Good afternoon! Thank you very much for joining
Sports Mole for today's Premier League clash between
Huddersfield Town and
Manchester City!
This game pits the league's lowest scorers against its highest scorers, and bottom against second in what looks like a mismatch on paper. Huddersfield go into the game under the tutelage of caretaker boss Mark Hudson following David Wagner's sacking, but they could not have been handed a more difficult start to life without the German.
Let's start with a look at the team news...
HUDDERSFIELD STARTING XI: Lossl; Smith, Kongolo, Schindler, Lowe; Bcuna, Hogg, Diakhaby, Puncheon, Mbenza; Kachunga
HUDDERSFIELD SUBS: Hamer, Depoitre, Pritchard, Mounie, Zanka, Hadergjonaj, Durm
MAN CITY STARTING XI: Ederson; Walker, Otamendi, Laporte,
Danilo; Fernandinho, Gundogan, De Bruyne; Sane, Sterling, Aguero
MAN CITY SUBS: Muric, Stones, Delph, Bernardo, Silva, Jesus, Foden
What can we make of those two sides, then?
Well, the headline as far as Man City are concerned is that Sergio Aguero returns to the starting lineup in place of Gabriel Jesus, who has to make do with a place on the bench despite having scored seven goals in his last three games.
Aguero netted a hat-trick in the reverse fixture already this season to make his tally up to six goals in three appearances against the Terriers, and he will be confident of improving that record today.
Aguero also has a phenomenal record against struggling teams, directly contributing to 23 goals in his last 13 games against clubs beginning the way in the relegation zone - scoring 20 and assisting three.
Aguero has netted in each of his last six matches against teams beginning the day bottom of the table too, so the signs looks ominous for Huddersfield already.
Aguero is joined in the front three by
Leroy Sane and
Raheem Sterling once again, and interestingly David Silva only makes the bench along with with namesake Bernardo as Ilkay Gundogan comes into the midfield.
Kevin De Bruyne is also handed just his second leg start of the campaign, having seemingly now recovered completely from his latest injury problem.
Danilo is once again utilised as a left-back with Walker on the right, but there is a change in defence as Nicolas Otamendi replaces Stones at centre-back.
There are four changes made by Guardiola in total for this match from the win over Wolves on Monday night, in addition to a very strong starting lineup named by City.
As for Huddersfield, there is a home debut for Jason Puncheon as he starts following his January loan move from Crystal Palace, and this will be something of a landmark day for the midfielder.
Puncheon is today making his 200th Premier League appearance and will be hoping to mark the occasion with his first goal for his new club.
Caretaker manager
Mark Hudson makes six changes in total to the final game of the Wagner era, stamping his mark of this team straight away.
One of those to come in is captain Tommy Smith, who returns from a hamstring problem after being an unused sub against Cardiff last time out.
Terence Kongolo and Isaac Mbenza are also recalled to the starting lineup alongside Bacuna, Diakhaby and Lowe, leaving just five players over from the team which started against Cardiff.
Billing, Pritchard, Mounie, Zanka and Hadergjonaj are the players to drop out of the team, which suggests that Hudson is not afraid to shake things up a bit here.
The hosts are still without Aaron Mooy, Danny Williams and Sabiri through injury, and it looks as though Kachunga will be leading the line today.
The striker may need to do more work defensively than he does in attack, but should any chances fall his way then he also has to be sharp enough to take them as he is unlikely to get many against this City side.
It looks like a very daunting proposition for Huddersfield today as they begin life after
David Wagner, who left the club in amicable fashion earlier this week.
The fans will be sad to see the back of Wagner and his contribution to the club has been huge, earning promotion to the Premier League and then ensuring they survived their first season back in the top flight, but recent form meant that his departure was not a major shock.
Caretaker boss Mark Hudson - and then whoever succeeds Wagner on a permanent basis - has a huge job on their hands if they are to avoid a return to the Championship next season.
The Terriers currently sit bottom of the table with just 11 points from their opening 22 games - a position from which no team has ever avoided finishing bottom, yet alone avoided relegation.
Newcastle win over Cardiff yesterday also saw the gap to safety grow to 10 points, meaning that time really is running out for the Terriers to turn their form around and start closing that deficit.
Huddersfield have only won two games all season, though, while they have lost a league-high 15 times including eight of their last nine in the league.
The points column will, of course, be the main concern for Huddersfield right now, but that goes hand in hand with their poor goalscoring record too, having netted a league-low 13 times in their 22 outings so far this season.
