'Really sad' - Chris Sutton makes Sheffield Wednesday admission ahead of FA Cup tie vs Brentford
Chris Sutton is not expecting Sheffield Wednesday to pull off an FA Cup upset this weekend.
Former Blackburn Rovers and Celtic striker Chris Sutton has said it is “really sad” to have seen the rapid decline of Sheffield Wednesday this season.
Just over halfway through the campaign and the Owls are already as good as relegated to League One after being hit with two separate points deductions that have seen them had a total of 18 points docked, leaving them rooted to the foot of the Championship on -7.
After entering administration in October, Wednesday were automatically deducted 12 points before having another six deducted at the start of December in relation to charges issued against the club and Dejphon Chansiri back in the summer for failing to fulfil payment obligations.
It means Wednesday, who have a threadbare squad, are already all but relegated, currently finding themselves 32 points adrift of safety after winning just one of their opening 25 matches this term.
Saturday’s FA Cup clash with Brentford at Hillsborough, as challenging as it will be for the Owls to try and progress to the fourth round, is likely to be seen as a welcome distraction for manager Henrik Pedersen and his players, with the competition offering them something that is worth fighting for, not least financially. £121,500 will be awarded to the winner of the tie.
Currently separated by 39 places in the pyramid, Brentford, who climbed up to fifth in the Premier League table on Wednesday night with a 3-0 win over Sunderland, are overwhelming favourites to capitalise on Wednesday’s woes and progress to the fourth round, a scenario which Sutton believes will happen.
Sutton on Owls’ situation: ‘It is really sad’
Nevertheless, the former Norwich City marksman is saddened by the situation the Owls find themselves in.
Penning his prediction for the BBC Sport website, Sutton said: “It is really sad to see what has happened at Sheffield Wednesday and there is no way for them to salvage their season now.
“Brentford are flying at the moment under Keith Andrews and they are another club who I'd love to see have a real go at the FA Cup this season.
“The Bees have never got past the quarter-finals in their history, and have not even got that far since 1989. You only have to look at [Crystal] Palace last year to find a team winning it for the first time so it is definitely doable for them too.”
Sutton is tipping Brentford to win 2-0 at Hillsborough.