"It makes no sense" Danny Röhl gives Sheffield Wednesday selection hint ahead of Cardiff City visit

The Owls are at the back end of a run of 10 games in 38 days, a schedule that has taken its toll on the numbers in his squad with players having gone down injured and two suffering suspensions. It leaves little room for rotation heading into the cup clash, though some senior names may sit the clash out to guard against any added possibility of injury.

That said, there is no sense of a wholescale resting of the first team as they welcome Championship colleagues that won at Hillsborough in the days leading into Christmas. Impressive back-to-back wins against play-off hopefuls Preston North End and Hull City have lifted them to within a place of the safety spots and it is on that wave of positivity that the German is desperate to keep going with a positive result at S6.

"I spoke to the players today and it is all about keeping momentum, this is important," he said. "But for sure there will be some players that will have to look at and consider how good it is for them to play. If there is a risk, then it makes no sense to play them, this is for sure. We want to keep the momentum, to show again a good performance and to try to come into the next round. This is what we want.

"We have to find a little balance. We want the best players on the pitch who are available and also to look after the players who it may be best to give a rest to because the last weeks have been very intense for everybody."

Reflecting on a December defeat to Cardiff that saw Wednesday control much of the game but to concede two goals in the last 20 minutes and blow their lead, Röhl said: "When you look back, it was a tough defeat. We dominated the game for 74 minutes and then it was hard (emotionally) to lose. We will prepare, we want to take this game and we will look back at their last games and look forward.

"We will see how they use the FA Cup, whether it is more rotation or whether they are still with the some players. Sometimes in the FA Cup it is not always clear what teams are doing with their selection. We will focus on my team, what we can play, how we want to play and this is more important than just looking to the opponent."