The Terriers have only scored more than once in one of their last 22 Premier League games and have failed to find the back of the net on 17 occasions during that run. Indeed, from their 60 games in the Premier League, Huddersfield have failed to score in more than half of them.
There is a major task at hand for the next man in, then, and rumours suggest that Huddersfield are going down the same route as they did when appointing Wagner.
Borussia Dortmund coach Jan Siewert is understood to be their number one choice, but for now this is will their first match under a caretaker manager for three years.
Caretaker Hudson was in the team the last time that was the case as Huddersfield lost 3-0 to Leeds United, and the main in temporary charge also has a poor record from his limited experience of the Premier League.
Hudson played nine Premier League games during his career and failed to win any of those, losing eight and drawing one - which is incidentally the same record as Huddersfield have suffered over their last nine outings.
The Terriers also have the worst home record in the Premier League and a defeat today would make for their worst ever run of form at home in the top flight with five successive losses.
What's more Huddersfield have only scored five goals in front of their own fans too, although they have netted in four of their last five after scoring just once in their previous eight home league games.
It does not appear that Man City have too much to be unduly worried by, then, although
Pep Guardiola will not allow complacency to creep in after the blip over Christmas which as things stand looks to be the difference in the title race.
Seven points is the gap to Liverpool once again now after the Reds' thrilling 4-3 win over Crystal Palace yesterday, and Guardiola will know that only a win will do to keep the pressure on Klopp's side.
City are very much back to winning ways now, having recovered from successive defeats by winning each of their last five games across all competitions.
The champions have been particularly deadly since the turn of the year too, beginning 2019 with a 2-1 win over Liverpool and then going on to score a whopping 19 goals in their last three outings.
The Citizens were utterly ruthless against lower-league opposition in the cup competitions recently, dispatching of Rotherham United 7-0 before outshining even that with a 9-0 triumph over Burton in the semi-final of the EFL Cup.
Some Huddersfield fans may be fearful of a repeat this afternoon considering the form both sides are in, and it looks likely that they could be joining the realms of lower leagues from next season too.
Remarkably, Man City's tally of 19 goals in their last three games is more than Huddersfield have managed to score in their last 36 matches across all competitions, which really highlights the difference in attacking threat between these sides.
City are now on 99 across all competitions for the season - comfortably more than any other team in Europe - and would hit the century with just one today.
Things are improving in defence as well too, with Man City having ended a run of 11 games without a clean sheet by keeping three in a row in their last trio of outings.
The latest of those came in a 3-0 triumph over 10-man Wolves on Monday night, and another shutout today against the league's worst attack would make it four in a row for the first time since November.
You also have to go back to November for the last time Man city won back-to-back away games, and this will be their first match on the road since the turn of the year.
The encouraging sign for Huddersfield is that Man City have struggled a little away from home this season, and they ended 2018 with just one win from their final four away games, excluding penalty shootouts.
No team has conceded fewer goals away from home this season, with City shipping only seven, and you have to go back more than a decade for the last time they were beaten by a team starting the day bottom of the table.
City have won 18 of their 23 such matches since December 2008, keeping clean sheets in their last 10 and winning the last six by a huge aggregate scoreline of 21-0.
PREDICTION: Right, we're 10 minutes away from kickoff at the John Smith's Stadium, which means that it is time for a prediction!
I cannot see past a Man City win in this match, and a comfortable one too. A managerial change can often have a galvanising impact on a team, but everything points towards a big Man City.
SPORTS MOLE SAYS: Huddersfield 0-4 Man City
Not since 1988 have Huddersfield won a home game against Man City, drawing two and losing two since then, and you have to go back to 1999 for their last victory of any kind in this fixture.
City have conceded only nine goals in their last 13 league games against the Terriers, and never more than once in a match.
The most recent clash came in August, when Man City ran riot at the Etihad Stadium en route to a thumping 6-1 win.
Sergio Aguero was the star of the show with a hat-trick, while Jesus, Silva and a Kondolo own goal completed the rout.
Right, the players are out and we're almost ready to go now! A reminder of the team news before we do get started...
HUDDERSFIELD STARTING XI: Lossl; Smith, Kongolo, Schindler, Lowe; Bcuna, Hogg, Diakhaby, Puncheon, Mbenza; Kachunga
MAN CITY STARTING XI: Ederson; Walker, Otamendi, Laporte, Danilo; Fernandinho, Gundogan, De Bruyne; Sane, Sterling, Aguero
KICKOFF: We are underway at the John Smith's Stadium!
