Birmingham City head to the John Smith’s Stadium on Saturday looking for a precious victory against a team with its own troubles
Birmingham City must be wary of Huddersfield Town’s set-piece threat when they face the Terriers in Saturday’s Championship relegation battle.
The Blues travel to the John Smith’s Stadium seeking for only their fourth away win of the season, knowing that if they can get it, they will relegate the Terriers and push their own battle for survival to the final day.
They also go with only three goals conceded in their last five games – two of which were to champions elect Leicester City – but know they must attack better than they did in last weekend’s dismal 0-0 draw with Rotherham United.
Fortunately for them, Huddersfield can be attacked, but they can also provide a threat from corners and free kicks. We chatted with Terriers writer Steven Chicken, who appraised their strengths and flaws during his appearance on our Keep Right On podcast, beginning with a surprise fact.
“Set pieces have been one of their key strengths in recent years. Sorba Thomas is an amazing set piece player; his numbers are quite impressive, and many of their goals this season have come from set pieces, as they have since he joined the team in 2021.
“He doesn’t nail them all; there’ll always be a handful per game where he puts it straight out from a corner or hits the first man but when he gets it right they’re absolutely spot on.
“It tells it all that Michal Helik is their leading scorer this season with nine goals. He’s a center-back. I believe Thomas’ set pieces have been worth 12 or 15 points this season. They are one of the few statistics in which Huddersfield ranks among the top teams; they have scored 13 goals from set pieces, with only five other clubs scoring more from dead balls.
“But they’re not really good defending them, they’re pretty average at defending them, to be honest.”
Steven adds that Town has further defensive concerns. “I love Matty Pearson; he’s a really gifted centre defender, but he’s been forced to play at full back because to injuries and preference, and he’s suffered a little bit in recent games.
“There are obviously ways to get at them; they give teams so many tap-ins, and they concede the same goal so often – even since André Breitenreiter came in – which has drove him insane. If you can get behind the full backs and cut it back from the byline, several of the centre backs will exchange positions.
“But I think the most important thing is to resist them since they don’t have much to give in terms of attack. If you can hold Huddersfield off and prevent them from scoring, which most teams have discovered isn’t too difficult, or if they do score, they don’t score more than one, and then if you can just hit back at them, you know they’ll punch themselves out in the end.
