Sheffield Wednesday will look to increase the gap between them and the bottom three in the Championship when they face Yorkshire rivals Leeds United at Elland Road on Saturday, on the back of a 1-1 draw against Bolton Wanderers previously.
The out-of-form Owls came into the clash against the Trotters at Hillsborough following successive defeats against Bristol City at Ashton Gate and at home to Ipswich Town, and they looked to be on course to get the three points when George Boyd gave them the lead in the 78th minute, before Aaron Wilbraham equalised in stoppage time.
That result, coupled with those of their rivals in midweek, left the Yorkshire outfit in 18th position and eight points above the relegation zone with nine matches of the campaign left to play.
Manager Jos Luhukay, who has come under fire from his own supporters, has only won two of his 11 league games in charge of the club so far, and he will know that his side need some more wins on the board to guarantee their spot in the second tier for next season.
While Wednesday don’t have the greatest record on their travels having only taken 16 points from 18 matches in the Championship this term, they will certainly take some solace from the fact their opponents this weekend have just the one win in their last 13 league matches.
Luhukay will be considering making some changes to the XI that drew at home to fellow strugglers Bolton as he looks to pick up just his third win in the Championship since he succeeded Carlos Carvalhal, and he will regret it if he fails to make a couple of important alterations to his team.
Here are two big changes the 54-year-old must make to his Owls side when they host Leeds…
While Pelupessy has started and played the full 90 minutes in seven of the nine Championship matches he has been available for since joining Wednesday in January, his performances have certainly been less impressive in the last few weeks.
The 24-year-old dropped to the substitutes’ bench for the defeat against Ipswich Town having been part of the side that was decimated 4-0 by Bristol City previously, but he returned to the XI against Bolton last time out.
However, the Dutchman gave the ball away far too often against the Trotters and generally struggled in the central midfield battle, and Luhukay can’t afford to let that happen again against Leeds in a Yorkshire derby.
Instead, the 54-year-old manager should look to bring David Jones, who has come under fire from the Hillsborough faithful this term, into the team, knowing that the 33-year-old has plenty of experience at this level dealing with electric atmospheres like the one at Elland Road can be.
While Boyd scored his side’s goal in the 1-1 draw against Sheffield Wednesday last time out – one that probably should have been ruled out for offside in hindsight – it wasn’t a great performance overall from the 32-year-old.
He didn’t offer too much of an attacking threat until his 78th minute goal, while he also often looked pedestrian in possession and was slow to get around the pitch.
Luhukay should look to take the midfielder out of the limelight at Elland Road – especially with Barry Bannan potentially available for selection on Saturday.
The Scotland international is back in training after injury, and even if he is only 90% fit he should be named in the XI against Leeds because of the energy and quality he can bring for his team in the middle of the park.
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