Huddersfield Town v Manchester City: Fans urged to be ‘12th man’ on big night for Terriers

The centre-forward can dine out on having scored against Pep Guardiola's star-studded side but the third-round tie offers him the chance to enjoy the full experience.

May did his bit in the 2020-21 FA Cup, putting Cheltenham Town in front in the televised game against Pep Guardiola's side. It took until the 81st minute for City to get level on their way to a 3-1 win.

The only sadness for him was that the game was played in Covid times, and therefore without a crowd.

There should be plenty in the stands when he plays against the same club for the Terriers.

"I do believe if there were fans there the tie would have been a lot different," says the the 32-year-old signed from Birmingham City in the summer.

"If you're 1-0 up in the 80th minute the crowd give you a lift. Football without fans is nothing. You might as well give up football if that ever happened again. The fans sometimes suck the ball in the net, they're really important on the day.

"I think it's the build-up that's important with fans.

"You can be defending a corner in your own box, you break out and you hear a roar and things like that. You just get this burst of energy to carry on going.

"I think they're the 12th man you need."

Town are under no illusions that they are big underdogs against City, who will probably be much-changed after three consecutive games with the same XI, but still bursting with game-changing talent.

"They play with a good tempo but I think their brains are wired differently," says May. "I don't know if you're born with it but their thinking processes are a lot higher.

"They're at the top level for a reason. They're world-class players.

"They can keep the ball away from you. I wouldn't say they run much more than us but they see the game differently and you can come off the pitch having learnt a lot.

"The awareness of the game, they're unbelievable at that and their manager is probably above and beyond a lot of managers in League One. They come up with solutions left, right and centre.

"It's good to see because I'm doing my coaching badges at the moment. As a player, you want to play as high as you possibly can and if I become a manager, I want to manage as high as I possibly can as well. So I can probably take some notes off them."

After some fairly miserable recent seasons, 2025-26 has been about building bridges with the support, and May hopes a good display can do its bit for attendances.

"There could also be a lot of people watching on the TV and if they're in Huddersfield, come and support us," he says. "As a footballer you want to play in front of as many fans as possible and the fans are important."