OPPOSITION PREVIEW: HUDDERSFIELD

Prior to Sunderland getting their League Cup campaign underway against Huddersfield Town at the Stadium of Light, we spoke to Adam Gearing from Still Smiling: A Huddersfield Town Podcast to see how the opposition camp are feeling.

So, Sunderland vs Huddersfield in the second round of the Carabao Cup. First of all, do you expect Huddersfield to give this fixture much attention, or will they play a weaker XI to focus on your League One campaign?

I’m not sure about a weaker XI. When we played against Leicester in the first round we played a different XI but at the moment we seem to have two options for every position. We’ve had a summer of strengthening which has meant that we have a lot of players who could quite rightly be trying to claim a start in the league but could end up playing in the cup. That includes a lot of players who played last season, but my feeling is that they would get into most other League One teams so there will, I’d imagine, be a lot of changes. Players like David Kasumu, Marcus McGuane, Murray Wallace and Cameron Ashia I imagine we’ll get a game. These are still options that could quite easily start for us in the league.

Speaking of league football, Huddersfield have had a positive start to this season, sitting 5th after four games played, with three losses and one win. What are the expectations this season?

I think the expectations have to be promotion. Last season we massively underachieved after years of underachieving, sort of in a similar way to Sunderland. We were circling the drain of the Premier League and the Championship and then it all went wrong in our first season in League One. But, we’ve had probably the best transfer window that any team in the league has had and now I think the expectation has to be at least playoffs, potentially automatic promotion given that the league seems much easier this year without the likes of Birmingham and Wrexham, so I think a lot of fans will want to see us be right up there at the end of the season.

Over the summer you guys brought in one of our former players who was loved by everyone on Wearside in Lynden Gooch. I'm sure he'll receive a warm welcome on the day, but how has he been received by Huddersfield fans? Happy with the signing?

He has got all the characteristics that you would expect from a Huddersfield Town player to be fair. I don’t think that is any different from any other team, but all we want is a player to work hard, be direct, to be aggressive and play forward and he seems to embody that. We signed a right back last summer called Lasse Sorensen and we thought he was gonna be like that and he hasn’t quite lived up to expectations and then the Lynden Gooch signing sort of came out of nowhere, but he’s been excellent. He seems to know how to play against every single winger that he comes up against and has had tricky periods, but manages it really well. I’ve got a mate who supports Sunderland and he absolutely loves him and was really pleased when we signed him so that’s all I needed to know.

Who is your best player?

Mickel Miller but he is out injured. In terms of players likely to play this game, Cameron Ashia has come straight from the academy but looks a real talent and has already scored twice this season, both great finishes.

Sunderland will more than likely field a slightly weaker side, but who from the Sunderland squad worries you the most?

Patrick Roberts has always been a tricky opponent for us and we could really do with a winger like that who can play off both sides and terrorise full backs. I’ve been impressed by Sunderland’s transfer business and reckon there’s quite a lot of players who could cause us problems.

Score predictions for the game? Goalscorers?

2-1 Sunderland. Patrick Roberts, Marc Guiu, Dion Charles in reply.

Aside from the cup, where do you see both sides finishing in their respective leagues at the end of the season?

Sunderland will stay up by the skin of their teeth. Town will get promoted in second.