Bolton boss shares Sheffield Wednesday verdict and makes atmosphere prediction ahead of cup clash
Sheffield Wednesday will be hoping to get the better of Bolton Wanderers in the Carabao Cup first round for the second season running.
Bolton Wanderers head coach Steven Schumacher is anticipating a difficult test when his side faces Sheffield Wednesday in the first round of the Carabao Cup at Hillsborough on Saturday afternoon.
Following a rigorous pre-season campaign, the Owls will welcome the Championship outfit to S6 for what will be their first competitive outing of the 2026/27 season.
Although pre-season results have generated some concerns among the supporters, there is still an overriding feeling of positivity in S6 heading into the campaign, with the club in the process of being resurrected by new ownership group Arise Capital Partners.
The US consortium completed its purchase of the club the day before the end of last season, meaning there was a party atmosphere at Hillsborough for Wednesday’s 2-1 win over West Bromwich Albion over the final day of the season in May.
Although Wednesday's recruitment is far from complete, they have added 12 new faces to their squad so far this summer, making some eye-catching signings. As a result, Owls supporters will be keen to catch their first glimpse of the new arrivals in competitive action this weekend.
Although Bolton will go into the contest as favourites given their higher status in the football pyramid, Schumacher has said his players can ill afford to underestimate their League One opponents.
"It’s the first game of the season, so of course, we want to kick off with a win," said Schumacher, as quoted by The Bolton News. “We have to be as prepared as we can for that game.
"We’re not taking it as a pre-season game, where we can get knocked out and not give a good performance, then have to regroup for the opening day.
"We’ll go there and do our very best against a really motivated and well organised team. Obviously the league is where your bread and butter is. But we're still going to take the Sheffield Wednesday game as our first competitive fixture because it's a game that we want to try and win, going up against a good team.
"They were recently relegated from the Championship, they have strengthened this summer, they have made some good signings. Their fans will be really up for the game with the new ownership and a fresh start.
"If we go to Hillsborough on Saturday not fully prepared to try and win the game, it will be a difficult afternoon for us."
Although Hillsborough will not be packed to the rafters this weekend, with only the South Stand and the bottom half of the Kop open to home supporters, Schumacher, who guided Wanderers to promotion via the League One play-off final last season, is anticipating a strong atmosphere.
Schumacher continued: "I'd expect it to be. I don't know what the crowd's going to be, but it'll be a really good atmosphere because, as I say, at the back end of last season, it wasn't easy for Sheffield Wednesday last year with all of the ownership issues that they had.
"They've sorted that out. They've signed some good players.
"They seem to be trying to build some momentum and they'll have their eyes on trying to get back up into the Championship, so we know it'll be a very tough game, and we are looking forward to it."