Summer signing could make first Sheffield Wednesday start as response required vs Doncaster
Five talking points ahead of Sheffield Wednesday’s League One clash with Doncaster Rovers at Club Doncaster Sports Village on Saturday afternoon.
Sheffield Wednesday will be targeting a return to winning ways when they face Doncaster Rovers at Club Doncaster Sports Village this afternoon.
The Owls, who have won each of their last two meetings with Rovers, saw their nine-game unbeaten run come to an end on Tuesday night after being beaten 2-0 by Notts County at Meadow Lane.
After thrashing AFC Wimbledon 5-0 at Hillsborough last weekend, Wednesday, just three days later, produced their worst performance of the season, being deservedly beaten by Notts. It means that manager Henrik Pedersen will be determined to oversee an improved performance and positive result.
Ahead of the Owls’ trip to their South Yorkshire rivals, here are five pre-match talking points:
Changes in attack
As well as being beaten 2-0 at Meadow Lane in midweek, Wednesday were also dealt a series of individual blows, losing Di’Shon Bernard to a knee injury and Callum Slattery and Jamal Lowe to suspension.
Slattery was shown his fifth yellow card of the season in the first half, triggering an automatic one-match ban that rules him out of the trip to Rovers. Meanwhile, Lowe was sent off in the second half after receiving a straight red card, meaning he will miss the next three matches. The duo have started every league game for Wednesday so far this season, meaning Pedersen will be forced into at least two changes to his starting XI.
Liverpool loanee Kieran Morrison, who has started the last two matches on the bench, is the most obvious candidate to replace Slattery and start on the right flank, while, Ali Al-Hamadi, who has come off the bench in each of the last two games, and Mason Burstow, who has been left out of the last two matchday squads, are the most natural replacements for Lowe.
Al-Hamadi is yet to start for the Owls since arriving on loan from Ipswich Town in August, meaning the clash with Grant McCann’s side could present him with the opportunity he has been waiting for. Alternatively, Davis Keillor-Dunn could be pushed up front, although that would leave Pedersen searching for another option in the No.10 position.
Given the options available, an attacking quartet of Harry Gray, Keillor-Dunn and Morrison behind Al-Hamadi feels like the most likely combination Pedersen will opt for.
Issue a response
After producing such a tepid, uninspiring performance in midweek, Wednesday’s players owe it to their supporters to bounce back as strongly as possible against Rovers. From a results perspective, the Owls have made a solid start to the season, losing just three of their first 14 matches across all competitions. However, Tuesday night’s performance set alarm bells ringing.
The Owls have not convinced in many of their performances this season, but have more often than not found a way to get a positive result. However, against Notts, they were so far off the pace that their performance was deeply concerning.
With the options available to them, Wednesday are more than capable of producing a better performance than the one they served up on the banks of the Trent, as they demonstrated against AFC Wimbledon last Saturday. They need to be crisper with their passing, move the ball with speed and purpose, and take the game to the opposition in a way that gets their best players involved.
With tension and unrest growing among sections of the fan base, Wednesday need to avoid a repeat of their midweek trip to Nottingham at all costs.
Who starts at the back?
Although Wednesday boss Pedersen has said Bernard could be back in training as soon as next week, easing fears that he could be facing another lengthy spell on the sidelines, the trip to Club Doncaster Sports Village will come too soon for the Jamaican to feature, meaning at least one change to the back four is guaranteed.
However, Wednesday are set to make a late decision on whether Pedersen will be forced into a double change at centre-back amid concerns over Liam Cooper. The experienced defender, who has been excellent so far this season, is being managed carefully, meaning he may not be risked for a third time in eight days.
With a decision on Cooper’s availability expected ahead of kick-off, the prospect of him missing out could see Gabriel Otegbayo and Max Lowe partner each other at centre-back. The latter has come off the bench in each of the last two games after recently overcoming a hamstring injury, meaning he could make his first league start since the 1-0 defeat to Bradford City on August 20.
Sil Swinkels has trained all week after overcoming a hamstring issue of his own, while Ernie Weaver remains an option for Pedersen after the brakes were put on a potential loan exit earlier this week.
Doncaster’s inconsistency
Rovers will head into this afternoon’s South Yorkshire showdown looking to get back to winning ways after Tuesday night’s 2-0 defeat to Stockport County marked their second successive defeat. McCann’s troops, who are currently outside the relegation zone on goal difference, have won just two of their first ten League One matches this season, drawing three and losing five.
Their victories came against Peterborough United (2-0) and Burton Albion (1-0) in their seventh and eighth league outings of the campaign, respectively. Before recording those triumphs, Rovers had drawn three and lost three of their first six matches this term.
With McCann’s side still searching for consistency, they will be determined to get back on track against a Wednesday side that has struggled to string wins together consistently in recent weeks themselves.
Rovers have lost two of their first five home league games this term, with both defeats coming against top-six sides in the form of Stockport (0-2) and Plymouth Argyle (2-3).
Target a first away clean sheet
Although their midweek defeat to Notts marked their first away defeat of the season across all competitions, Wednesday are still yet to keep a clean sheet on the road this season, having conceded at least one goal in each of their six away games.
Clean sheets away from home have been incredibly hard to come by for Wednesday this calendar year. They have kept just one clean sheet on their travels in 2026, which came back in April when they drew 0-0 with Coventry City.
With Pedersen urging his players to get the ‘basics’ right, the first priority must be to keep the back door shut and build from there. Wednesday do not need to make the challenge any more difficult than it already is.