Huddersfield Town take on Cardiff today in Town’s first game of the season. Or third game. I can’t keep up on whether we’re starting the season again or not. It would be nice if we could start again, as we’ve currently got no points and a minus eight goal difference.

After two failed attempts to park the bus so far, the Cardiff game represents the first opportunity to see Town have a proper go at the opposition and get in their faces. Cardiff are a physical team and won’t shy away from a battle, so it should be a proper game of football.

Here’s how I think Town will line up at kickoff today…

Tactics: 4-2-3-1 with a high defensive line and aggressive press

We’ve got to go for it in this game, so I predict we’ll see a return of David Wagner’s preferred formation. There should also be a return of the Terrier Spirit style of football, with high-tempo pressing up the field when we’ve not got the ball, and free-flowing attacking football when we have possession.

Cardiff may sit deep and allow us to have possession, which will mean we’ll have to find ways to open up their defensive line. If we can’t find ways to break them down then it could be a frustrating afternoon, but we’re all hoping this summer’s signings will be able to bring some creative flair to the team to deal with this kind of problem.

Goalkeeper: Lössl

I like Ben Hamer and think he’s a decent keeper, but he’s had a tough two opening games and made several mistakes last weekend. Lössl feels like the better option of the two, and we need his superior distribution to help get our attacks going against Cardiff.

Defence: Hadergjonaj, Zanka, Schindler, and Kongolo

Hadergjonaj played in midfield against City, which gave Tommy Smith a chance at rightback last week. However, I think Flo is a better option on the right, particularly going forward.

Zanka has been back in training this week, so will hopefully be fit enough to make his return to the starting lineup. Kongolo can then move out to left back, which means Löwe will lose his place in the side. If Wagner picks the team based purely on last week’s performance then you could argue that Schindler should make way for Zanka, but dropping the talismanic German seems unthinkable to me.

Midfield: Billing and Mooy

One of the big decisions for Wagner is whether to pair Hogg or Billing with Mooy. You know what you’ll get with Hogg and he’ll relish the battle in the middle of the park. However, Billing’s more laconic style of play brings a touch more class to the pitch and his long throws give us another set piece option. I’d be happy either way, but I think Billing may just pip Hogg. Obviously Mooy could be dropped and Billing and Hogg could play together, but Mooy has a similar status in the squad as Schindler and will surely start.

Wingers and number 10: Diakhaby, Pritchard, Sohbi

I’m hopeful we’ll get a chance to see some of the new boys today, and with Diakhaby and Sohbi having longer to gel with the squad I’d expect them to get in the team ahead of Mbenza. Diakhaby brings pace in abundance and will stretch Cardiff’s backline whenever he gets chance. Sohbi doesn’t have the same kind of pace, but he’s skilful and strong on the ball, so gives us another way to try to break down defences.

Pritchard could be deemed too lightweight but I think he’ll get the nod. He won’t win many aerial duels or bully defenders but his quality on the ball makes up for his physical shortcomings. He’ll need to find pockets of space around the penalty area to get on the ball and cause Cardiff’s defence problems.

Striker: Mounié

I think Mounié is Town’s first choice striker at the moment, and deserves a run of games to establish himself as our main source of goals. Depoitre is a good option, but I think Mounié is more likely to score and that’s the most important thing for this game. We just need the wide men to supply the kind of balls he can nod into the back of the net.