Sheffield Wednesday welcome Accrington Stanley to Hillsborough this evening.

Sheffield Wednesday are expected to make a raft of changes for this evening’s EFL Trophy visit of Accrington Stanley, though they’ll have to stay within the confides of certain rules to avoid a small fine.

New Owls boss Dave Challinor is facing the task of juggling his squad amid a host of injuries in a clash that will see Wednesday through to the next round no matter its outcome. A win or a draw would ensure Wednesday a home tie for the next round, though with a difficult League One clash with Plymouth Argyle to come over the weekend the temptation will no doubt be there to follow the convention of the tournament and make mass changes.

The Owls will be without the likes of Mason Burstow, Ali Al-Hamadi, Reece James, Joe Lumley, Louie Barry and Liam Cooper for the Hillsborough clash. The comeback statuses of Billy Mitchell, Ashley Maynard-Brewer, Harry Gray and George Brown are unknown, while Jordi Liongola, Ricardo Santos and Di’Shon Bernard were included on Sunday having come back from time out and would be expected to sit the match out.

Long-term absentee Tyler Onyango will miss the remainder of the season. Jamal Lowe left the field at Oldham looking uncomfortable in his movement but any injury issue is not confirmed.

The EFL Trophy carries specific rules that are effectively designed to prevent clubs from making too many changes in the competition - or face a £5,000 fine. With Challinor having referenced the intensity levels and fitness concerns the club have at current, there may well be a juggle in store in naming a team that satisfies the rules from the Owls’ remaining senior players.

“Our hand really was forced with the players that we've got out,” Challinor said on his team selection for the weekend’s FA Cup defeat at Oldham Athletic in which Max Lowe was initially left out for Liongola - with Lowe later feeling an issue having shifted the momentum of the game coming on.

“Obviously, Plymouth is a really, really important game for us, and without prioritising, it’s probably more important than what this is (v Oldham). We had a team out there that I felt could win, but we didn't want to be in a situation where we were risking anybody. We already have got players out. Hopefully, we'll have some back, but that's going to be where we're at.”

The rule book for this year’s EFL Trophy states in part:

‘Full Available Strength’ means the EFL Club must include at least four Qualifying Players in the ten outfield Players named in the starting eleven on the Team Sheet.

7.4 Qualifying Player means any Player who:

7.4.1 had started the immediately preceding First Team Fixture;

7.4.2 subsequently starts the immediately following First Team Fixture;

7.4.3 is in the list of ten Players at the Club with the highest number of starting appearances in First Team Fixtures in the same Season;

7.4.4 has made forty or more starting appearances in First Team Fixtures or international equivalents (and not limited to the same Club or Season); or

7.4.5 is on standard loan from a Premier League Club or any EFL Club operating a Category One Academy.