Huddersfield Town kickstart their 2022/23 campaign this coming Friday against Burnley at the John Smith’s Stadium.
It’s the first look we will get at two sides that have had a summer of transition, with new bosses at the helm in Danny Schofield and Vincent Kompany.
There’s little denying that Kompany’s arrival at Burnley will be a major talking point in the Championship this season, but it will be interesting all the same to see how Schofield goes with Huddersfield having replaced Carlos Corberan following last year’s play-off final.
Corberan’s sudden resignation has given Schofield a quick turnaround to get his side ready for Friday, albeit with the advantage of having a foot in the door during previous regimes.
There’s a lot to weigh up for Schofield still just 48 hours before the big kick-off, which we dive into here:
Who starts at left-back
Harry Toffolo had the left-back/left wing-back spot nailed down last season but he’s plying his trade with Nottingham Forest from this summer onwards.
Schofield, then, has a decision to make on who begins the season on what we think will be the left of a back-four.
Yuta Nakayama has been brought into the club and is capable of playing there, whilst there’s also Josh Ruffels to consider, still waiting for the chance to show the John Smith’s Stadium what he can really do.
Across the season you’d think that pair will fight for a left-back berth, yet there’s a chance that both could feature on Friday if Matty Pearson isn’t fit enough to feature. Schofield will provide an update on the 28-year-old tomorrow.
It could be that Nakayama starts alongside Tom Lees at centre-back, with Ruffels getting the chance to audition first for an extended stint at left-back.
25 questions about Huddersfield Town’s most forgettable moments in their history – Can get 100% correct?
Can Hogg and Russell play together in the midfield?
There was a feeling coming out of last season that Corberan didn’t truly fancy Jonathan Hogg and Jon Russell in the same midfield. When they were both on the pitch together, Hogg tended to drop into a back-three, whilst Russell was left out of the starting XI at Wembley for the play-off final.
Schofield has to weigh up whether he fancies the pair in the same midfield, trusting them to get through the work required in the engine room.
The way Huddersfield finished pre-season suggests the safe money is on Hogg and Russell both starting against Burnley, with the energy of Duane Holmes perhaps required alongside them.
Nevertheless, it’s something that Schofield will have to think hard about heading into Friday and beyond.