Cardiff City v Huddersfield Town: Three key battles which could decide Championship clash

Huddersfield Town head to Cardiff City this weekend for their first away day of the Championship season looking to build on the 5-3 extra-time victory at Chesterfield in midweek.

The devastating 4-0 opening-day loss to Bournemouth, coupled with Mark Robins' subsequent departure, made for a difficult start to the campaign but caretaker boss Mark Lillis steadied the ship and some by registering the comeback win at the Proact Stadium on Tuesday.

Watch: Town reporter Doug Thomson on Town's Cardiff City test

 

Town will come up against a side being tipped to go well in the Championship and there will be several performers in the Bluebirds side who played in the Premier League last term, so the Cardiff City Stadium encounter promises to be a real test of the Terriers' Championship credentials.

And here are the three key battles which could decide the contest.

Kenwyne Jones v Joel Lynch

 

The Trinidadian frontman opened his account for the Championship season with a well-placed header in the 1-1 draw at Blackburn Rovers and, having initially failed to settle following his January move, Jones appears set to wreak havoc in the Championship.

His potential partnership with Adam Le Fondre is an intriguing one and is not dissimilar to the Yann Kermorgant-Callum Wilson forward line which caused Joel Lynch and Lee Peltier so many problems last weekend in the 4-0 defeat to Bournemouth.

Lynch is expected to be the man to attempt to unsettle Jones and certainly has the aerial ability to do so, but he must be more aware of the movement around him on Saturday and form a water-tight partnership with skipper Lee Peltier.

It is not an absolute formality that he will be restored to the starting lineup, given Murray Wallace and Tommy Smith's cases for first-team action in the centre, but Lillis will hope to call upon Lynch's power in the air and leadership skills to steer his side through a tricky test.

Peter Whittingham v Conor Coady

The midfield battle is the all-important one, allowing either side to gain control of the game and it will be no different here, with Peter Whittingham the undisputed orchestrator at the heart of the hosts' midfield.

His clever passing, shooting ability and influence on proceedings at both ends of the field mark him out as a particular dangerman to the Town midfield and rearguard and he must be watched closely.

With that said, Town cannot be transfixed with stopping the Bluebirds if they are to come away with a positive result from their Welsh trip and there will be an emphasis on Conor Coady to carry his impressive early Town performances across to tomorrow's test.

But it is the sort of game Coady's combative, battling qualities can prove extremely useful in. Expect the latest addition to Town's Liverpool contingent to not give Whittingham a yard of space on the ball while also keeping Town in possession of the ball with short, sharp passing.

Fabio v Adam Hammill

The natural suggestion here would be to place Nahki Wells, particularly after his treble at Chesterfield, up against Mark Hudson or Matthew Connolly, two centre-backs which the Town striker is more than capable of breaching.

Yet Adam Hammill's cameo off the bench against the Spireites was equally as pleasing. He will have been as frustrated as anyone that he was only able to play in the first half of last weekend's drubbing at the hands of the Cherries, having been a rare first-half bright spark.

And his invention, in tandem with the introductions of Joe Lolley and Radoslaw Majewski, will be crucial to Town's hopes this weekend as they go in search of their first point, or indeed points, of the campaign.

Fabio's attacking inclinations cannot be curbed and the Town wideman's energy reserves could enable him to track back and quell the Bluebirds' full-back's attacking work, as well as exploiting the space he leaves behind him.