Mansfield Town must be ready for 'on fire' Huddersfield star in latest League One challenge
Mansfield Town will take on unbeaten Huddersfield Town at the One Call Stadium on Saturday.
The Terriers are just one of two clubs in the league yet to record a loss and they will be eager to keep their unbeaten run ticking over when they travel to Mansfield this weekend.
After three wins and two draws, Huddersfield are second in the table, while Stags have dropped to 17th after losing all three of their away games so far. Nigel Clough’s side will be hoping to channel the energy shown against Doncaster Rovers and Luton Town but the manager is well aware of the threat this weekend’s opposition poses.
Ahead of Saturday, Clough reflected on Stags’ home record this season, as well as their 4-1 win over Huddersfield when they last faced them during the 2025/26 season.
“We’ve had two great performances at home and two great games as well. It’s funny, there were times last season where I thought we were better away from home and we’ve started this season in the reverse. Another incredibly hard game coming up now with Huddersfield,” the boss said during his press conference.
“They’ve got some very, very good players. I think they’ve been fancied for a couple of seasons now and not quite made it. We had an incredible result there towards the end of last season but since then, they’ve regrouped, got a few new players in and started the season with confidence.”
Mansfield Town will need to be switched on against the attacking threat of Joe Taylor this weekend.
The striker has started the season with his best foot forward and is already top of the goals tally. With five goals in as many games, the 23-year-old is causing a lot of trouble for defenders and Clough is aware of the danger he poses.
“I’ve seen his goals, he looks on fire,” Clough said. “He looks confident and every time he goes clear, he looks like he’s going to score.”
Taylor scored 15 goals in League One last season for both Huddersfield and Wigan, who he spent the second half of the campaign on loan with.
Marcus Harness is another player who Clough highlighted, having worked with him during his time at Burton Albion. The midfielder is off the mark already with a goal and will no doubt be looking to produce similar numbers to last season, where he tallied seven goals and six assists in the league.