Huddersfield vs Hull Prediction: Town to send Worthy out with a bang

It's been another big week in the life of Huddersfield Town, picking up a crucial win over Sunderland on Wednesday, before confirming the appointment of new manager André Breitenreiter on Thursday night. Next up is a Yorkshire derby against high-flying Hull City on Saturday (15:00).

Once again, we've asked our own Terrier, Adam Roberts, to preview this one and give us his betting predictions. 

The initial response from Huddersfield Town fans to the appointment of new German manager André Breitenreiter has been one of surprise, quiet optimism and mainly a debate on how to pronounce the 50-year-old's name. I'm reliably informed its 'Brighton-writer'.

Town owner Kevin M. Nagle and sporting director Mark Cartwright resisted the easy option of appointing interim boss Jon Worthington until the end of the season, after growing clamour from the Terriers fanbase, following an impressive run of performances and results.

The ex-Huddersfield player and current Academy Manager has overseen a change in attitude and tactics that has seen them beat relegation rivals Sheffield Wednesday and play-off chasing Sunderland, as well as providing automatic promotion candidates, Southampton, with a huge scare before ultimately losing 5-3.

All the reports and reviews of Breitenreiter's style suggest that there wont be a huge deviation from Worthington's front foot, aggressive style and the former Hoffenheim boss certainly comes with a more impressive CV than some of his predecessors.

Promotions with Paderborn and Hannover to the Bundesliga show his credentials, as does the first Swiss Super League title for FC Zurich since 2009, which he won in 2022. Of course, there have been downs as well as ups, notably the sacking from Schalke, after leading them to Europa League football and being let go by Hoffenheim just over a year ago, with the club hovering above the relegation zone.

Worthington will lead the side out for the final time on Saturday afternoon, with Breitenreiter in attendance and with the Town fans keen to give thanks and pay their respects to a man that has the fanbase believing once again. It will be a tough task though against a Hull City side that are on the fringes of the playoffs and could go into the top six with a win at the John Smiths Stadium.

Liam Rosenior has a hugely-talented squad and was backed heavily in the recent transfer windows, bringing in the likes of Billy Sharp, Abdülkadir Ömür, Aaron Connolly and Jadon Philogene, who scored a stunning goal in midweek that will likely be a contender for goal of the season.

The Tigers have been fairly inconsistent this season, winning seven and losing seven of their last 14 games but are on a nice run of three wins in four and are level with sixth-placed Coventry City, with a game in hand. They will identify this game as a winnable one but will know that Town will be far from pushover material.

Team news

The Huddersfield squad is starting to look a lot stronger now, with the injury list steadily reducing in length and key first teamers such as Danny Ward and Delano Burgzorg starting to be available. It looks like this might be a little too soon for defensive lynchpin Michael Helik to feature, however.

Hull have defender Lewie Coyle back fully fit, leaving only Liam Delap as unavailable for Rosenior.

Match odds

Despite two wins out of three for Worthington, Town come into this Yorkshire derby as the 11/5 underdogs, with City 13/10 favourites. You can pick the draw up at 23/10.

This one is expected to be a tight affair, with the Betfred traders setting the under 2.5 goals line at 8/11. Incidentally Both Teams To Score is also currently at the same 8/11 mark, so we are expecting joy for both sides.

Huddersfield to win and Both Teams to Score - 5/1

The Terriers were superb on Wednesday night, against an admittedly under-par Sunderland and the 1-0 scoreline probably flattered the Wearsiders. This was no mere isolated incident though, as anyone who watched the West Yorkshire side against Southampton at the weekend can attest to. Town battered the side in 3rd spot for large parts of the game, leading 2-0 and 3-2 before running out of steam against a clinical outfit.

Worthington has the lads running themselves into the ground for the full 90 minutes, or at least until their body gives up and that kind of effort feeds into a John Smiths crowd that just loves to see that kind of effort and desire on display.

I'm sure Hull will be a much harder proposition than the Black Cats but I'd take this version of Town against most clubs in the division. It's the kind of Terrier Spirit that they displayed under David Wagner and Carlos Corberan in the past, and hopefully in the future under Breitenreiter.

I'm taking Town to win and both teams to score at the tasty 5/1 price.

Billy Sharp to score and Alex Matos to be carded - 13/2

My second selection is half based on gut and half based on form.

Billy Sharp has been a thorn in the side of Huddersfield Town for as long as I can remember, scoring for the likes of Reading, Leeds, Doncaster and Sheffield United against the blue and white stripes. Yes, he may not be the player he once was but Sharp is an absolute goal thief at this level and with the likes of Philogene putting the crosses into the box, the 38-year-old will get chances.

Sharp has seven goals in eleven games against the Terriers in the league and I wouldn't be remotely surprised to see him add to that here.

On to Alex Matos, who has quickly become a fan favourite with his all-action box-to-box style, since his loan move from Chelsea. The 19-year-old was named man of the match against Sunderland, after nullifying the threat of Jobe Bellingham in the centre of the park.

The ex-Norwich City academy product came off the pitch shattered and covered head to toe in mud on Wednesday and isn't one to shy away from making a sliding tackle.

He received a yellow card for one such challenge against Sunderland, which was his second in six games since joining the club and with so much flair on show for the Tigers, I wouldn't be hugely shocked to see him gain another one on Saturday.

You can find all our latest Football Betting Tips on our Betfred Insights content hub.