of Keith Southern, Adam Clayton and Oliver Norwood, so we do seem to suffer in midfield when these three are tiring towards the end of matches. January will be a good chance for us to add a bit of depth to the midfield, enabling us to make changes to keep the intensity up for 90 minutes.
Stat Attack - Defence:
When researching this fixture there were plenty of interesting defensive stats which stood out from both teams opening ten league matches. First of all, both teams are doing pretty well when it comes to keeping teams to nil – Wolves have the joint highest number of clean sheets in The Championship with four while Town have also managed to keep three (only Bristol City, Sheffield Wednesday and Millwall are yet to keep a clean sheet).
If goals are to be scored this weekend then the smart money would be on them to come in the last half hour. Nearly three quarters of the goals conceded by Town have come in the last 30 minutes – the highest in the league, while only 9% of our goals conceded have been in the opening half hour (the lowest in the league) and we’re one of only three clubs in the Football League not to have conceded in the opening 15 minutes of halves.
Wolves also suffer from lapses near the end of matches as just under three quarters of the goals they’ve conceded have also been in the last half hour. The most likely way of Town penetrating a tough Wolves defence would be from outside the area, as 44% of goals they’ve conceded have been from long range efforts – the joint highest in the Football League. In contrast they are the only team in The Championship not to have conceded a goal from inside their own six yard box.
Our opponents this weekend have one of the best disciplinary records in the division, with only two of their players (Slawomir Peszko and Karl Henry) reaching double figures for fouls committed in comparison to five Town players (Oliver Norwood, Adam Clayton, James Vaughan, Keith Southern and Paul Dixon). Dixon also has the joint second most number of yellow cards to his name in the division with 4 (no surprises that a Millwall player has the highest – Shane Lowry with 5).
Stat Attack – Attack:
Expect both teams to try and make use of set pieces this weekend as both have had great success scoring from dead ball situations so far this season. 53% of the goals Town have scored have come from set pieces (8 out of 15) – the joint second highest in The Championship. Wolves are also dangerous from set pieces with half of their goals (7 out of 14) coming from them. In particular we should try to avoid giving away free kicks in dangerous areas as they have the second highest percentage of goals from free kicks in the league with 29%.
Of the goals Wolves have scored in open play, 43% have come from down their right side and in particular from Bakary Sako. The former France under 21 international has impressed since signing from Saint-Étienne in the summer, scoring three league goals so far this season. Sylvan Ebanks-Blake is the top goalscorer for our opponents so far this season with four, and it’s no surprise given the last time he played a full season at this level he scored 25 goals. Ireland international Kevin Doyle is their most creative player, contributing three league assists to date.
Town have so far this season benefitted from having goals come from a number of different players. Midfielder Oliver Norwood is our top goalscorer with three (hence our prolificness from set pieces) while James Vaughan, Lee Novak and Adam Clayton have each scored two each. James Vaughan is unsurprisingly our joint most creative player with two assists, level with Oliver Norwood and Danny Ward. Neither club really have a prolific striker however, with Charlie Austin being the leagues tip marksman with 12 league goals to date.
Expect Wolves to have more attempts at goal this weekend, as they are one of the most confident teams in the league, shooting on sight at times. Bakary Sako and Kevin Doyle have both had more than 20 shots each, while in comparison Town don’t have one player on 20 or more shots (James Vaughan has had the most shots for us with 16). Town do however possess the most accurate shooter in The Championship to date in Oliver Norwood, who has hit the target seven times out of his eight attempts at goal.
Previous encounters:
The previous four meetings between us and Wolves have all been won by Town, and we’ve kept clean sheets in all four matches:
| Date | Home/Away | Score | Scorers |
| Saturday 07/04/01 | Away | 1-0 | Delroy Facey |
| Saturday 09/12/00 | Home | 3-0 | Peter Ndlovu (2), Delroy Facey |
| Saturday 04/03/00 | Home | 2-0 | Martin Smith (2) |
| Saturday 11/09/99 | Away | 1-0 | Marcus Stewart |
The last meeting between the two teams at the John Smiths Stadium was 9th December 2000 when two goals from Peter Ndlovu and one from Delroy Facey secured a comfortable 3-0 win for Town in the Football League Division One. The starting 11 that day was Vaesen, Gray, Jenkins, Armstrong, Heary, Baldry, Holland, Irons, Smith, Gallen, Ndlovu.
We're unbeaten in our last eight league meetings with Wolves, and you'd have to go all the way back to Saturday 8th February 1997 for the last time they beat us when goals from Steve Froggatt and Steve Bull secured a 2-0 away win for them in the Football League Division One.
Although Town certainly have the upper hand in recent years it is Wolves who have the better overall record in league meetings between the two clubs. Out of 68 league matches in total Wolves have won 29 compared to Town winning 27 and only 12 ending in stalemates. The record was much more severe against Town until 1995 when we were promoted to the Football League Division one where we lost only one of 12 meetings with Wolves until we were relegated again in 2001.
This weekends match:
Wolves know that a win this weekend could catapult them into the top two, and possibly to top of the league depending on results elsewhere. At the same time it's a big match for Town as a win would see us get back to winning ways at home after losing our previous two home matches, and it would also maintain our place in the playoff places.
Wolves have some big name players in their ranks, with manager Stale Solbakken this week bringing Jermaine Pennant on loan to play alongside the likes of Kevin Doyle, Jamie O'Hara and Roger Johnson - all players with plenty of Premier League experience. On paper they are a very good side and after a poor start to the season they've started to show they're a good team on the pitch as well by winning five of their last six league matches.
Town will be without Adam Hammill for this match as he is not allowed to play against his parent club, while Joel Lynch is expected to have recovered from the injury which kept him out for the match against Birmingham and forced him to withdraw form the Wales squad for their recent Qualifiers. Outside of Hammill Simon Grayson should have a fully fit squad to pick from and I reckon the following 11 will start on Saturday:
| Position | Name |
| GK | Alex Smithies |
| DR | Jack Hunt |
| DC | Peter Clarke |
| DC | Joel Lynch |
| DL | Paul Dixon |
| MR | Adam Clayton |
| MC | Keith Southern |
| MC | Oliver Norwood |
| ML | Danny Ward |
| CF | James Vaughan |
| CF | Jermaine Beckford |
| This will be a very tough match for us as Wolves are a good team in good form. James Vaughan was missing against Watford and Leicester City so I expect a big improvement form our previous two home matches, leading me to think that we'll draw this weekend. My prediction is a 2-2 draw. |