Sheffield Wednesday can make a statement by doing something for the first time in 36 years vs Huddersfield
Five pre-match talking points ahead of Sheffield Wednesday’s Yorkshire derby against Huddersfield Town on Saturday afternoon.
Sheffield Wednesday will be hoping to extend their unbeaten run to eight matches when they face Yorkshire rivals Huddersfield Town at the Accu Stadium this afternoon.
Following a two-week break, Wednesday resumed their campaign with a 2-0 win over Sunderland’s Under-21s in the Jersey Mike’s Trophy on Tuesday evening, meaning they will be looking to secure a third successive victory in all competitions against the Terriers.
However, in League One, Wednesday will be looking to return to winning ways after playing out back-to-back 0-0 draws against Wigan Athletic and Stockport County at Hillsborough prior to the international break.
Ahead of Henrik Pedersen’s side’s trip to West Yorkshire, here are five pre-match talking points:
Who starts in attack?
Finding consistency in attack has been a problem for Wednesday so far this season. Eleven games into the campaign, Pedersen has started with a different front four on ten occasions, highlighting the need for him to establish greater continuity.
Loanees Kieran Morrison and Harry Gray have returned from international duty with Northern Ireland and England’s Under-19s, respectively, and are in contention to add to their Wednesday appearance tallies against Huddersfield. Morrison has made seven appearances since arriving from Liverpool in August, while Gray, who joined from Leeds United in July, has featured six times so far.
With Louie Barry still sidelined, they are the obvious candidates to start out wide, although Jamal Lowe, who has started every league game so far this season, could challenge them for a starting spot.
At the tip of the attack, Mason Burstow has established himself as Pedersen’s first-choice striker this season, making eight starts in total. However, he has failed to score in any of his last six games, meaning the Owls boss could consider a change up front. Davis Keillor-Dunn, Ali Al-Hamadi and Lowe are among the alternative options he could consider to lead the line.
Facing a promotion rival
Wednesday have faced two fellow top-six sides so far this season, failing to score against either. After suffering a 1-0 defeat to Bradford City in their first home league game of the season in August, the Owls drew 0-0 with Stockport County in their most recent league outing.
Bradford are currently second in League One, two places and two points ahead of Wednesday, while Stockport sit one place and one point behind the Owls. Both teams have played one more game than Wednesday.
Having failed to find the back of the net against either side, Wednesday will be hoping it is third time lucky when they take on third-placed Huddersfield, who remain unbeaten at home in all competitions this season. They have conceded just two goals in their first four home games this term.
With Huddersfield, like Wednesday, widely fancied to feature in the promotion shake-up come the business end of the season, Pedersen will be hoping his side can flex their muscles against a promotion rival for the first time this season and send out a statement of intent.
Targeting another away win
Although Wednesday have stuttered in their search for goals and momentum at Hillsborough so far this season, they have had no such problems on the road, winning each of their first four away games in all competitions.
After starting with a hat-trick of away league wins against Leyton Orient, Wycombe Wanderers and Peterborough United, all by 2-1 scorelines, Wednesday recorded another 2-1 triumph over Salford City in the Jersey Mike’s Trophy last month, securing a fourth successive away win for the first time since December 2011.
However, you have to go back to October 1990 for the last time the Owls put together a five-game winning run on the road. That particular sequence saw them win their first five away league games of the 1990/91 season before extending their winning run on their travels to six matches with a 2-1 victory over Brentford in the second round of the League Cup.
As well as attempting to win five away games in a row across all competitions for the first time in 36 years this afternoon, Wednesday will be targeting a fourth successive away league win for the first time since December 2006. That impressive run of form on the road saw them beat Leicester City (4-1), Norwich City (2-1), Stoke City (2-1) and Barnsley (3-0).
Recent meetings
Wednesday and Huddersfield have served up some memorable meetings over the years. Alongside the two-legged Championship play-off semi-final in May 2017, which, unfortunately, did not go the Owls’ way, other iconic match-ups that spring to mind include the 4-4 draw at Hillsborough in December 2011, the Owls’ 2-0 win at the Accu Stadium in April 2012, and the comeback 3-1 victory Wednesday secured at Hillsborough in November 2015 after scoring three goals in the final 12 minutes.
Since both clubs escaped League One together at the end of the 2011/12 season, Wednesday and Huddersfield have faced each other 19 times across all competitions. The Owls have won six of those meetings, with four of those victories coming on Huddersfield’s territory.
However, Wednesday were beaten 4-0 on their last visit to the Accu Stadium, leaving them in a perilous position as they battled against relegation under former manager Danny Röhl during the 2023/24 season. Despite finding themselves eight points from safety following that heavy defeat in February, the Owls turned their fortunes around and avoided relegation, while Huddersfield were relegated.
With both sides now chasing promotion back to the Championship, another intriguing battle between these Yorkshire rivals promises to be in store.
Bernard hope
After missing Wednesday’s win over Sunderland’s Under-21s, there were fears that centre-back Di’Shon Bernard had suffered a setback in his recovery from a long-term knee injury.
The Jamaican defender made his highly anticipated return against Salford last month, getting 61 minutes under his belt. It was thought that he would feature in the Jersey Mike’s Trophy once again to continue building up his match sharpness.
However, Pedersen confirmed on Friday that the former Manchester United defender required some recovery time after making his first appearance in 18 months against Salford.
Fortunately, Bernard has not suffered a setback, meaning he is in contention for a place in the matchday squad this afternoon.