EFL make official Sheffield Wednesday vs Preston North End decision ahead of Hillsborough clash

The officiating team for Sheffield Wednesday’s Championship clash at home to Preston North End this weekend has been confirmed, with Bobby Madley to take charge of his first Owls clash this season.

Wednesday are back in action on Saturday and looking to climb further up the table with a third straight win. Danny Rohl’s side hadn’t won consecutive games all season until last week when they triumphed over Hull City and Derby County - the latter needing a 94th-minute Jamal Lowe effort to complete the comeback.

The Owls return to Hillsborough and will fancy themselves against a Preston outfit who haven’t won away from home all season. Paul Heckingbottom's side are without a victory in their last eight but have drawn six of those, with those points just about keeping them out of the relegation zone.

The EFL confirmed on Wednesday evening that Madley will be the man in the middle at Hillsborough, his first game of the season involving Wednesday. The experienced referee has been in charge for two of Preston’s fixtures, their opening-day 2-0 defeat against Sheffield United and a Carabao Cup penalty-shootout win over Fulham.

Madley is among the more lenient Championship referees, blowing up for an average of 21.18 fouls per game which is the third-lowest of anyone to have officiated 10 games or more. He has also brandished an average of just 3.18 yellow cards per match, with only David Webb averaging fewer of those with 10 games under their belt.

He will be assisted by Blake Antrobus and Darren Williams, with Adam Herczeg the man between both dugouts as fourth official. Wednesday will hope to give Madley a quiet game and avoid any controversy, with a real opportunity to assert themselves as contenders for a top-half finish.

Victory could pull the Owls up as far as eighth if Bristol City, Millwall and Norwich City all fail to win. A third straight win would give Rohl’s men the chance to really start looking up towards the play-off outsiders, rather than peering over their shoulder at a messy relegation scrap.

Rohl will hope to have Ike Ugbo back available after the forward missed last weekend’s 2-1 win at Pride Park, while there is also hope Dominic Iorfa can recover quickly from a knock picked up during that win. Di'Shon Bernard will also return to the squad after serving a one-game ban.

Preston sit four places and three points above the relegation zone but could climb into 16th with victory at Hillsborough. They are expected to be without Robbie Brady and Liam Lindsay, while doubts remain over Mads Frokjaer. Goalkeeper Freddie Woodman will be available again after serving his own suspension.