Sheffield Wednesday see Stoke City travel to S6 on Saturday afternoon.
Sheffield Wednesday go into yet another crunch match in the Championship, with 19th place Stoke City heading to Hillsborough.
A win for the Owls would bring them level on points with the Potters who’ve endured a turbulent season of their own, with a managerial change as well.
Steven Schumacher is now the man in charge and whilst he’s had some good results with Stoke City, he’s also had his critics.
Stoke City lost 3-0 at Swansea in midweek whilst Sheffield Wednesday drew 2-2 with Norwich City.
Sheffield Wednesday predicted XI for Stoke City
It’ll certainly be interesting to see how Danny Rohl lines up his side for the game vs Stoke City.
A major talking point will be his formation; will it be the back-four that started against Norwich or the back-five that changed the game at half-time.
With Stoke arguably much weaker opponents than Norwich, Rohl may persist with the back-four which he views as a more attacking set up.
Then in terms of personnel, we could see very few changes to the side, with team news largely as it was before Norwich; Ike Ugbo, Ian Poveda, Di’Shon Bernard, and Marvin Johnson are among those likely to miss out.
But something Schumacher said in his pre-Sheffield Wednesday press conference may have caught Rohl’s eye, and could change the Owls’ XI.
Steven Schumacher fails to deny lack of fitness at Stoke City
Schumacher was pressed on the defeat vs Swansea, with reporter Pete Smith questioning Schumacher on the fitness levels within the Stoke City side.
Smith suggested several Stoke players were ‘running on empty’ vs Swansea and asked Schumacher if he’ll factor that into the game vs Wednesday, which he simply replied ‘yeah possibly’, highlighting Million Manhoef and Bae Jun-Ho’s lack of fitness in particular.
It could mean Stoke are forced into changes for the game vs Sheffield Wednesday.
Danny Rohl needs a fiery Sheffield Wednesday XI vs Stoke City
With Stoke young and inexperienced in the Championship, and looking fatigued as we near the end of the season, Sheffield Wednesday really need to pounce on the Potters.
Given the fact that the Owls’ first-team is ageing, it also means it’s quite an experienced side, and that could really play into their favour against Stoke and in the run-in.
But in players like the returning Callum Paterson, Rohl also has really energetic and naturally fit players, so Paterson could be someone who really unsettles Stoke City on Saturday afternoon.
Elsewhere, the likes of Bailey Cadamarteri and also Michael Smith can put in the yards up front and so they too could play pivotal roles in the game vs Stoke City, which is arguably Rohl’s biggest game in charge of Sheffield Wednesday so far.
Kick off is at 3pm.
The post Stoke boss admits potential weakness which Rohl and Sheffield Wednesday must exploit - opinion appeared first on Sheffield Wednesday News.