Huddersfield Town take on Nottingham Forest this Sunday in arguably the biggest game in domestic football, the Championship play-off final.

Both sides made it through very fine margins in their respective semi finals ties, with Brice Samba's penalty shoot-out heroics set to live long in the memories of Reds supporters.

The Terriers have been a huge surprise package this season, tipped for relegation by many and they will be embracing the underdog tag as they arrive at Wembley Stadium.

Carlos Corberan's stock has risen so much this term, deservedly so, and it will be interesting to see what direction the losing club heads in this summer.

Jed Wallace, currently a free agent following the end of his deal at Millwall, made a bold prediction for the final when he guested at the Not The Top 20 Podcast live show last week.

He said: "It's going to be battle of the wing backs really, when you think of Thomas and Toffolo, between them I think they've got 29 goals and assists, which is ridiculous.

"Even compared to Lowe and Spence, who everyone's talked about all season rightly so, and Colback, I think have got 15 (goals and assists combined), so typically 3-4-3, 3-5-2, it's how good your wing backs are.

"From a Huddersfield point of view, they are wide open, Forest are happy without the ball and, even thinking back to Steve Cooper's team at Swansea, playing against them, if they score first you're in trouble.

"They're very happy not having the ball and obviously the pace they do have on the counter-attack, my worry would be if Thomas does start for Huddersfield, no disrespect, you look at the benches, Davis could be the difference for me.

"Huddersfield don't have lot off the bench, tired legs - imagine bringing on a fresh Davis with 25 minutes to go.

"I think that could certainly, even Mighten as well, Lolley, a little bit of pace off the bench could make the difference."

Sam Surridge has performed very well since Keinan Davis' injury for Forest, and therefore Cooper probably will have the luxury of starting the former and using the latter as an impact substitute on Sunday.

The Verdict

 

 

In Jordan Rhodes and Faustino Anjorin, the Terriers would like to think that they have the quality and experience to impact the game from the bench in the second half, but in established Championship danger men like Joe Lolley and Davis, Huddersfield will have to be very wary of Forest's threat in transition.

The season as a whole has been something of a fairytale for both of these teams, and the hope from a neutral perspective is that the importance of the fixture does not lead to a cautious and cagey affair from the managers and the players.

Sorba Thomas' return is huge for Huddersfield and they will be looking to ask questions of the Forest rearguard from set pieces as a key strength of theirs.