Sheffield Wednesday host Blackburn Rovers in the Championship this afternoon.
Sheffield Wednesday welcome Jon Dahl Tomasson’s Blackburn Rovers to Hillsborough later today, with the Owls looking to build on a positive 1-1 draw with Leicester City in midweek.
The Owls welcomed the league leaders to South Yorkshire and may have been frustrated to not have claimed all three points, with Jeff Hendrick instead rescuing a late point.
Rovers had a positive result in midweek too, beating Wayne Rooney’s Birmingham City 4-2 to move up into 7th place of the Championship table.
John Dahl Tomasson hails ‘really good’ Sheffield Wednesday stats
The different that Danny Rohl has made is clear.
Sheffield Wednesday are much more positive in the way they play now, boasting much more possession than they did under Xisco Munoz, and more shots on goal too.
Against Leicester, the Owls had 32% possession but managed 14 shots compared to Leicester’s 12, eventually ending the game with an xG of 1.41 compared to the Foxes’ 1.13 (Sofascore).
And speaking ahead of today’s game, Tomasson highlighted Sheffield Wednesday’s improved stats under Rohl, and the Owls’ overall improvements, saying:
“Sheffield Wednesday are getting better and better. They have really good stats now. They created 4-5 big chances against Leicester and should have won against Birmingham. But if we do the right things, we can be confident we’ll do well.”
Sheffield Wednesday vs Blackburn Rovers
Stats don’t win games. Goals win games, and whilst Sheffield Wednesday are certainly showing signs of improvement under Rohl, they’ve still taken just four points from a possible 21 under his watch.
Still, everyone has warmed to Rohl who has a hugely difficult task on his hands this season, and he might fancy his side’s chances against a Blackburn side who can be inconsistent and who have plenty of injuries to contend with.
Rovers though have one of the best away records in the league; they’ve taken 16 points from nine away games this season, with only Southampton, Ipswich Town, and Leicester boasting better records.
But the Foxes came to Hillsborough boasting the best away record in the Championship and they were arguably lucky to go home with a point, so in a game like this where the underdog is brimming with confidence, stats and form may go out the window.
It’ll be a truly exciting game today with Wednesday now knowing that they can go toe-to-toe with the best in the league, and expect the fans to be in full voice with a potential safety bid now a distant possibility.
Today’s game kicks off at 3pm.