Express & Star

West Brom v Huddersfield: Terriers giving themselves a fighting chance

Huddersfield were falling like a stone following five straight defeats in the league that had taken them from 11th down to second-bottom.

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David Wagner

But two weeks ago, a resounding 4-1 victory over Bournemouth restored faith in their fight for survival and lifted their noses just above water.

David Wagner, who got the Terriers promoted via the play-offs last season with a negative goal difference, believes his team have given themselves an unlikely chance of staying up. “I’m very proud of where we are so far with 27 points from 27 games in the most difficult circumstances of any Premier League club for sure, not only financial-wise,” he said. “I’m excited to see where this will end.

“It feels a little bit like the last few months of last season in the Championship when I was very proud of what the players had done, but also so excited to wonder, ‘What at the end will we get out of it?’

“We know that we have a chance to stay up and I think the most important thing will be how we deal with defeats, because we’ll have some defeats in the next 11 games.”

Wagner has benefited from an ambitious approach that has seen his team put three goals past Crystal Palace and four past Watford and Bournemouth.

The Terriers have lost more games than Albion this season, and let more goals in

But no team outside the top six has drawn fewer, and because of that, they have a chance to pull 10 points clear of the Baggies tomorrow. “There are fixtures that are more winnable than others and maybe our advantage is that we are so calm and so clear in our head,” said Wagner.

“We know where we’ve come from and we really can be focused on what we have to do, rather than contend with all the other talk that maybe other teams who are in our situation have to deal with. If we speak about pressure, what kind of pressure do Newcastle have? Or Southampton? Or West Brom? They loaned Sturridge from Liverpool. This only shows how the pressure is on that club.”

Former Albion loanee Alex Pritchard was the catalyst of the 4-1 win over Bournemouth following his £12m move from Norwich in January.

It would be typical of the Baggies’ season if a former loanee who wasn’t given enough time during his stint with the club masterminded yet another defeat.

But the No.10 is not necessarily guaranteed to keep his place in the starting line-up because Wagner has preferred a 4-5-1 formation away from home this season.

Striker Laurence Depoitre is now fit again following his foot injury, but £11.4m summer signing Steve Mounie will likely keep his place up front following a goal and two assists against the Cherries.

Midfielder Aaron Mooy will miss out with an infected cut to his knee.