CHANCE! Almost an early opener for Man City as Aguero exchanges passes with Sterling before bursting into the box. He manages to elude his marker and get a shot away, but he is off-balance and skews his effort wide at the near post.
It has been an ominous start from Man City, with Huddersfield struggling to get any of the ball in the opening five minutes. It already looks like a matter of time before City will break the deadlock.
Diakhaby is the man leading the line for Huddersfield today and he does get the chance to lead a counter-attack here, but it is quickly closed down. That is the game plan for Huddersfield today, though - to break at pace when they do win the ball back.
CHANCE! Half a chance for the hosts as the ball is fired into the area from the right. It arrives a little behind Diakhaby, who stoops to header it goalwards, but he cannot connect with it properly.
The hosts have just begun to grow into the game a little after that slow start, and they are holding their own a bit more now. City still look capable of causing problems every time they come forward, though.
Gundogan darts in from the left flank and Fernandinho spots the run, firing a pass over the defence. He puts too much on it, but that run does seem to be on for City today.
PENALTY APPEAL! How on earth has Kongolo got away with this one?! The Huddersfield defender dives into a challenge on Sterling inside the area and completely wipes the Man City winger out, but somehow the referee does not point to the spot! That was a stone-waller!
Sterling still cannot quite believe he didn't earn a penalty there, and I share his bemusement. Andre Marriner has had a shocker there!
You can have a look for yourselves at that penalty decision - or lack thereof. It seems to be more conclusive every time I watch it...
GOAL! HUDDERSFIELD 0-1 MAN CITY (DANILO)
GOAL! Man City do have their goal, and it is a big stroke of luck which gives them it! Danilo lines up a shot from range and his initial effort does not look like it will cause the keeper too many problems until Schindler - when trying to block it - diverts it past Lossl. It may go down as an own goal, but for now Danilo gets the credit.
That goal brings up the century for Man City this season - by far the most in English football. Danilo would not have been the favourite to get it!
Here is that opening goal...
CHANCE! De Bruyne whips a corner into the box and Fernandinho escapes his marker, but he gets his header all wrong when he should do better.
Huddersfield have actually reacted well to that opening goal. They immediately pressed forward onto the front foot after it went in and they have prevented Man City from building more momentum after breaking the deadlock.
Huddersfield win a free kick in a good crossing position after combative play from Hogg in the middle of the park. These are the situations they need to take advantage of...
YELLOW CARD! The initial free kick comes to nothing, but Walker then goes flying into another challenge and completes wipes out Lowe. Yellow card all day long.
SAVE! Ederson is called into action here as Kachunga tees the ball up nicely for Kongolo, who fires a dipping volley towards goal which is easy for Ederson to collect.
There have just been a few signs of encouragement for Huddersfield in the last few minutes, and the crowd are responding by cranking up the volume levels. The hosts are very much in this one right now.
Man City are not having things all their own way today. Another goal might just see the floodgates open a little, but at the moment Huddersfield are holding their own.
Just 10 minutes remaining in this first half now, and Hudson will be pretty content with what he has seen from his side so far despite the result.
City are just getting control back over the game now with a long spell of possession, although they are not playing with the same urgency or pace as we are used to seeing from them.
CHANCE! I mentioned this pass from Fernandinho is on today, and this time he does get it right to pick out Gundogan. The midfielder brings the ball down well inside the area before getting a shot away, but Schindler does enough to force it wide.
Guardiola does not exactly look pleased on the sidelines at the moment. His side have been some way short of their best, and such a demanding boss is sure to want more from them despite being ahead.
YELLOW CARD! Hogg picks up a yellow card for a late challenge on Fernandinho.
There will be three minutes of added time at the end of this first half.
This has been a slow-pace and under-par performance from City today - perhaps a sign of some complacency creeping into their game?
CHANCE! Half a chance for City as De Bruyne and Walker combined to find Gundogan, but he cannot wrap his foot around the ball enough to fires his shot off target.
HALF TIME: HUDDERSFIELD 0-1 MANCHESTER CITY
The first half comes to an end at the John Smith's Stadium, and it is a half which has seen Man City struggle to keep their usual standards up.
The visitors still lead, though, and you'd have to think that they will improve in the second half after a relatively underwhelming display in the opening 45.
The only goal of the game so far came from Danilo, although he needed a big deflection to take it past Lossl.
