On Friday 15th April 2022, 3rd placed Huddersfield Town take on 11th placed QPR in the EFL Championship. In the reverse fixture back in November 2021, it was QPR that won the game 1-0 thanks to a header from Luke Amos. Coming into this match, Huddersfield won 2-0 at home against Luton and QPR suffered their fifth consecutive loss with a 1-2 away loss at Preston.
Huddersfield Town are coming off a crucial 2-0 win over their fellow promotion rivals Luton Town. Jonathan Russell and Mouhamadou-Naby Sarr scored for the Terriers. This win gives Huddersfield a record of 19 wins, 12 draws and 10 losses. One reason why Huddersfield are in the top six is because of their overperformance at the back. xGA predicted the Terriers to ship 50 goals but at the time of writing they have let in seven fewer goals than expected.
The image displayed above is the shot map of Huddersfield Town this season excluding penalties. In and around the opposition six-yard box, the Terriers have generally fared well but they have missed chances or had some good chances saved by the opponents’ keepers. Huddersfield have shot 35.6% of their shots on target so far this season.
Midfielder Sorba Thomas has been Huddersfield’s most successful threat creator this campaign. Hence it is not surprising to see him lead the assist chart for the team with 11 to his name. But most of his threat comes from corners. From open play, defender Lewi Colwill has created the most threat for the Terriers.
QPR are coming off a 1-2 away loss at Preston. This defeat means QPR have lost five in a row and it is their seventh loss in their last eight matches. This form saw them go from a possible promotion play-off spot at the very least to mid-table mediocrity. They may have overperformed in attack according to xG (scoring 55 against an xG output of 48 goals) but for their recent form, the blame squarely lies on their defence. In fact, their last clean sheet came way back on 29th January of this year.
Seen in the above visual is QPR’s performances relative to the rest of the league. QPR have been either average or just above average in the following five categories: goals per 90, xG per 90, assists per 90, xA per 90 and key passes per 90.
Given the recent woeful form of QPR, one has got to say that Huddersfield Town are the favourites to win this match. But on the pitch, anything can happen and that’s the beauty of football.
