In a rollercoaster season, Plymouth Argyle have occasionally won games with dazzling displays of football. The Greens have put four goals past Stockport County, Burton Albion and Blackpool, won 5-1 away at Doncaster Rovers, and most notably blew away title hopefuls Cardiff City 5-2 in a scintillating Home Park display. Even in the 1-0 wins over Peterborough United and Luton Town, Argyle were far more dominant than the scoreline suggested.
On Tuesday night, however, Argyle confirmed they haven’t lost the ability to win ugly. When Derek Adams made his sensational return to the club in November, and before the style of play evolved to bring more attacking excitement, gritty narrow victories became an Argyle trademark. 1-0 triumphs away at Port Vale and Wycombe Wanderers, as well as winning by the same scoreline at home to Rotherham United, set the platform for the remarkable resurgence.
Tuesday’s win over Stevenage was straight from that playbook. With the visitors showing no willingness to attack, and Argyle injury-depleted as always, Tom Cleverley’s men had to dig deep to get over the line. They’d eventually manage it, with Mathias Ross’ header securing yet another single-goal victory and leaving Argyle just two points away from the top six.
It’s an excellent habit to have, and it may well be necessary throughout the remainder of the campaign. Eight games remain, “eight cup finals” if you listen to Cleverley, and more wins will naturally be necessary to reach the play-offs in whichever way they’re obtained. And this weekend would be a fantastic time to notch another with Huddersfield Town, the next visitors to Home Park, sitting just one place above the Pilgrims in the league.
A win with some swashbuckling attacking football, or an ugly triumph? I’m sure we’d all take either option.
The reverse fixture
8th November 2025: Huddersfield Town 3 (Radulovic 45’, Charles 70’, Ashia 86’) Plymouth Argyle 1 (Tolaj 88’)
For many, this became a tipping point. Had the string of defeats to AFC Wimbledon, Exeter City, Mansfield Town and in the FA Cup against Wycombe not been evidence enough, this game at Huddersfield acted as conclusive proof that Cleverley needed to go. This was indeed the straw that broke the camel’s back for the club, as they opted to keep Cleverley but bring in Adams as director of football in the aftermath of the fixture. By luck or by judgement, it proved a masterstroke.
To understand why, we need to appreciate how bad things were on this day. Because this wasn’t a case of Argyle coming up against an unstoppable juggernaut – both sides were in dreadful form heading into the encounter, with Huddersfield themselves having lost four consecutive games in all competitions. If either team could apply themselves, this game was very much there for the taking.
Despite the Terriers’ woes, head coach Lee Grant had remained committed to his 4-2-3-1 approach all season, and he deployed the shape again here. Much of the onus was placed on a midfield duo of Ryan Ledson and Ben Wiles, which looked strong on paper, to transition the ball from back to front. Ahead of them, Dion Charles would be looking to do some damage from the number 10 role – he succeeded.
Further back, goalkeeper Owen Goodman sat behind a central defensive duo of Josh Feeney and Radinio Balker. Lasse Sorensen was the right back, with Ruben Roosken a particularly attacking option on the left. The attack saw a former Argyle man in Mickel Miller line up as the left winger, with Marcus Harness on the right and Bojan Radulovic leading the line.
We perhaps should have seen it as a sign of things to come when Huddersfield had the first chance of the game, with Balker heading wide from a corner in the first minute. Grant’s side would carve out several opportunities from set pieces throughout the first half, with Conor Hazard on hand to deny the likes of Miller and Feeney. Still, Argyle forced Goodman into action too, as Matty Sorinola stung his palms with a fierce 30-yard shot on his left foot.
Alas, Huddersfield would take the lead just before half time, and it can hardly be said it wasn’t deserved. After Owen Dale failed to dispossess Harness on Argyle’s left, Wiles threaded a ball through to the electric Charles. Unselfishly, he squared the ball to Radulovic, who could hardly miss. Once again, Argyle had it all to do on their travels.
Predictably, they struggled, and Huddersfield continued to dominate. It took until the 68th minute for Argyle to have a shot of any kind in the second half, as Law McCabe saw an effort easily blocked. It was no shock when the hosts eventually doubled their advantage shortly afterwards. This one was from a set piece, and perhaps slightly fortunate, with the ball eventually ricocheting to Charles who tapped home at the far post.
Charles would be involved again in Huddersfield’s third. Jamie Paterson lost possession in midfield, allowing Charles to thread through a pass to substitute Cameron Ashia. He cut inside and finished well into the far corner from around 20 yards…although Kornel Szucs hardly put up much resistance as Ashia worked the space for his shot.
Argyle would get a late consolation, with Lorent Tolaj heading home as a Bali Mumba cross was allowed to bounce in the Huddersfield penalty area. Some sources claim that Joe Hatch, bizarrely recalled from a loan ahead of the game, got a touch on the cross and therefore an assist. Regardless, the damage was already done. Argyle, facing a side who had just lost four on the bounce, were comfortably beaten on the scoreboard and were trounced 3.22-0.69 in the xG battle.
There are two things I’d find incredibly difficult to believe in the immediate aftermath of this game: Cleverley would last longer in his post than Grant, and Argyle would climb above Huddersfield in the league table. The first of those has already come true, and the second just might by the time the weekend is done.
Similarities
Truthfully, a significant amount has changed at Huddersfield since they last played Argyle. In terms of style and strengths though, there are one or two things we can look at that have remained continuous throughout the campaign.