The full-back tried his luck from range after being afforded far too much room, and the ball struck Schindler before bouncing past the keeper, who otherwise looked to have it covered.
Huddersfield responded well to going behind, though, and more than held their own for long spells of the first half - so much so that they will think there is something in this game for them.
The main thing missing from Huddersfield's performance so far has been a cutting edge in the final third, though, with Ederson yet to be forced into a really meaningful save.
Pep Guardiola's side may be winning this one, but he will be demanding much more from his players in the second half as they have not really been at the races so far.
If they do not step things up then there could be something in this one for Huddersfield, which would be a major slip-up from the champions.
KICKOFF: Man City get us back underway for the second half!
The visitors have quickly regained control of possession here as they put Huddersfield under continued pressure, but it is the pace of those passes which has dropped today.
YELLOW CARD! Fernandinho is the latest player in the book for a bodycheck on Bacuna.
Huddersfield are battling well all over the park, but they are lacking a bit of ingenuity in the final third.
GOAL! HUDDERSFIELD 0-2 MAN CITY (RAHEEM STERLING)
GOAL! Man City do have their second goal, and that could well be game over! De Bruyne slides a pass through for Sane, who is perhaps offside but the flag stays down. He whips his cross into the box and Sterling is there to apply a simple diving header finish.
GOAL! HUDDERSFIELD 0-3 MAN CITY (LEROY SANE)
GOAL! A quickfire double from Man City well and truly takes this game away from Huddersfield! A poor pass gifts possession back to City and Danilo plays it forward for Aguero, who in turn knocks it down into the path of Sane. Sane takes it in his stride before biding his time over his finish, stroking it past the keeper.
CHANCE! This is much more like it from Man City now! Danilo floats a cross into the box and De Bruyne is unmarked in the middle, but he puts his header over the crossbar.
MAN CITY SUB: Change for the visitors with this game won as David Silva replaces Fernandinho.
HUDDERSFIELD SUB: The hosts also make a change as Steve Mounie comes on for Diakhaby.
Here is that second Man City goal from Sterling, set up by Sane just moments before he got his own name on the scoresheet...
City have now scored 23 goals since they last conceded one, and they don't look like letting one in today either. They are a side in very good form.
HUDDERSFIELD SUB: Change for the home side as Alex Pritchard replaces Bacuna.
This has been much better from Man City in the second half. They can afford to ease up slightly now, but they were doing so with only a one-goal lead in the first half.
Just 20 minutes remaining in this one now, and Man City are in cruise control right now. They know this one is wrapped up.
MAN CITY SUB: Change for the visitors here as Bernardo Silva replaces Sane.
The TV cameras have just picked out a man who looks a lot like Jan Siewert in the stands - could he be casting an eye over his future club today?
...well, they have just done some investigating and it isn't Siewert after all! False alarm.
It has not been a vintage performance from Man City today, but they are still set for a comfortable victory nonetheless. The gap to Liverpool is set to close back to four points.
Just 10 minutes remaining now, and you get the feeling that Huddersfield will just want the final whistle now. They look like drawing another blank here.
CHANCE! Just as I say that, Pritchard swings a cross into the box which Mounie meets with a decent header, but it is a good height for Ederson, who makes the save.
The Huddersfield fans do at least have a sense of humour about how this side is going; they are giving their side the 'Ole!' treatment at the moment.
CHANCE! Chance for Man City to add a fourth as Huddersfield give the ball away and Bernardo is quickly released in on goal. The Portuguese only has the keeper to beat, but he fires his finish straight at Lossl.
Man City have just been going through the motions since those two quickfire goals at the start of the second half. Huddersfield look like slumping to a 16th league defeat of the season.
There will be three minutes of added time at the end of this match.
CHANCE! Huge chance for Huddersfield to get a consolation as Mounie slices a golden opportunity side from the edge of the six-yard box! He simply had to score there!
FULL TIME: HUDDERSFIELD 0-3 MANCHESTER CITY
The full-time whistle goes at the John Smith's Stadium, and it is a comfortable win for Man City in the end - despite the champions being short of their best today.
Danilo gave the visitors the lead in the first half, but it was not until the second half - and a quickfire double from Raheem Sterling and Leroy Sane - that they really took the game away from Huddersfield.
Right, that is all we have time for this afternoon!
Thank you very much for joining Sports Mole for today's Premier League clash between Huddersfield and Man City as City pile more misery on their managerless hosts. I will leave you with our match report, and be sure to stick around for reaction too.
From me, though, it is goodbye for now!
