Sheffield Wednesday could set another unwanted Championship record vs Norwich City
Sheffield Wednesday will be desperate to record a first victory since September when they face Norwich City at Carrow Road on Wednesday night.
Sheffield Wednesday will be hoping to bounce back from Sunday’s Steel City derby defeat to Sheffield United by securing their first Championship victory since September when they face Norwich City at Carrow Road this evening.
The Owls, who drew 1-1 with the Canaries when they met at Hillsborough back in November, were beaten 2-1 by the Blades at the weekend, officially sealing their relegation to League One.
Wednesday, for reasons well-documented throughout the campaign, have experienced a season from hell, recording just one league victory, leading to them being relegated before the end of February. Nevertheless, with 13 games still to play, they will be determined to give their supporters something to cheer about.
Ahead of tonight’s clash in Norfolk, here are five pre-match talking points:
Changes guaranteed
As well as losing their Championship status and a fourth successive Steel City derby at Bramall Lane on Sunday, Wednesday also lost defenders Gabriel Otegbayo and Liam Cooper. The former was sent-off for two bookable offences while Cooper limped off with a serious groin injury that is poised to see him miss the remainder of the season.
It means the Owls will be without the two centre-backs this evening, leading to two enforced changes in the backline for manager Henrik Pedersen to have to make. Otegbayo has been a regular starter in the last two months, starting the last 13 games in league and cup.
As reported by The Star, Dominic Iorfa could be back involved in some capacity at Carrow Road after overcoming an injury that saw him miss the last eight Championship matches. Whether he will be deemed fit enough to be thrown straight back into the starting XI remains to be seen.
With Wednesday unlikely to take any unnecessary risks, Pedersen, who is light on senior defenders, could hand starts to youngsters Joe Emery and Cole McGhee. Emery’s only previous Championship experience amounted to a three-minute cameo against Bristol City at Ashton Gate last month, meaning he could be in line for a full league debut.
The 18-year-old did start the Carabao Cup clashes with Bolton Wanderers and Grimsby Town earlier this season as well as the FA Cup defeat to Brentford last month.
Fusire could start
After making a surprise comeback from a hamstring injury via the bench against the Blades on Sunday, Sean Fusire could be in line to make his first start since the 1-0 defeat to Portsmouth on January 17 this evening.
The Zimbabwe international, who is one of a number of Owls youngsters who have been forced to try and get to grips with Championship football ahead of their time this season, stepped off the bench in the closing stages at Bramall Lane and slotted in at right wing-back.
Fusire had made that position his own prior to his injury, successfully making the transition from midfield to the flank, meaning his return from a recent lay-off gives Pedersen an extra option to play with.
With centre-backs in short supply, captain Liam Palmer is highly likely to start in the back-three this evening, meaning Fusire is arguably a shoo-in for the right wing-back berth. The prospect of him starting on the flank could see Charlie McNeill, fresh from ending Wednesday’s Steel City derby goal drought, start in a more familiar central role in attack.
Avoid setting an unwanted record
Wednesday have set a plethora of unwanted records this season, the most damning of which saw them record the earliest relegation in English Football League history at the weekend. Unfortunately for the Owls, more are likely to tumble between now and the end of the campaign.
Wednesday will arrive at Carrow Road this evening having lost each of their last ten league matches - a sequence of results that started with a 3-0 defeat to Preston North End on New Year’s Day. Having moved into double figures for consecutive league defeats, they are now in danger of becoming the first team in Championship history (since the EFL restructure in 2004/05) to lose 11 games on the bounce.
Their defeat to the Blades saw them become only the second team in Championship history to lose ten games in a row - equalling a record set by Rotherham United in 2016/17 - but they are now on the brink of surpassing that tally and recording a new and unwanted losing run of their own.
Having failed to pick up a single point so far in 2026, now would be the ideal time to secure their first point(s) since December 29 and avoid setting another dismal record.
Watch out for Touré
Few winter window signings in the Championship have had a bigger impact than Norwich striker Mohamed Touré. Signed from Danish club Randers, he has wasted no time in making his mark in England, scoring five goals and registering one assist in his first four appearances for the club.
The Australian international, 21, scored in each of his first three appearances for the Canaries, including a hat-trick on his first start against Oxford United a fortnight ago, before claiming an assist in Saturday’s 2-1 defeat to Birmingham City.
Having contributed at least one direct goal contribution in each of his first four appearances, Wednesday are going to have to keep a very close eye on the striker, who has four Championship goals in three games so far.
Another midweek meeting
There are three guarantees in life: death, taxes and Wednesday and Norwich meeting midweek. Tonight’s Carrow Road clash will mark the sixth successive meeting between the two clubs to have been played under the lights on either a Tuesday or a Wednesday evening.
The two sides last met at Hillsborough on Bonfire Night, drawing 1-1, while their most recent meeting at Carrow Road, played last March, saw the Owls come from 2-0 down at half-time to win 3-2. The meeting at Hillsborough earlier in the 2024/25 season - also played on Bonfire Night - saw Wednesday run out 2-0 winners, thanks to goals from Josh Windass and Dominic Iorfa.
In 2023/24 - Wednesday’s first season back in the Championship after promotion from League One the previous campaign - saw Norwich win a December meeting at Carrow Road 3-1 on a Wednesday evening before the Owls fought back from 2-0 down to secure a crucial point, drawing 2-2, in the reverse meeting at Hillsborough in April 2024 - an occasion that marked Wednesday’s 5,000th league game.