Huddersfield v Southampton: super Schindler

Christopher Schindler – vavel.com

We’re only two games in but Huddersfield Town have already given the Premier League a much-needed breathe of fresh air. The bond between the club, it’s players and it’s fans is evidently strong, creating a wonderful atmosphere in West Yorkshire.

Although the Terriers have history, much of their fanbase will remember watching fourth tier football as recently as 03/04. For that reason, there is a sense of the whole club seizing the momentum – and that mentality has created extra adrenaline for the players.

We saw in the first quarter of their match against Newcastle, when they played at a very high intensity. Aaron Mooy and Phillip Billing were first to every loose ball in midfield and expertly switched play, often to the left flank. There, full-back Chris Loewe and winger Rajiv Van La Parra used their pace to get to the byline and put no end of crosses in for Steve Mounie.

The Beninese striker – 5/2 to score anytime casinoonline.co.nz – is a man Southampton’s centre-backs will have to be wary of. Maya Yoshida put in a man-of-the-match performance in Saturday’s 3-2 win over West Ham while his defensive partner, Jack Stephens, also impressed. Not long ago, Yoshida was only a back-up defender and Stephens had plenty of Football League loan moves. After Jose Fonte left and Virgil Van Dijk has started angling for a move, both have grown in importance and they have benefited from more game time.

Further forward there remains some concerns, even if the Saints scored three goals last week. Steven Davis provides industry and an honest work rate but perhaps lacks the finesse to be the furthest forward midfielder of the Saints trio. Similarly, the double-pivot of Oriol Romeu and Mario Lemina pride themselves on physicality, but aren’t the types to switch play with too much skill.

There were questions last season about whether they had enough creativity in central areas and that issue could rear its head again. They looked bright early on against the Hammers with Manolo Gabbiadini making some intelligent runs, picked out by Nathan Redmond for the opener. Once they got the two goal lead though and a man advantage, complacency crept in and they invited their opponents back into the game.

Charlie Austin’s injury-time penalty meant their late lethargy went unpunished, but it may not be against a strong Huddersfield side. If midfielders don’t get forward often enough to support Gabbiadini, centre-back Christopher Schindler will win every ball that comes his way, as he did against Newcastle on Sunday. Schindler has also played five accurate long balls this season, the joint-eighth most in the Premier League – the five of the seven players who have played more do not match his pass completion ratio of 87% (WhoScored).

Jonas Lossl, who made an impressive stop from Ritchie last week, has also completed more accurate passes than any goalkeeper in the top flight. Schindler and Lossl’s impressive distribution allows the Terriers to sustain pressure, which their vocal home fans will relish.

The buzz around West Yorkshire means Southampton might feel they are playing Huddersfield at the wrong time.

The Football Lab’s Verdict: 1-0