Sheffield Wednesday defender sets out stall as Sunderland visit for Carabao Cup

The Owls will take on the Black Cats this evening in the first round of the competition, with Hillsborough playing host to the televised tie at 7.45pm tonight.

Palmer has played plenty of matches in the League Cup over the years, and knows how useful a good cup run can be when it comes to helping a team kick on in their league campaign.

Wednesday’s main aim this season is to secure promotion out of League One, but that doesn’t mean that they won’t be taking the cup any less seriously.

Speaking to The Star, Palmer said, “For any teams entering in the first round of this tournament it’s extremely difficult to win… The names on the trophy in recent years really speak for themselves.

“But momentum can be key in any season, and the cup can help that. It can help give players valuable minutes, it can help management in terms of looking at formations and tactics, and overall it’s a good exercise – you want to get as far as you can.

“It can help breed a winning mentality, and obviously we’ve had a solid start so we want to build on top of that.

“And then when you get to the later rounds and the big boys come in, obviously you want to pit yourselves against the best players.”

He went on to add, “Also, the revenue can be good as well, so there are lots of positives to it and we want to get our work done in the first round…

“It’s a new campaign, there are a lot of new faces compared to the play-offs, and I’m sure there will be a different feel. But it’s still a game that we want to win.”

Wednesday were knocked out in the first round of the Carabao Cup by Huddersfield Town last season, but reached the Third Round in the previous two campaigns. Their best campaign in recent years was the 2015/16 run to the quarterfinals before falling to Stoke City.

MORE: Owls legend on cup boost - heaps praise on Hillsborough before Sunderland visit