Henrik Pedersen could make two changes to his Sheffield Wednesday attack vs Charlton
Sheffield Wednesday will be going in search of their second Championship win of the season when they face Charlton Athletic.
Sheffield Wednesday will be targeting a return to winning ways when they face Charlton Athletic at The Valley on Saturday afternoon.
The Owls, who are close to being served with a winding-up petition by HMRC, will make the journey to the capital with aspirations of halting their three-game winless run.
Wednesday were beaten 5-0 by table-toppers Coventry City at Hillsborough prior to the international break, but the best of their performances so far this season have come on their travels, highlighted by the fact they are unbeaten in their last three away games.
After another testing week off the pitch, Wednesday’s players will no doubt be itching to give their supporters something to shout about on it.
Ahead of the Owls’ trip to The Valley, here are five pre-match talking points:
Who will replace Weaver?
When it rains, it pours. It certainly does in Wednesday’s world right now, anyway. If the ongoing off-field problems were not already enough, the Owls could be without talented centre-back Ernie Weaver for the rest of the season through injury.
The centre-back is going to require surgery on a long-term foot problem that could see him miss the remainder of the campaign. The academy graduate was nothing short of outstanding after being fast-tracked into the first-team by Owls boss Henrik Pedersen, producing a handful of really encouraging performances, particularly against Portsmouth and Birmingham City last month.
Making the central spot in the back-three his own in recent weeks, it is highly likely Gabriel Otegbayo will take Weaver’s place in a like-for-like swap. The defender has made three Championship starts so far this season.
Another option for Pedersen could be to move Yan Valery back into the defence after a recent stint in midfield and deploy him as either the right wing-back or right-sided centre-back, moving Dominic Iorfa into the middle of the defence. Recalling Otegbayo, though, would minimise the level of disruption.
Away day positives
Despite all the doom and gloom, Wednesday’s recent away performances have highlighted the levels of determination and spirit within the camp. The Owls were seconds away from beating Birmingham City in their last away game - a victory that would have marked a second in succession on the road.
Nevertheless, the fact Wednesday have amassed five points from their last three away trips has earned them plenty of plaudits. They defeated Portsmouth 2-0 sandwiched in the middle of 2-2 draws with Wrexham and Birmingham respectively.
In all honesty, they could have, despite having found themselves 2-0 down at half-time against Wrexham, come out on top against Phil Parkinson’s side, meaning in a parallel universe they may have geared up for the trip to Charlton going in search of a fourth away win in a row amid how close they came to defeating Birmingham.
Wednesday have lost just one of their last eight trips to Charlton, winning three, meaning history suggests they could be in for another uplifting away result.
Who leads the line?
All eyes will be on Pedersen to see who he chooses to lead Wednesday’s attack in the capital. After naming a front-two of Bailey Cadamarteri and Jamal Lowe for each of the Owls’ last two matches, it feels inevitable a change of some sort will be made.
Cadamarteri represented Jamaica during the international break and was on the bench for their 4-0 win over Bermuda as recently as the early hours of Wednesday morning, meaning it remains to be seen if he will be in a strong enough condition to start after taking travel time into account.
After September’s international break, Cadamarteri started the first game back on the bench, paving the way for Ike Ugbo to start. The former Chelsea man has not started a Championship game since, meaning Cadamarteri’s condition could determine whether he comes back into the team.
After back-to-back appearances from the bench, George Brown, who has scored in each of the Owls’ last two away games, will be hoping for a recall and a third league start of the season.
Charlton’s home form
Charlton have made The Valley something a fortress this calendar year, losing just once on their own patch in 2025. That sole defeat was inflicted on them after a moment of brilliance from Leicester City ace Abdul Fatawu in August, sealing a 1-0 win for the Foxes.
Under Nathan Jones, The Valley has been a notoriously difficult place for the away teams to visit, so much so the Addicks will be going in search of a 13th home league win of 2025 against Wednesday - a record they last achieved in 2019.
Their opening four home games this season have seen them amass seven points, beating Watford (1-0) and Blackburn Rovers (3-0) while drawing with Millwall (1-1). After beating Blackburn in their last home game, they will be attempting to win back-to-back home games in the Championship for the first time since April 2016.
A packed-out away end
More than 3,000 Wednesdayites will travel to the capital this weekend with the ambition of being treated to a second away win of the campaign. The Owls have sold out their allocation of 3,129 tickets, meaning the Owls’ support on the road is not wavering amid the ongoing crisis off the pitch.
A mass boycott is planned for the game with Middlesbrough at Hillsborough next Wednesday night, with everyone encouraged to stay away by the Sheffield Wednesday Supporters’ Trust, but the away end at The Valley will be packed to the rafters.
On the Owls’ away support, Charlton boss Jones said: "Sheffield Wednesday fans always travel well. They’re an excellent football club, with good fans that can create a wonderful atmosphere, especially with what they’re going through.”