City go into this evening’s Vertu Trophy tie with Huddersfield hoping to reach the round of 16 for the fourth time in six seasons.
We got there last season, losing to League One promotion hopefuls Bolton, and once again, it is a top League One outfit visiting the Bank.
Huddersfield, managed by Lee Grant, would have expected to be top four in the league, and while they’ve found consistency hard to come by in the league, they’ll be a huge test for the Imps.
“Everyone knows they are a big club, a massive club,” Michael Skubala said in his pre-match interview yesterday. “Lots of players, I think half of them are signed from here. I just think it is a big club. They are obviously wanting to get up as well and wanting to push for the play offs and even higher and there are big expectations from their fans.
“They have had a few ups and downs as well. There is no doubt about that. But it is going to be a tough game tomorrow night. We know what they are about, but they probably know what we are about as well. So it is going to be a really exciting game hopefully.”
They’re likely to feature Sean Roughan, making his first appearance against the Imps since his £500,000 move to the Terriers, and Joe Taylor, who did play in the 1-0 win against Huddersfield earlier this year.
For us, it’s expected to be a strong side. Michael hinted he may rest one or two, but we’re certainly not going to see 11 changes, or at least that’s the feeling among most fans.
“I think with Saturday off, it is important that we put a team on the pitch that can be really competitive against Huddersfield,” he added. “But also, there are players that have not been playing for whatever reason and they want to show what they can do. So there will be changes.
“It is getting the balance of that right, but there will be a really competitive team on the pitch and we want to make sure that we go through to the next round whilst also managing the challenges of getting some players minutes, getting some players on the pitch who have not had a lot of football, and trying to get some experience of League One.”
Players who might not have had as many minutes as they’d like recently almost certainly include Erik Ring and Ivan Varfolomeev, our two ESC (Elite Significant Contribution) players. It’s also likely Dom Jefferies will feature at some point, while those who entered the fray later on Saturday, Tom Bayliss and James Collins in particular, could well feature.
“A lot of the players that have not played as many minutes as they would have liked are ready to go,” finished Michael. “They have been training hard. The blend of the squad has been important, and we are in a situation where I have had to leave some players out of the squad in League One games, and people ask why they are not even on the bench.
“The reality is you cannot fit everybody on it. So it is important that the squad carries the game and we get this result over the line tomorrow night against Huddersfield.”
Last season, 2,252 fans watched as we lost to Bolton, albeit in the round of 16, but a similar crowd would be expected tomorrow. While the competition isn’t altogether popular with supporters, the game promises to be a little more than a run-of-the-mill EFL Trophy game featuring two reserve sides.
If we were to progress, the next round would likely take place around 7th January, as this round is a week earlier than last season.