Sheffield Wednesday could set two unwanted records in Championship fixture vs Birmingham City
Sheffield Wednesday will be eyeing a first win since September when they face Birmingham City on Tuesday night.
Sheffield Wednesday will be going in search of a first home win of the season when they welcome Birmingham City to Hillsborough this evening.
The Owls, who were cruelly denied all three points right at the death when they faced Birmingham at St Andrew’s back in September, drawing 2-2, suffered a fourth successive defeat in all competitions last time out, losing 1-0 to Portsmouth on Saturday.
Adrian Segečić scored the only goal of the game, striking in the second half, to settle what was a fairly dire contest. A 17th Championship defeat of the season has left the Owls 35 points from safety with 20 games remaining.
Ahead of tonight’s S6 tussle with Chris Davies’ side, here are five pre-match talking points:
How many changes?
Just how many changes Owls manager Henrik Pedersen will make this evening remains to be seen. As reported by The Star, wing-backs Sean Fusire and Yisa Alao have joined Wednesday’s ever-growing list of absentees, meaning changes in the wing-back positions are guaranteed.
With that in mind, a reshuffle across the backline is a given. However, with options increasingly limited at centre-back, there is not an awful lot of scope for Pedersen to dig deep, meaning Liam Palmer may have to slide across to right wing-back, allowing for Cole McGhee to come in at left-sided centre-back, while Reece Johnson may take Alao’s spot at left wing-back.
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Elsewhere, the likes of Jaden Heskey and Charlie McNeill will be pushing for starts after coming off the bench in the second half against Portsmouth. The former, who arrived on loan from Manchester City on Friday, replaced Jarvis Thornton after the break on Saturday and will be pushing for his first start in Wednesday colours.
Pedersen hinted at the weekend that he plans to use the 20-year-old as a deep-lying midfielder, meaning he could potentially replace Thornton and partner Bannan in the engine room.
Birmingham’s away record
If Birmingham are to be in the thick of the play-off battle come the business end of the campaign, they must improve their away record. The Blues have amassed just nine points on their travels so far this term, meaning only Wednesday (seven) have won fewer on the road in the division.
They halted their four-game losing run away from home in the Championship on Saturday, drawing 1-1 with Swansea City, and they will now be going in search of their first away league win since beating Preston North End 1-0 at Deepdale on October 21.
Losing nine of their opening 14 away league games this term, Birmingham must find a way to improve on the road if they are to maintain their ambitions of securing a second successive promotion. Only West Bromwich Albion have lost more away games (11) in the Championship this season.
However, to Birmingham’s credit, they did show signs of improvement in Saturday’s stalemate at Swansea, meaning they will be confident of capitalising on Wednesday’s S6 woes and clinching a rare away win.
Owls in danger of setting unwanted records
It’s been a miserable season for everyone associated with Wednesday, not the least the players, who are finding themselves associated with a catalogue of unwanted records. Former owner Dejphon Chansiri’s failings have resulted in the Owls experiencing a season to forget, and the records are likely to keep on tumbling.
After equalling a club-record 20 league games without a win at the weekend, the Owls are now in danger of going 21 league games without a win for the very first time in their entire history. The previous run of 20 league outings without a win was set between January and August 1975.
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As well as being on the cusp of setting that unwanted record, Wednesday are also on the brink of becoming the very first team in the history of the Championship (since the English Football League restructure in 2004/05) to go 21 games without a win. Saturday’s defeat to Portsmouth meant they equalled Rotherham United’s record of 20 Championship games without a victory - a record set back in the inaugural Championship campaign.
Owls need a goal
With the season already as good as over, Wednesdayites need something to celebrate. Saturday’s defeat to Portsmouth marked a fifth successive game in all competitions without a goal for the Owls, with their last coming against Hull City on Boxing Day.
Failing to score in each of their last four league outings, Wednesday are in danger of going a fifth successive Championship game without a goal for the first time since October 2023 (a run of six).
Currently on the longest goalless run in the Championship, Wednesday could become only the second team to go five successive games without a goal in the division this term - a record set by neighbours Sheffield United between August and September.
Beadle to return
Former Owls loanee James Beadle is expected to start in goal for Birmingham this evening, marking his first return to Hillsborough since leaving the club at the end of last season. After spending the second half of the 2023/24 campaign in S6, helping Wednesday complete the great escape, he spent the whole of last season at the club on loan from Brighton & Hove Albion.
Beadle made 57 appearances over his two spells at Hillsborough, keeping 17 clean sheets. He joined Birmingham on loan in July, offering him another opportunity to store regular Championship opportunities under his belt, and he has so far made 20 appearances for Davies’ side.
He was on the bench when Wednesday visited St Andrew’s back in September, meaning this is set to be the first time he has come up against his former teammates since leaving Hillsborough at the end of last season.