Opinion

Stoke City boss will surely look to exploit one Sheffield Wednesday player today

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Stoke City may be looking to exploit a certain Sheffield Wednesday player when they head to South Yorkshire.

Stoke City are the next team to visit Hillsborough, and the second last team to do so this season.

The Owls have just four games left to salvage their Championship status for another year, with two home games and two on the road.

Last time out, Danny Rohl watched his side come from two goals down to draw 2-2 with Norwich City, whilst Steven Schumacher watched his Stoke City side lose 3-0 at Swansea City.

Owls fans may be quietly confident of seeing their side pick up another vital three points against the Potters.

But Schumacher will have his game plan.

What happened last time Sheffield Wednesday played Stoke City

Middlesbrough v Sheffield Wednesday - Sky Bet Championship
Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images

These two teams last met in December, and many may remember very well what happened when Sheffield Wednesday headed to the bet365 Stadium.

It was during a very positive December period for Rohl’s side who finally started to click, picking up wins against Blackburn Rovers, Stoke, QPR, and Preston North End.

The Stoke game was arguably the most dramatic with Anthony Musaba coming off the bench and neatly finishing in injury time.

It was a 1-0 win and Rohl and co would desperately take the same scoreline on Saturday afternoon.

A lot has changed since then, though.

Schumacher has since arrived at Stoke City and whilst he’s had mixed results in charge of the Potters, his side remain a huge threat.

They’ll attack on the front-foot and they may well be hoping to unsettle a certain James Beadle after the game vs Norwich City.

James Beadle could now become Stoke City focal point

Sheffield Wednesday v Swansea City - Sky Bet Championship
Photo by Athena Pictures/Getty Images

Beadle has earned huge praise since arriving on loan from Brighton in January.

The 19-year-old has kept six clean sheets in 15 Championship outings for the Owls, conceding 22 goals and proving to be a huge upgrade on Cameron Dawson who had struggled before.

Beadle has proved himself, not only as a ball-player but as a shot-stopper too, with the Brighton teen playing as big a role as any other player in recent weeks.

But the style of play that Rohl has insisted upon Beadle has, on a couple of occasions now, exposed Beadle.

The last being against Norwich where a short pass from Beadle allowed the Canaries to score their second goal before the break.

There is of course, an easy fix; play the ball long to Michael Smith who looks set to start once again.

But Rohl seems unlikely to divert too far away from what he’s been working on in the last few months, and maybe it’s just a case of accepting that these mistakes will happen, but hoping they don’t.

So for Stoke, rushing on Beadle when he has the ball could be an area they focus on.

Beadle will simply have to make sure he gets his feet sorted in time, and if in doubt, get it out.

Kick off is at 3pm on Saturday.