Sheffield Wednesday take on Championship rivals Cardiff City in the FA Cup this evening.
Sheffield Wednesday take a break from Championship action today, to welcome Cardiff City in the Third Round of the FA Cup.
The two teams met at Hillsborough last month. The Owls were in front for the majority of the game, and in control too, but for two late goals handing Danny Rohl‘s side an eventual loss.
Since then, Sheffield Wednesday have won two out of three and now find themselves in 22nd place of the table and just three points from safety.
The mood is high among fans and Wednesday look like they’re set to do business in this month’s transfer window, with names like Isaac Hayden and Conor Coventry linked, and with the likes of Tyreeq Bakinson having already left.
Today though, Rohl’s focus will be on Cardiff City, and potentially on giving some youngsters a run out for the first-team.
Danny Rohl selection hint suggests changes are on the way
Rohl has already brought Bailey Cadamarteri into the first-team since his arrival, opening the door for more Owls youngsters to shine after Cadamarteri’s excellent start.
Joey Phuthi and Gui Siqueira have been on the bench in the last few games and so they look poised to at least feature in today’s game, but Rohl has suggested that there could be some first-team names keeping their place in the XI today.
Speaking to The Star, he said ahead of tonight’s game:
“I spoke to the players today and it is all about keeping momentum, this is important. But for sure there will be some players that will have to look at and consider how good it is for them to play. If there is a risk, then it makes no sense to play them, this is for sure.
“We want to keep the momentum, to show again a good performance and to try to come into the next round. This is what we want. We have to find a little balance. We want the best players on the pitch who are available and also to look after the players who it may be best to give a rest to because the last weeks have been very intense for everybody.”
Momentum is the key for Sheffield Wednesday
Sheffield Wednesday certainly have the wind in their sails right now.
The Owls are in a good place and a heavy loss here, or a poor performance, would certainly go towards taking away some of this positive momentum.
So it’s understandable that Rohl might keep some his stronger players in the side today, especially with a whole week before they return to league action away at Southampton; another very tough game.
It could boil down to who is the fittest right now. If some players have had knocks over the past few weeks or aren’t feeling close to 100% then they could be rested, like Rohl suggests.
And Cardiff may be thinking the same. They’ve hit an inconsistent patch of form but remain 9th in the league and come into this one on the back of a positive 2-1 win at QPR last time out, so they could look to build some momentum with another win in South Yorkshire.
Today’s game kicks off at 5:30pm.