Sheffield Wednesday’s defence: How things look…

Garry Monk’s side are currently 15th in the league after 37 games, with 49 goals conceded and a goal difference of -3, but where do they rank in the league among some of the key defensive stats?

Wednesday are ninth in the division with regards to average tackles per game, putting in 16.7 on average, but are much further down the table (16th) in terms of interceptions, making just 9.6.

Interestingly, for a varying viewpoint, the league’s table-toppers, Leeds United, are top three in terms of total tackles (661), while second-placed West Bromwich Albion are 21st (540).

That many tackles come with consequences, as you might imagine, so it’s no shock to see that only five teams in the league have picked up more yellow cards (71), and they top the red card table with five.

Liam Palmer, Massimo Luongo and Keiren Westwood have all be on the receiving end of straight reds, while Osaze Urhoghide and Moses Odubajo got second yellows and the red that followed.

The fact that only three teams in the league average less shots on their own goal than Wednesday (10.5 per game) is a bemusing one given their current league position, showing once again that Monk’s side are conceding more goals than they probably should be.

Wednesday goalkeepers have made 82 saves so far this season, and only Wigan Athletic (77) and Leeds United’s (74) stoppers have actually made less. Just one SWFC save was from a shot inside the six-yard box.

No surprise, then, is the fact that only Stoke players (83) have blocked less shots than Wednesday’s, however Monk’s side are middle of the road in terms of total clearances (675) as they average 18.2 per game.

Meanwhile, Wednesday spend less time in their own third (27%) than 17 of the 24 teams in the Championship, further proving that their opposition just tends to be more clinical when it comes to actually scoring goals.