Sheffield Wednesday take on Premier League Aston Villa in a behind-closed-doors friendly on Tuesday.
Danny Rohl sees his side take on Premier League and Champions League outfit Aston Villa on Tuesday, in a behind-closed-doors friendly match.
And for Rohl, it’s a chance to pit his first-team against sterling competition. But it’s also risky given the fact that Wednesday play seven games in 22 days after this international break.
Sheffield Wednesday go into this October international break in 15th place of the Championship table following a 2-1 win at Coventry City last time out.
In fact, since the September break, Wednesday have lost just once, taking eight points from a possible 15 to pull themselves out of the bottom three.
Rohl still has plenty of work to do on the training ground. But he appears eager to keep his players match-ready.
Who won’t feature for Sheffield Wednesday against Aston Villa
The Owls have a few players away on international duty who won’t feature against Aston Villa on Tuesday.
Goalkeepers James Beadle and Pierce Charles are away with England U21s and Northern Ireland’s senior team respectively.
Shea Charles is also with Northern Ireland this week, whilst Di’Shon Bernard is away with Jamaica.
Elsewhere, there’s a few injuries in the side, but injuries to the likes of Nathaniel Chalobah may be nearing their end.
Dominic Iorfa was on the bench vs Coventry and so it seems like that he’ll feature in the Villa game to get some minutes under his belt.
Liam Palmer and Olaf Kobacki picked up muscle injuries against Bristol City and seem likely to be rested some more.
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A makeshift Sheffield Wednesday XI to face Aston Villa
With Ben Hamer having returned to action with the U21s in recent weeks, he’ll no doubt play against Villa with Beadle and Charles both away.
Expect Iorfa to get some minutes, and Chalobah too if he’s fit enough to play a somewhat competitive friendly match.
Rohl may be weary of tiring his regular starters; the likes of Max Lowe, Marvin Johnson, Barry Bannan, Josh Windass, have all had injury issues in recent seasons, or are older players, so expect them to probably play 45 minutes at the most.
But this Villa game could be the perfect chance to unleash some younger players.
Names like Sean Fusire and Gabriel Otegbayo could get a full 90. Charlie McNeill could come out of the dark and play, and names like Rio Shipston, Sam Reed, and Gui Siqueira could get a run out alongside some first-team names.
Here’s a makeshift XI that Rohl could potentially field against Aston Villa…
Hamer (GK)
Reed
Famewo
Otegbayo
Ihiekwe
Siqueira
Fusire
Ingelsson
Gassama
Paterson
McNeill