The Owls will travel to Blackburn Rovers, hoping to snap their four-game losing streak in the Championship.

Sheffield Wednesday’s disastrous season continued after falling to Preston North End in front of the home crowd in Hillsborough last Saturday.

Charlie McNeill’s first two Championship goals put them up twice, but a second-half defensive breakdown, alongside a penalty miss from McNeill himself, cost the Owls the game.

The dreaded week did not stop for the organisation when the EFL handed them an additional six-point deduction for multiple breaches of regulations relating to payment obligations. 

The latest punishment left the deeply troubled Wednesday sinking at the bottom of the table at -10 points, 23 points behind the closest team, Norwich.

When asked about the deduction in the pre-match press conference, head coach Henrik Pedersen said: “It has changed nothing. We still want to come as high as possible in the league table.

“I am very convinced that we can keep up the hunger, keep up the discipline, keep up the belief. I have it and [the players] have it.”

Indeed, there were plenty of encouraging takeaways from Henrik Pedersen’s side against Preston to take into the Blackburn game.

Sheffield Wednesday scored at least twice for the first time since late September and recorded the most distance covered this year. 

Team news

Owl fans will surely rely on their star man, Barry Bannan, who, despite turning 36 recently, has been one of the most prolific chance creators in the Championship.

Pedersen praised Bannan’s leadership and adaptability to “play higher up the pitch”, which has helped the system to become more effective.

Regarding injuries, Max Lowe has also returned to training after sitting out due to a hamstring problem. His situation will be monitored further until the weekend.

Nathaniel Chalobah completed passing drills in yesterday’s training session but will not be available. George Brown is expected to return to training in around two weeks.

New signing Nathan Redmond is also expected to be in the squad after making his debut last week.

Optimism against Blackburn

Henrik Pedersen described Blackburn Rovers as a physical, strong and aggressive opponent who are capable of playing both possession and direct football.

The Rovers have gone winless in their past three Championship games with one loss and two draws. They recently came off a last-minute heartbreak against Ipswich Town after a last-minute goal snatched away their victory.

Blackburn Rovers also have one of the poorest home records in the league, having won only one out of nine matches at Ewood Park.

Pedersen is optimistic but cautious before the matchup: “We always believe we can win, it doesn’t matter where we are going. We have a trust and a belief that we can do something in Blackburn.

“But we know that we all have to perform our very best to take something.”

Sheffield Wednesday defeated Blackburn Rovers in three of their five previous matchups, but failed to do so last season with a draw and a loss.

Feature image – Courtesy of Sheffield Wednesday