We are now one-third of the way through the Championship season, and Sheffield Wednesday are in a relatively stable position, but one key metric suggests the Owls could struggle long-term if improvements aren’t made.
Sheffield Wednesday sit in 15th place in the Championship table after 15 games, with 18 points putting them three points above the relegation zone, and seven points off the play-off places.
Danny Rohl’s side are yet to put together a meaningful run of positive results, but have picked up important wins against Norwich City, Portsmouth, and Coventry City in the last month.
However, Sheffield Wednesday’s biggest issue was brutally exposed against Sheffield United last weekend, and it’s all down to the way the Owls are performing in front of goal.
- READ MORE: Sheffield Wednesday taught ‘lesson’ by Sheffield United as Danny Rohl side lacked one crucial thing
Sheffield Wednesday’s xG away from home is poor
As per data from FBRef, Sheffield Wednesday are really struggling to create chances when they play away from Hillsborough.
In their seven games on the road this season, the Owls have registered an xG of higher than 1.00 on just two occasions, in the wins against Coventry and Portsmouth.
Elsewhere, their xG has dipped as low as 0.16 against Millwall, and 0.23 against Bristol City. Despite all the chances created against Sheffield United on Sunday, Rohl’s men only registered an xG of 0.39 across the game.
| Opponent | Sheffield Wednesday xG |
|---|---|
| Sunderland | 0.38 |
| Millwall | 0.16 |
| Luton Town | 0.87 |
| Bristol City | 0.23 |
| Coventry City | 1.55 |
| Portsmouth | 1.14 |
| Sheffield United | 0.39 |
Granted, xG is not the definitive football statistic, and it can often be misleading from game to game, but over the course of the season, this metric does have a habit of evening itself out and influencing a team’s points tally for the final league table.
If Sheffield Wednesday do not start carving out meaningful chances away from home, and more importantly, taking those chances, they may find their wastefulness in front of goal will come back to bite them further down the line.
- READ MORE: Danny Rohl issues defiant response when questioned about ‘crazy’ Sheffield Wednesday issue
Goals crucial to Sheffield Wednesday’s fight against relegation
As it stands, Sheffield Wednesday have scored 17 goals this season. That’s more than eight other teams in the division, including West Brom, who are currently in the top six, while 13 teams have scored more than the Owls.
Essentially, Rohl’s side are pretty much average when it comes to goals scored in the Championship this term, and if they can keep their head above water and keep outperforming their xG, all will be well when it comes to crunch time next year.
But, with Ike Ugbo struggling for form, new signing Jamal Lowe only having one Championship goal to his name, and Rohl continually rotating his front line, it is hard to see where a consistent flow of goals will come from through the season.
Sharing out the goalscoring responsibilities across a number of players is not the worst approach, and that variety could serve the Owls well, especially if Ugbo and Lowe can start firing. But, if they don’t and the form of Josh Windass and Michael Smith were to dip, Wednesday could end up looking over their shoulder nervously as the season goes on.