Tranmere travel for Terriers test
Tuesday 1st December, 2009
By Richard Ault

Rovers head to West Yorkshire tonight in desperate search of league points to haul themselves off the foot of the League One table.  Standing in the way though will be a Huddersfield Town side with the best home record in the division.

Huddersfield vs Rovers

Huddersfield have started the season well under Lee Clark, and with the money he was able to spend in the summer, so they should.  The likes of Theo Robinson, Peter Clarke and our very own Antony Kay made the move to the Galpharm Stadium during the off-season, and whilst there wasn't much in the way of fees involved, the wage budget at the club vastly dwarfs that of Rovers, and many other League One clubs.

Clark still had to mould his new charges into a cohesive unit though, and he has done that well thus far.  Set-up to attack sides, they have scored more goals at home than anyone else in the country this season, a whopping 28 in just 9 games (averaging more than 3 goals per game!).  They have leaked just four goals in front of their own fans, and it is that kind of record Rovers will be up against tonight.

In contrast to that, Tranmere have the second-worst defence away from home in League One, conceding 20 in nine games, and managing to score only three themselves.  Bizarrely, Rovers have managed to win two Tuesday night away games this season - 1-0 victories at both Wycombe and Leyton Orient (FAC).

Les Parry's side have threatened a revival, of sorts, in recent weeks though.  Their defence that was so woeful under the clueless John Barnes is slowly starting to shape up.  Three clean sheets from the last four outings back that up.  Scoring goals is still a massive problem though, and you fear those problems may persist tonight.  Rovers have managed to net only once on the road in League One since their win at Wycombe in September.

Team news

Rovers' injury problems continue to mount.  Chris Shuker could now miss as much as a month of action after picking up a knock against Aldershot on Saturday.  Along with Alan Mahon, who is also out injured, it could be argued Rovers are now missing their most creative influences in midfield.

Upfront, Bas Savage is still out and won't be back until January at the very earliest.

Huddersfield will likely include former Tranmere favourite Antony Kay in their side.  Anthony Pilkington should return after missing Town's 1-0 FA Cup win at Port Vale on Saturday, although Robbie Simpson, Danny Drinkwater and Tom Clarke are ruled out.