Huddersfield v Sheffield Wednesday: Stick with unders in early kick-off

Chris Powell has got the fans smiling again at Huddersfield

The lunchtime kick-offs in the Championship have strong trends when it comes to goals and Andy Tongue says that following them is the way forward in Saturday's Yorkshire derby...

Huddersfield v Sheffield Wednesday
Saturday 22 November, 12:15
Live on Sky Sports 1

Huddersfield

New boss Chris Powell has made a decent impression on the Town faithful following a decent start to life at the John Smith's Stadium. A seven-game unbeaten run moved them into mid-table and they began to look upwards rather than down to the relegation fight.

This was followed by decent performances in defeat at in-form Derby and Fulham prior to the international break. Admittedly though, the three wins in that seven-game spell came against out-of-form pair Nottingham Forest and Millwall and woeful Blackpool. 

Powell has made what look a couple of inspired loan signings in striker Grant Holt and defensive midfielder Diego Poyet, who played for him at Charlton last season before joining West Ham in the summer. 

The Terriers have scored goals freely under Powell but need to tighten up at the back - they have conceded 31 goals this season - the most in the division along with Fulham. Poyet is set for a first start here, after coming off the bench at Craven Cottage, and can plug some of the holes in front of that leaky defence.

Sheffield Wednesday

Wednesday are the division's draw specialists having earned a point from nine of their 17 games this season, more than anybody else in the division except for Charlton. Their last win was on September 20 though - they have drawn six and lost three in the league since then, as well suffering a hammering at Manchester City in the Capital One Cup.

Stuart Gray's men have managed only one goal in their last six games - Royston Drenthe's superb solo effort against Charlton. But the former Real Madrid star, who is in a different class to most of this division when on-song, let his side down when sent-off at home to Bournemouth in the next game.

Wednesday have scored just 12 goals in 17 league games - only hapless Blackpool have scored less. Stevie May and Atdhe Nuhiu have three goals each - Chris Maguire is the only other player to have scored more than once this season.

To try and solve these problems Gray has signed attacking midfielder Lewis McGugan on loan from Watford. He scored 11 times for Nottingham Forest last season and will surely go straight into the starting line-up here.

Gray was last week given the dreaded vote of confidence by Chairman Milan Mandaric, who claimed if they had turned a few of the draws into wins they would be looking at a play-off spot and highlighted how little there is between nearly every side in the division.

Over/Under 2.5 Goals

The visitors clearly have big problems scoring goals that they need to address with some more Drenthe magic on his return from suspension their best bet, though the signing of McGugan is a good move.

Having been beaten twice in a week on the road before the international break, I expect Powell to send his men out with the emphasis on tightening things up at the back here. His Charlton sides were better known for their defensive solidity than attacking prowess and he'll want to get Town to replicate that approach as they look to halt that losing run.

As I've mentioned ad nauseum here, goals tend to be at a premium in these unfamiliar Saturday lunchtime kick-offs (eight of the ten this season have gone under the 2.5 line) and I think another low-scoring contest is on the cards. I was surprised to see unders available to back at an attractive 1.9420/21 and at that price it has to be the recommended bet.

Half Time Score

Following on the from the above it's unlikely we're going to see two sides coming out all guns blazing here. The likelihood is a muted atmospherefrom the early start in front of a respectable but not earth-shattering crowd. On a cold November Saturday lunchtime this game will surely take a while to come to boil - if in fact it does at all!

So a punt on 0-0 in the Half Time score market looks eminently sensible and the goalless first 45 minutes can be backed at 2.8615/8 which looks very fair, given that three of the last four 12:15 kick-offs have seen that outcome.

Recommended Bets
Back Under 2.5 Goals @ 1.9420/21 *Best Bet
Back 0-0 Half Time Score @ 2.8615/8

2014/15 P/L

Staked: 57 pts
Returned: 62.72.pts
P/L: + 5.pts

*2pts best bet if stated
1pt other recommended bets