Huddersfield vs. Burnley Betting Tips: Expect stalemate at the John Smiths

Football is back! The EFL starts this weekend with the first game up a Championship clash on Friday night between last year's beaten play-off finalists Huddersfield Town and relegated Burnley from the John Smiths Stadium in West Yorkshire. We've asked our resident Terrier, Adam Roberts to preview the opener and provide us with two of his best bets.

It's been a season of upheaval and transition for both these sides over the summer. Both clubs had a thoroughly disappointing end to the season with Huddersfield Town losing a tight Championship play-off final 1-0 to Premier League new boys Nottingham Forest. Meanwhile, Burnley were sent down on the final day courtesy of the Terriers West Yorkshire rivals, Leeds United. 

You would have expected Huddersfield to enter the new season with renewed hope of another play-off push but what has followed has been nothing short of demoralising for the majority of Town fans. First, there was the shock departure of Head Coach Carlos Corberán, who felt that he couldn't repeat the feat of last season - a thinly veiled swipe at the summer backing from the returning owner Dean Hoyle. He was quickly replaced by Town legend Danny Schofield, who has no real managerial experience. Then, they lost two of their best players, Lewis O'Brien and Harry Toffolo, to the club that defeated them at Wembley. Hoyle then revealed in interviews this week, that the club was losing £10m a season and he has to pump that amount in for them to survive and player sales are an integral part of the club's planning. Depressing stuff all round for the Terriers. 

Burnley responded to their relegation by bringing in unproven ex-Man City legend Vincent Kompany, who had flattered to deceive in change of Anderlecht. They have also had a huge turnover of playing personnel, losing the likes of Ben Mee, Aaron Lennon, Phil Bardsley, James Tarkowski, Nick Pope, Wout Weghorst and with Maxwel Cornet and Dwight McNeil likely to follow shortly. They do however, still possess plenty of quality at this level and have brought in the highly impressive MK Dons youngster Scott Twine as well as a few City youngsters, courtesy of Kompany's former club connections. The Clarets could start with as many as seven new players on Friday night so may take some time to gel.

Predicted Teams:

Huddersfield Town possible starting lineup:
Nicholls; Turton, Yuka, Lees, Ruffels; Hogg, Russell; Thomas, Holmes, Koroma; Ward

Burnley possible starting lineup:
Muric; Roberts, Egan-Riley, Harwood-Bellis, Maatsen; Cork, Cullen; Brownhill, Twine; Barnes, Rodriguez

With so much upheaval and change over the summer period, I can't see either side playing fluent football from the off and I think if you asked either manager privately they wouldn't be overly gutted with a point apiece. I'm banking on that lethargy when plumping for the draw in the match market which looks on the large side at 23/10. Burnley have the stronger squad but Town are generally pretty solid at home and I can't see them being over turned in the first game of the season. 

Next up, I've opted for a bet builder double based around two player props. Firstly I've gone for one of Burnley's remaining Premier League players Jay Rodriguez to have a shot on target. The 32-year-old has had a lean few years at the highest level, but is prolific in the Championship, netting 22 in his last season for West Brom. He also scored 29 in two seasons for the Clarets back in 2010-12. Rodriguez also scored in the FA Cup victory for the Terriers last season. 

Secondly, I've taken Town midfield dynamo Duane Holmes to be shown a card. The American is one of the creative sparks for the Terriers but has a mean streak that often lands him in trouble with the officials. Holmes picked up nine yellow cards last term and was almost sent off in a pre-season friendly last Saturday away at Bolton. He's up against Josh Brownhill who is certainly fond of a card himself so don't be surprised to see both men in the book come 10pm Friday evening.

The two bets combined pay a tad over 9/2 at bet365 using their bet-builder feature. Good luck and enjoy the return of football.