Sheffield Wednesday must deliver a reaction to end 21-month wait vs Cambridge United
Five talking points ahead of Sheffield Wednesday’s League One clash with Cambridge United at Hillsborough on Tuesday night.
Sheffield Wednesday will be hoping to get back to winning ways when they welcome Cambridge United to Hillsborough on Tuesday evening.
The Owls, who have won each of their last three meetings with the U’s, sacked manager Henrik Pedersen on Sunday, meaning interim boss Matt Hamshaw will take charge for the first time.
Pedersen was relieved of his duties less than 24 hours after the Owls’ 2-0 defeat to Doncaster Rovers on Saturday afternoon. The result marked their second successive defeat, leaving Wednesday two points short of the play-off places.
Having produced two flat and uninspiring performances in their last two outings, Wednesday will be determined to get back on track in front of what is expected to be another bumper crowd at Hillsborough under the lights.
Ahead of the visit of the U’s, here are five pre-match talking points:
Deliver a response
Following back-to-back away defeats that ultimately brought Pedersen’s tenure to an end, Wednesday need to get back on track when they welcome Neil Harris’ side to S6. After thrashing AFC Wimbledon 5-0 just over a week ago, it seemed as though the Owls had turned a corner in their quest to produce a string of encouraging performances.
However, they were second best against both Notts County and Doncaster, meaning Pedersen paid the price and was sacked after just over three years at the club. In the short term, Hamshaw has been tasked with injecting some positivity and intensity into Wednesday’s play. He returned to Hillsborough as a coach as recently as August.
With another crowd of around 30,000 expected, the onus will be on Wednesday’s players to make amends for their shortcomings against Notts and Doncaster and deliver a performance that gets supporters out of their seats.
Wednesdayites accept that their team will lose games this season. They also recognise that the club is at the beginning of a long journey following its recent takeover. However, they are entitled to expect better performances from the team than those served up over the past week.
As Wednesday demonstrated against both Bromley and Wimbledon, they are capable of causing problems for opposition teams at this level if they get on the front foot and take the game to their opponents.
Team selection
As with any new manager or interim boss taking charge for the first time, it is often difficult to predict exactly how they will set their team up. However, given the personnel currently available to Wednesday, Hamshaw could opt for a 4-2-3-1 formation, the system primarily used by Pedersen.
Wednesday switched to a 4-2-3-1 with less than 20 minutes on the clock against Doncaster after initially lining up in a 3-5-2 formation. The latter system saw Kieran Morrison deployed as a left wing-back, while Barry Bannan, Billy Mitchell and Jaden Heskey formed a midfield trio for the first time.
If Hamshaw reverts to a 4-2-3-1 from the outset, Morrison is likely to be deployed in his natural role on the right wing. Meanwhile, Callum Slattery, who was suspended at the weekend, and Harry Gray, who was left out against Doncaster, could both return to the starting XI.
The prospect of Slattery starting in the No.10 position could cast doubt over Davis Keillor-Dunn’s place in the starting line-up, given his preference for playing as an attacking midfielder. However, he is also capable of playing as a striker, meaning he could lead the line.
Manager watch
Naturally, with the managerial position at Hillsborough currently vacant, all eyes will be on the Directors’ Box, just as they were when interested buyers attended matches at Hillsborough during the takeover process, to spot any potential hints.
At the time of writing, it remains to be seen who Wednesday have identified as potential candidates to succeed Pedersen in the S6 hot seat, although a flurry of names have been linked with the role. Former Stockport County boss Dave Challinor is the overwhelming favourite with the bookmakers, following his recent success with the Hatters and amid his links with Owls sporting director Simon Wilson.
Several other names have been linked with the position over the past 48 hours or so, but it remains unclear who Wednesday intend to appoint to lead the club forward. Perhaps a few glances towards the Directors’ Box during the clash with the U’s will provide some clues.
Targeting back-to-back home wins
Following their victory over Wimbledon last time out at Hillsborough, Wednesday will be targeting back-to-back home league wins for the first time this season. They were under pressure ahead of the visit of the Dons to return to winning ways on home soil, having drawn their two previous home games against Wigan Athletic and Stockport 0-0.
Regardless of who becomes Wednesday’s next manager, their home form needs to be strong this season if they are to challenge towards the top of the League One table. They have won just two of their first five home games so far this term.
Should Wednesday come out on top against Cambridge, they will record back-to-back home league wins for the first time since New Year’s Day 2025. On that occasion, Wednesday beat Derby County 4-2, inspired by Josh Windass’ sensational effort from inside his own half.
Since recording that triumph over the Rams at the very start of 2025, Wednesday have won just four of their last 38 league games at Hillsborough.
Recent encounters
On each of Cambridge’s last two visits to Hillsborough, Wednesday have run riot. After beating the U’s 6-0 in March 2022, the Owls put five past them in January 2023, securing a 5-0 victory.
In March 2022, Wednesday blew the U’s away, inspired by a Saido Berahino hat-trick, before Windass helped himself to a treble against them just under a year later. Cambridge narrowly avoided relegation at the end of the 2022/23 season, whereas they are now looking to escape League One via the other end of the table.
Harris’ side currently occupy the final play-off place and are unbeaten away from home so far this season, having won three and drawn three of their six away games across all competitions.