Coventry City trip last chance to get answer to intirguing Huddersfield Town mystery

Going into the final game of the first half of the season, Huddersfield Town had a particularly poor away record under Carlos Corberan. Even in the false dawn of the first half of last season, Town’s form on the road had been curiously underwhelming; all told, Town had taken just 28 points from their first 34 away games under the head coach, winning just six times and scoring just 32 goals while conceding 61 and keeping just five clean sheets.

Now, as they prepare for their final away trip of the regular league season, Town’s record on the road is their greatest strength. 24 points have been taken from the last 11 league trips, with Town losing just once, scoring 17 times, conceding ten and keeping six clean sheets. Aside from having scored one more goal at the John Smith’s Stadium, all of those numbers are better than in their last 11 home league games.

We can pull out expected goals and tactical diagrams and player quotes to try and explain nearly every other aspect of Huddersfield Town’s remarkable rise from relegation fodder to a guaranteed top six finish this season, but when it comes to explaining that sudden dramatic uptick in their away form, we are left grasping for answers.

One aspect may be psychological. Town had largely struggled to score away from home before that trip to Bristol City on 18th December, scoring just three in their previous seven away games. Since then, they have scored at least two goals more often than they scored one or none. But then, they had started the season by scoring seven in four away games, so why didn’t the psychological boost kick in from the beginning?

Town’s defensive record on the road is better, too – but it’s been good at the John Smith’s Stadium all season. While things