In-form Sheffield Wednesday man reveals the tactical battle where their clash with QPR could be won or lost

But the fact is that in the year 2020, the Owls have won more matches at QPR’s Loftus Road than they have at Hillsborough.

They’ve been on a long road in a short space of time over the past few weeks and Wednesday boss Garry Monk has admitted their post-Yuletide home form is a monkey they’d like to fling from their back as soon as possible.

What should be embraced, however, is their recent record against this weekend’s visitors.

A cold FA Cup win back in January – seminal in that it proved to be Sam Hutchinson’s last in a Wednesday shirt – was followed-up by a sunny Summer 3-0 league win beneath the image of Jack Charlton.

Both occasions, particularly the latter, saw Wednesday press the life out of QPR’s desire to play from the back.

And in-form Owls midfield man Massimo Luongo, a former Rs captain of more than 150 appearances for the club, does not believe his old boss Mark Warburton will change his intentions.

“When you know QPR the way I do, I don’t think they’ll set up much differently,” Luongo said. “We were good that day, they weren’t so good, but this is the beginning of the season when everyone is fit, everyone is sharp.

“I think we can expect the same, but they now know that we are capable of exploiting it. They’ll know they’ll have to be at the top of our game to beat us and we can expect a tough game.

“Warburton likes total football, he’s going to play out from the back.

“It’s a tough one to call because I can’t see them straying too far away from what they know and I think they’ll be on it and know they’ll have to do it better.”

QPR have lost the likes of Ebere Eze and Jordan Hugill from an attack that took three points from Hillsborough last season but have started this campaign relatively brightly with the same record as Wednesday – one win, one draw and one defeat.

Pressing has become a rapidly increasing factor in Monk’s time at Hillsborough – this Championship season the Owls have allowed opposition teams on average 7.38 passes before making a defensive action compared to 10.6 passes over the three seasons before Monk’s arrival.

Whether or not QPR can beat that press will be a key battleground on where tomorrow’s war is won, Luongo admitted.

“I spent a lot of time there and the whole ethos of the club is to be like that [play from the back] and to put their young players on show and to challenge in an entertaining way,” he said.

“Obviously their manager is big on that and regardless of the result, he’ll keep doing it.

“Even when we were 3-0 up, they still kept coming, they still kept trying.

“We know how to counteract all that but on the day football is football, you never know how it’s going to play out on the day. Everyone needs to be on their game.”

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