Why Huddersfield are genuine contenders for Championship promotion

They’re two points clear at the top of the league after five games, they’ve already faced two favourites for promotion, picking up four points in the process and they’re unbeaten so far this season. So why are Huddersfield Town still 9/2 outsiders for promotion?

David Wagner has been in charge at Huddersfield since November 2015, and having had the second half of last season to get to know his then-crop of players, the German manager has brought in no less than 14 new faces this summer, while overseeing the departure of eight squad members.

And of the 11 players who started the final game of last season, only three started in last weekend’s 1-0 victory over promotion-chasing Wolverhampton Wanderers.

So given that this is a completely different outfit to the one which finished 19^th in last season’s Championship table, we reckon our traders may have got this one wrong.

The Terriers are one of only two sides still unbeaten in the league, along with Fulham – who have also begun their campaign with a completely different squad.

An impressive 2-1 win over Rafa Bentiez’s Newcastle on the second weekend of the season made people stand up and take notice of the West Yorkshire outfit, and Wagner’s men haven’t looked back since, picking up a further seven points from their next three games.

And what further strengthens the argument for a Huddersfield promotion push is that they aren’t reliant on just one man for goals. In fact, no player is yet to score more than one in the league for them this season. In fact, eight different members of the squad have managed to get on the scoresheet.

However, one thing that will be of concern to some Huddersfield fans is their team’s defensive problems, as the Terriers have kept only seven clean sheets in 38 competitive games since Wagner took over last year.

But if they can maintain their current performance levels over the course of the season, that won’t matter, and fans will have every reason to believe that this could be the year they see their side finally win promotion to the Premier League.

Up next after the international break for Nakhi Wells and co. is a trip to Elland Road to face local rivals Leeds United, where the away side won 4-1 last season.

A repeat of that result is priced up at a tempting 50/1, while a Huddersfield win is 13/8.

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.