I’d look at the midfield as an example. Ahead of the last game, I mentioned how crucial Huddersfield’s midfield double-pivot was to their style of play, and I think it’s rather obvious that the Terriers won the midfield battle on the day. As much as the shape itself is different – Huddersfield play a 3-4-2-1 under new manager Liam Manning – there is still a midfield duo at its core. Captain Ledson remains present, and his most recent partner was Ipswich Town loanee Cameron Humphreys.
This will be a key battleground again, and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little concerned. Argyle couldn’t contain Huddersfield’s midfield in the last game despite having Malachi Boateng, Law McCabe and Bradley Ibrahim playing together. Now, with Brendan Wiredu injured and Herbie Kane ineligible against his parent club, Argyle may be forced to play Boateng alongside Caleb Roberts. It could be the making of the academy graduate, but it’s a lot of pressure on someone who was playing National League football a week ago.
That concern is exacerbated when you consider that Huddersfield remain strong going forward. Back in November, it looked as though they could score with every attack, and finding the net three times didn’t flatter them. Indeed, across the campaign only three League One teams (the top two and Barnsley) have scored more goals than Huddersfield’s 58. Results may not have always gone in the Terriers’ favour recently, but it would be foolish to assume they won’t be potent again on Saturday.
And if there is to be potency, it could well come from set pieces. Huddersfield scored their second goal in November from a corner, and forced Hazard into several saves from other set piece situations. They may not show up clearly on the list of top set piece scorers, but right now only Bolton Wanderers (244) have had more corners this season than Huddersfield’s 234. Manning will hope that the sheer volume of crossing opportunities will allow his side to threaten.
And a note on the other end too. As I mentioned earlier, Huddersfield limited Argyle to 0.69 xG in the reverse fixture, and that’s been the same throughout the season. In fact, their total xG against of 40 is a lower figure than just three other sides in the league. Yes, the fact they’ve conceded 48 shows they’re underperforming, and that ought to give Argyle hope, but Huddersfield are capable of keeping things tight at the back.
I recognise a lot of the above sounds daunting. And of course, when we’re looking for similarities in a team who totally outplayed Argyle last time around, most are likely to be strengths. We shouldn’t disregard them though. They may be having a disappointing season against their expectations, but Huddersfield are firmly in this play-off race for a reason.
Differences
Aside from everything I’ve outlined in the previous section, the changes at Huddersfield have been significant. Given Argyle’s transformation in the meantime, there is an argument that both of these sides are unrecognisable from the ones that faced each other in November.
The most obvious difference comes in the dugout; given Manning is heavily wedded to his 3-4-2-1 system, that has naturally led to some changes in the style of play. Yes, there are similarities in midfield, but Argyle didn’t play against a back three in the reverse fixture, they didn’t play against genuine wing backs, and the attack that caused them so many issues has been totally restructured.
The new system has brought about some further changes, which a few statistical metrics demonstrate. For example, we should expect Huddersfield to press an awful lot more. In the preview for November’s game, I mentioned that Huddersfield won the ball in the final third fewer than any other League One team, just 2.3 times per game. Manning’s arrival has seen that increase to 3.2 times per game, now ranking around the league’s average.
I’d also be stunned if we saw a repeat when it comes to possession. Argyle had more of the ball that day, but we know from facing his past employers that Manning values keeping the ball. Possibly not as much as he used to, and Huddersfield became one of the few sides to have less possession than Lincoln City on Tuesday night, but Argyle’s style of play makes a repeat of that unlikely.
Then we have the personnel changes. At this stage, I’m used to mentioning that a few changes have occurred because of the winter transfer window, and there are a couple of new faces we should look out for as a result. At Huddersfield, that would be a significant understatement.
This is a squad that has seen a significant overhaul since Manning took charge. Quite incredibly, only two of the 11 who started in November’s reverse fixture also started Huddersfield’s draw with Lincoln in midweek. Ledson in midfield and Feeney at the back were constants, but the other nine were either only on the bench when Argyle visited Huddersfield, or new players entirely.
Some of those have been enforced as a result of departures. Goalkeeper Goodman returned to parent club Crystal Palace before being loaned out again to Barnsley, so Lee Nicholls has taken over recently. Wiles was sold to Milton Keynes, and as mentioned earlier his position seems to have been taken over by Humphreys. And Roosken, with the left back role discontinued, has been loaned to Championship side Oxford United.
Other additions in the window have been significant. Needing a left wing back for Manning’s system, Huddersfield naturally looked for a specialist in a certain Bali Mumba. He hasn’t set the world alight since joining directly from Argyle, but it should benefit him to be playing in his natural role. However, another notable January addition – modern-day Argyle legend Ryan Hardie – won’t feature after going off injured against Lincoln.
There can be no doubt that Huddersfield have talent in their ranks. There can also be no doubt that on their day they can be difficult to contain. But will the sheer pace of change derail their season? Saturday afternoon could tell us a great deal.
Prediction
After a gritty victory on Tuesday, I can see this being the exact opposite type of game. I think both teams can threaten going forward. Huddersfield are performing well in several attacking metrics, and are facing an injury-depleted side. However, you have to assume Argyle will develop chances of their own on current form.
Both teams scoring feels far more likely than not. Who does enough to win, if anyone? That’s the key question, and I’m going to be on the optimistic side. 3-2 Argyle.