Sheffield Wednesday will be dreaming of making a winning start to 2026 when they face Preston North End at Deepdale on Thursday afternoon.

Sheffield Wednesday manager Henrik Pedersen wants his side to build on their recent draws with Hull City and Blackburn Rovers when they face Preston North End at Deepdale this afternoon.

Wednesday brought 2025 to a close with a 0-0 draw against Blackburn Rovers at Hillsborough on Monday night, marking their first clean sheet at home in just over a year. They produced another battling performance to deservedly take a share of the spoils.

The hectic festive schedule, however, means Wednesday’s depleted squad must now prepare themselves for a third game in seven days, taking on a Preston side that is winless at Deepdale in their last four, albeit with three of those games ending in 1-1 draws.

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The Owls, of course, are having to manage the intensive festive schedule carefully to ensure they are as fit as possible to navigate their way through each game. And with North End, who won 3-2 at Hillsborough at the end of November, currently sitting on the edge of the play-off places, Pedersen knows his side will be in for a stern test.

"It's a physical, strong team, maybe even stronger than today [Blackburn]," Pedersen told The Star. "But it's a similar team, also for formation, and, of course, it will be a tough game.

“Now we will rest and then we'll make a game plan again, and then we'll be ready to go."

Pedersen eyeing a positive start to 2026

Although Wednesday will start 2026 by looking to secure their first victory since September, their recent performances have offered plenty of positivity, meaning Pedersen is keen to continue building on that to try and start the second half of the season in positive fashion.

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“The same as against Ipswich, Hull and Blackburn," the Owls boss continued, outlining what he wants to get out of the trip to Deepdale. "We want to have everything out of this game, we want to, again, prepare in the best possible way.

"We want to rest as much as we can, so we can have as fresh a team as possible, and then we'll go again there to make a top performance."