Sheffield Wednesday host Cardiff City in the FA Cup this evening.
Sheffield Wednesday once again welcome Cardiff City to Hillsborough today, just a couple of weeks after the two teams met in South Yorkshire.
That day, Cardiff came from behind to claim a 2-1 win over Wednesday in the Championship, though Danny Rohl will certainly be hoping for a different outcome today.
His side go into their first FA Cup tie of the season on the back of successive wins, beating Preston North End and then Hull City on New Year’s Day.
Cardiff meanwhile beat QPR in their opening game of 2024 and currently sit in 9th place of the Championship table, compared to the Owls in 22nd.
Joe Crann tips Danny Rohl to make changes vs Cardiff City
It’s widely expected that Rohl will rotate his Sheffield Wednesday side today, and gives some rarely-seen players a run out.
Fringe players like Ashley Fletcher could be in line for a rare start, especially so after the striker impressed coming off the bench vs Hull City.
Elsewhere, we could see Cameron Dawson given a rest and either Devis Vasquez or teen Pierce Charles given a start in goal.
Then there’s the likes of Joey Phuthi and Gui Siqueira who Rohl has named on his bench in the last few weeks; the young pair look likely to feature today.
And Crann is hoping to see Siqueira given a run out against Cardiff today, posting on X:
Former QPR youngster Siqueira joined Sheffield Wednesday in the summer after a prolonged trial period.
Siqueira could be a long-term solution to Sheffield Wednesday problem
Dominic Iorfa picked up a substantial injury towards the end of last year and faces a lengthy spell on the sidelines.
He’d started every game under Rohl before his injury v Blackburn Rovers and so his absence is certainly a blow.
Liam Palmer has stepped in at right-back and whilst he’s an experienced alternative, he’s not performed at his best so far, and so Rohl may be thinking about the long-term solution to the right-back spot; especially with Iorfa and Palmer both out of contract this summer.
But the 18-year-old Siqueira could yet be the answer, and there’s anticipation from Crann as to how he’ll fare.
His emergence into the first-team comes at a crucial time given the right-back situation and he’ll no doubt be eyeing up his chance in XI.
If he’s given it today, he has to take it, and it certainly won’t be easy against a Cardiff City side who have a lot of talented youngsters of their own.
But if he can perform well then he’ll surely keep himself in Rohl’s thinking going into the second half of this season.
Today’s game kicks off at 5:30pm.