Sheffield Wednesday are on a roll right now, and one very familiar face is in some top form.
Sheffield Wednesday have won their last three in the Championship after a 1-0 win against Rotherham United last weekend, with four wins in their last five.
The Owls remain three points from safety but, along with the likes of QPR, have managed to drag a number of teams into the relegation fight with some positive form in recent weeks.
And two names behind Wednesday’s upturn in form are Ian Poveda and Ike Ugbo.
Danny Rohl brought the pair to Hillsborough last month and both have since made huge impacts; Ugbo now has six goals in eight Championship appearances for the Owls whilst Poveda has wowed with his trickery and attacking threat.
Ian Poveda and Ike Ugbo arrivals suits Barry Bannan, says Sam Parkin
Speaking on the Championship Check-In podcast, EFL pundit Sam Parkin gave his verdict on Sheffield Wednesday and the arrivals of Poveda and Ugbo.
Parkin also noted how the pair have given club captain Barry Bannan freedom to drop deeper in midfield and pull the strings from there.
Parkin said:
“For Sheffield Wednesday to go and get Poveda and Ugbo, in particular… the shape seems more consistent now with Wednesday as well, with wing-backs. But I think there’s a little bit more strength there for Barry Bannan to be a little bit deeper and to orchestrate things, and not have to maybe be pulled out of position too often. So it seems to be suiting him who is clearly Sheffield Wednesday’s best player.”
Bannan, 34, has now featured 31 times in the Championship this season and has really been showing his class in recent weeks, playing an understated but crucial role in the upturn in form.
New attacking threat has given Barry Bannan freedom in midfield
At times earlier in the season, Bannan was having to play further up the pitch in order to give Sheffield Wednesday some threat in the final third.
Before January, Rohl didn’t really have a natural no.10, and he didn’t have a prolific striker, but now he has both in Poveda and Ugbo, and having both in the XI has allowed for Bannan to drop a little deeper, like Parkin points out.
And this is where he is most effective; when Bannan has the ball deep he can get his head up and pick out a long ball to the flank, or a low, driven pass into the attacking players.
Sheffield Wednesday, almost all of a sudden, now look like a very dangerous team and this recent run of form is representative of a team that’s working and gelling really well together, under a coach in Rohl who’s proving to be very tactically astute.
Up next for the Owls is a home game against Plymouth Argyle on Tuesday night.
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