Sheffield Wednesday can secure vital financial windfall with FA Cup upset vs Brentford
Sheffield Wednesday will take on Brentford in the third round of the FA Cup at Hillsborough on Saturday afternoon.
Sheffield Wednesday will pocket just north of £120,000 if they pull off an FA Cup upset against Premier League side Brentford at Hillsborough on Saturday afternoon.
Currently sitting rock bottom of the Championship table on -7 after having 18 points deducted earlier this season, the FA Cup will be a welcome distraction for Wednesday manager Henrik Pedersen and his players.
Although Wednesday are not mathematically relegated as yet, it is, of course, inevitable they will be playing in League One next season. They have won just one of their opening 25 league games this season, meaning they are 32 points from safety with just under half of the season remaining.
With that in mind, arguments have been put forward for the Owls to try and prioritise the FA Cup amid the fact their league campaign is as good as over. Getting the better of Brentford, who climbed up to fifth in the Premier League table on Wednesday night, is, of course, an easier said than done task.
The Bees, who have never faced the Owls in the FA Cup, are enjoying an outstanding campaign under Keith Andrews, who succeeded Thomas Frank last summer, and will no doubt be hoping to enjoy a cup run themselves.
Wednesday, though, are in desperate need of a victory to try and lift the mood around the whole club after Sunday’s 3-0 defeat to QPR stretched their winless run to 19 matches, moving them to within one game of equalling their league record of 20 matches without a win.
Owls can secure financial boost by targeting FA Cup scalp
At the time of publication, it remains to be seen how strong a team Pedersen will field, amid calls for his senior players to be given a well-earned breather after a fixture pile-up over Christmas and New Year. However, the Owls boss, speaking to The Star after the defeat at Loftus Road, hinted that he will not be fielding a youthful XI.
“There are not many positions where we can still change,” said the Dane. “When there's only three senior players in the squad, we can only put a maximum of three more in because the other seven are young players.
“So let's see when everyone has recovered Thursday, Friday, how the senior players are feeling, and then we will make a solution later.”
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Should Wednesday getting the better of the Londoners, they will secure £121,500 in prize money - a sum that will be very useful at a time when funds are far from flush. With no owner currently in situ, the club is desperate for cash, meaning progression to the FA Cup fourth round would bring in a much-needed windfall.
On the flip side, if the Hillsborough showdown goes the way almost everyone expects it to and Brentford progress to the fourth round of the competition, Wednesday will secure £26,500 in prize money for exiting the competition at the third round stage.
Progression to the fourth round would then offer the Owls the chance to try and secure an additional £127,000 in prize money for progressing to the fifth round. According to the FA’s prize fund information, no prize money will be distributed to clubs who are beaten in the fourth round of the competition, likewise in the fifth round and the quarter-finals.