Huddersfield Town vs Nottingham Forest news: Terriers and Reds battle for football’s richest prize
- Seb Sternik
- 28 May 2022
Wembley stadium hosts one of the richest games in world football as Huddersfield Town and Nottingham Forest battle for the last remaining ticket to the Premier League.
Out of the thousands of football fixtures that take place around the world every single season, there are a handful which stand above the rest.
The World Cup final, the Champions League final, and even the Copa Libertadores final are all games worthy of their place on the fridge calendar. Another special football occasion which also makes that list, is the Championship play-off final.
With entry to the Premier League hanging in the balance, this is a fixture which is rightfully billed as the richest match on earth.
According to Deloitte, the winner of Sunday's encounter could see an increase in revenue of between £135million to £265million - a lot of that depending on whether a team manages to avoid an immediate drop.
Wembley stadium is expected to be filled to the rafters as Nottingham Forest and Huddersfield Town battle for their place among the elites, and the riches that come with it.
For Forest, their involvement in this game seemed a near impossibility after kicking off the campaign with six defeats from seven games.
It's been 23 years since the Reds last tasted top tier football, and the two-time European Cup winners are itching for their shot at the big time.
For Huddersfield, the play-off final will bring back memories of their famous Wembley win in 2017, which kick-started their two-year spell in the Premier League.
The Terriers have developed a recent taste for top flight football, and they're back for another bite at the £100million cherry.
When: Sunday, May 29, 16:30 BST
Where: Wembley Stadium
Where to watch: Sky Sports
Who is the ref for Huddersfield Town vs Nottingham Forest?
Before officially hanging up his boots and returning to his record store in Leeds, Jon Moss has one final job ahead of him.
The 51-year-old has spent the majority of his season officiating in the Premier League, where yellow cards and penalties were dished out in abundance.
Season stats 2021/22: Matches (31), yellow cards (73), red cards (4), penalties (7)
Recent form
Huddersfield enter Sunday's encounter on the back of a nine-match unbeaten run.
The Terriers navigated the play-off semi-final with great caution, and backed up their 1-1 draw away in Luton with a 1-0 victory back at the John Smith's Stadium.
Carlos Corberan's men have conceded just three goals in their last six games, meaning we could be in for a narrow encounter at Wembley stadium.
Forest, on the other hand, were forced to overcome Sheffield United in a penalty shoot out before sealing their spot in the final.
Steve Cooper's side have picked up a number of eye-catching wins in recent weeks, including a 4-0 thrashing of West Brom and a 5-1 humiliation of Swansea.
Last time out
Nottingham Forest 2-1 Huddersfield Town (FA Cup - March 7, 2022)
Nottingham Forest booked their place in the FA Cup quarter-final with a home win against the Terriers.
Tom Lees opened the scoring for the visitors, before two first-half efforts from Sam Surridge and Ryan Yates completed the turnaround.
Forest took on Liverpool in the quarters and suffered a narrow 1-0 defeat.
Past 10 Championship games
Huddersfield wins: 6
Draws: 1
Nottingham Forest wins: 3
Huddersfield goals: 12
Nottingham Forest goals: 10
Managers' thoughts:
Nottingham Forest boss Steve Cooper said: "It means a lot to me that if people are feeling proud about their club. I'm very proud of that.
"It also makes me feel that we've got to keep striving to improve. We've got to keep striving not to let anyone down.
"If people are feeling proud of their club, then let's do our very best to increase that and not take it for granted. I like feeling like that."
Huddersfield Town manager Carlos Corberan said: "These types of games have two parts, which is the special part of the game and the game part, and I've been so focused on the game part. I can't tell you how I'll feel on the day because I've not been to Wembley before, it's true, but I have been in a lot of big games before.
"But then one of the calmest games I have had as Huddersfield coach was the second leg of the play-off semi-final last week. When you're a coach you're worried when you don't see things going well in the team and you're calm if they are going well, more than the implications of the game."
Predicted Huddersfield vs Nottingham Forest teams
Huddersfield's Danny Ward was forced to come off injured during the play-off semi-final against Luton.
The player is expected to feature at Wembley, though the Terriers do have back-up in the form of Jordan Rhodes.
Forest, in contrast, could feature Keinan Davis who proved his fitness after making two substitute appearances against Sheffield United in the semi-final.
Possible Huddersfield starting line-up: Nicholls, Lees, Hogg, Colwill, Pipa, Russell, O'Brien, Toffolo, Sinani, Ward, Thomas
Possible Nottingham Forest starting line-up: Samba, Worrall, Cook, McKenna, Spence, Yates, Garner, Colback, Zinckernagel, Davis, Johnson
Huddersfield vs Nottingham Forest prediction
It's been a bad start to the weekend for the town of Huddersfield as their rugby league team fell to a defeat in the Challenge Cup final in Tottenham on Saturday.
We're expecting the football team to suffer similar fate as Nottingham Forest complete a fairy tale season with a victory at Wembley. It will be a close one, but Forest will edge it by a goal.
