Having started the season brilliantly, the past few weeks have proven tough for Town left-back Christopher Lowe, who's come in for some criticism as a result. Having been at fault for the penalty against Leicester, struggled to contain Michail Antonio at West Ham and been involved in two Tottenham goals that may've otherwise been avoidable, pockets of the Huddersfield support have begun calling for Scott Malone to get a chance in his place, having impressed going forward in the short cameos he's been afforded thus far.

Far from a liability, where Lowe has come short isn't really in areas that can be solely attributed to him, and these incidents haven't happened enough for anyone to suggest a patter is emerging. The penalty against Leicester wasn't his finest moment, but it wasn't the most clear cut incident, either - while it wasn't a dive, Andy King did exaggerate the contact, and definitely sold the foul to the referee more than you'd like to see. Michail Antonio, a player that's clearly a level above what West Ham boast elsewhere, has made many the full-back look silly on his day, and Lowe won't be the first or the last player this season to be on the receiving end of that particular run around.

Where the two goals against Tottenham are concerned, the first is quite clearly worse than the second. Misjudging the flight of the ball and allowing a striker clean through is one thing, but to do so early in a game Town were actually competitive in against a side of that ability is somewhat disappointing. From the second he brought the ball in to control and entered his stride, Harry Kane was never going to miss one-on-one. Even still, however, Lowe was only unexpectedly put in that position because Jonas Lossl has put in such a poor initial clearing kick, so there is some further blame to be shared.

Furthermore, the second was more unfortunate than a mistake. The one touch football in the build up was sensational from Spurs and, in truth, Lowe did brilliantly to read Eriksen's movement and anticipate the Tottenham play when getting back. Doing all he could to get the ball away from the Dane's feet as quickly as possible, he was never to know Ben Davies was going to be that high up the field on the opposite flank, and the Welshman still had to provide an audacious finish for the damage to be done there. By no means has he at any point singlehandedly chucked one in to his own goal, so any criticism should be tempered with a heavy dose of fact and reality.

That said, though, the battle between Malone and Lowe is an interesting one. Having had no real competition last season, even with Tarieq Holmes-Dennis deputising admirably, the presence of someone trying to take his place appeared to have the desired effect on Lowe, who made the step up to the Premier League in a similarly nonchalant manner to Christopher Schindler, who he plays alongside wonderfully. There is a perception, perhaps manifested in those two matches last season Fulham completely tore Town to shreds, that Malone is the more overtly attacking of the two, which isn't really born out in their productivity statistics.

With the ball, Lowe not only passes the ball more than Malone, but more accurately, and that's true both this season and last. Equally, the German full-back was creating more chances per game than Malone in the Championship, though those chances were converted in to less assists than the former Fulham man's were - although that says more about who was on the end of the crosses than it does who was putting them in. Lowe is also booked less often than Malone, whilst intercepting and blocking the ball more regularly per game, too. In fact, as far as defensive statistics go, the only metric Malone actually out performs Lowe is in clearances per game (by 0.14) which may contribute to his depleted pass completion percentages.

Going forwards, too, Malone shoots more than Lowe does, which resulted in five goals last season, to Lowe's one. When looking at where they pass the ball, Lowe was actually moving forwards more often per game than Malone did last season, while the Englishman was more likely to play it backward. The same is true of distance of pass, with Lowe giving it short more often than Malone has, which may point to one being far more economical on the ball than the other, which is clearly something David Wagner is likely to be a fan of.

What this highlights, then, is that regardless of who started at full-back for Town, they're likely to have the occasional struggle in a league with as much attacking talent in it as the Premier League does. While it's easy to fall in to the trap of thinking the grass is always greener, on this occasion - like countless others - there seems to be little to no reason to doubt David Wagner, or question why he's making the selections he does. Lowe has a brilliant understanding with Schindler inside him and, in truth, it would be a shame to see that partnership broken, especially if it were to have a negative effect on how comfortable the star central defender was in what he does. It's not uncommon to see the two German's in conference at the back, which seems to provide the pair with the confidence they need to keep that left side as solid as possible.

While it may be nice to see a new signing come in to the side, there's no reason to think the team would actually benefit from his presence. It's far easier to impress with a game gone and pressure off than it is to start from the first kick and have to pay as much attention defensively as you do going forward, so in that context, perhaps Lowe deserves a little more slack. Scott Malone will get a chance at some stage, but claiming it should be now because Lowe has made one or two mistakes doesn't seem to be decision built on the soundest of foundations or logic. Just as it was at the start of the season, the left-back position is Christopher Lowe's shirt to lose - there doesn't appear to be any serious reason why that should've changed after only six matches.

You can follow Raj Bains on Twitter over on @BainsXIII , and his Huddersfield Town book Underdog is being published later in 2017. It is available to order now, with the opportunity to have the name of your choice printed in a fans list at the back of the book. Please visit www.gnbooks.co.uk or call 01274 735056.