Sheffield Wednesday

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Southampton will seek to win back-to-back league games for the first time in more than 18 months when basement-boys Sheffield Wednesday visit on Saturday (15:00 GMT).

After three straight defeats ended Will Still's tenure at St Mary's, Saints held on to win 2-1 at QPR on Wednesday under interim boss Tonda Eckert to climb to 19th, six points clear of the bottom three.

Wednesday were pegged back to draw 1-1 at home to Norwich on the same night to make it eight games without a win and remain bottom on -4 points, still effectively 18 short of safety.

• Southampton have won each of their past four league games against Sheffield Wednesday, and recorded a league double over them the last time they met in the Championship (2-1 away, 4-0 at home in 2023-24).

• Sheffield Wednesday are looking for their first away win against Southampton in the league since November 1997 (3-2), having failed to win on any of their last eight league trips (D2 L6).

• After beating Queens Park Rangers last time out (2-1), Southampton will be aiming to win consecutive league games during the regular season for the first time since April 2024 (a run of three under Russell Martin).

• Only Portsmouth (10) have scored fewer goals than Sheffield Wednesday (11) in the Championship this season, with the Owls underperforming against their expected goals total by five goals (11 scored from 16.15 xG).

• Leo Scienza has scored two goals in his past three Championship games for Southampton, including what turned out to be the winning goal versus QPR last time out (2-1). Both of his goals have been scored in away matches, with the Brazilian still looking for his first at St. Mary's in the competition (four league appearances).

Sheffield Wednesday manager Henrik Pederson said his side's performance in their 1-1 draw with fellow Championship strugglers Norwich City was a step in the right direction.

Barry Bannan scored his third goal of the season as the Owls generated an xG of 2.08, their highest of the season.

"We had courage to play today, it's the best offensive game we have played this season," Pedersen told BBC Radio Sheffield.

"We also created big chances after the goal, so proud of the performance and we go in the right direction."

Wednesday earned their first point at home since being put into administration almost two weeks ago, but let the three points slip away after the Canaries' half-time substitute Mathias Kvistgaarden scored in the 61st minute.

"The first half defensive[ly] we were strong, we were solid," Pedersen said.

"The players are working so hard and I think they deserve better today, but we have to learn, we have to train more.

"But the positive thing now is we're creating chances."

Sheffield Wednesday visit Southampton on Saturday (15:00 BST), looking to build on some impressive away performances this season.

The Owls have picked up points in all but two of their games on the road while Southampton have won just once at St Marys, on the opening day of the season.

"I'm quite sure that our boys are ready to do all that they can and [go] all out for Saturday and to play a good game," Pedersen said.

"We have been strong away."

Listen to the full interview with Henrik Pedersen and more Owls on Sounds.

Wednesday provides a must-win night for both Sheffield Wednesday and Norwich City as the two bottom clubs face each other at Hillsborough (19:45 GMT).

The Owls sit in the basement with -8 points following their 12 point deduction but, while their form has been less than spectacular, the Canaries visit will be one they will eye to boost morale with a much needed win.

Norwich have lost their past six successive games and are winless in eight (D1 L7), leaving them in the worst form of any Championship club.

• Sheffield Wednesday failed to win any of their six league games against Norwich City between the 2018-19 and 2023-24 campaigns (D2 L4), but did achieve a league double over the Canaries last term (2-0 home, 3-2 away).

• Norwich City have lost just one of their last four away league games against Sheffield Wednesday (W2 D1), but it was last season, going down 2-0 at Hillsborough.

• Sheffield Wednesday are winless in their last eight home league games (D2 L6), including all seven so far this season (D1 L6) – it is already their longest ever start to a home campaign without winning at Hillsborough.

• Norwich City have lost each of their last three away league games and could lose four in a row for the second time in 2025 (also March to April) – before this calendar year, the Canaries hadn't suffered that fate outside of the top-flight since December 2017 under Daniel Farke.

• Norwich City manager Liam Manning is winless in seven previous league games against Sheffield Wednesday (D3 L4), the most times he has faced a side without victory in the Football League.

Image source, Getty Images

Sheffield Wednesday manager Henrik Pedersen praised his team's defensive display as they held West Brom to a 0-0 draw at The Hawthorns.

The Owls ended a run of four straight Championship defeats a week after entering administration and Pedersen said his team has finally reached the standard he expects in defence.

"I am very satisfied," he told BBC Radio Sheffield.

"We have spoken a lot this week about who we want to be across 95 minutes and who we don't want to be.

"From the first moment today, we had a difficult beginning, we played a strong first half. It is a difficult place to play and a strong opponent.

"It is the first time I felt we were where we want to be defensively over 95 minutes. There are things to work on offensively and we want to work on [them].

Pedersen gave particular praise to wing-backs Sean Fusire and Harry Amass, who managed to contain West Brom in wide areas.

"Sean was fantastic today, how he always jumped and won his duels," he added.

"They started to play behind him but he won all his running duels and was calm on the ball. Harry had a really strong beginning, big respect to him."

Rob Staton
BBC Radio Sheffield reporter

Image source, Getty Images

You can forgive Sheffield Wednesday fans for pinching themselves after the last seven days.

The Dejphon Chansiri era is over. Three parties interested in buying the club have already come forward and produced proof of funds to the tune of £50m. More interest is expected.

Fans have rallied behind the club, putting money into the coffers through ticket and merchandise sales. Instead of staff having to wait for delayed wages, this month everyone was paid a day early.

The Supporters' Trust have donated £20,000 to the cause with another £30,000 raised (and counting) after an online appeal. The Owlstalk forum raised £10,000 in an hour to aid preparations for the Blackburn away game.

The staff at the club are going above and beyond to deal with the relentless pace. The communications team are constantly updating fans, documenting every moment with eye-catching social media posts.

Creative ideas like an open training session during the half-term holidays went down a storm, as did back-to-back days of 'meet the players' days at the club shop.

There's an electricity around Hillsborough that is the total opposite of what was happening before - from fans, to staff, to the players and everything in between.

The collective effort has been so impressive it actually reminds you why teams use the word 'club' in their names.

It's all vital too. Make no mistake, administration is not easy. The money being raised isn't a nice bonus, it's money being used to literally keep things going until there's a sale.

It's been mentioned a few times how unusual it is to see a fan base 'celebrating' administration, because typically it's a nightmare scenario.

Let's be clear - Owls fans aren't celebrating administration or its consequences.

They're celebrating the departure of the former owner who created the situation where the only two options were a winding-up petition being served by HMRC or this.

In this situation, administration was clearly the preferred option over going bust. Any negative surrounding administration lays firmly at the door of Chansiri.

He could've instigated a sale over the summer to avoid this. A lot of what we've seen this week, bringing everyone together, there's no reason that couldn't have happened sooner.

Instead there were unpaid players and staff, a rift with former boss Danny Rohl, a squad decimated to raise just enough to keep clinging on (until that wasn't possible anymore) and a wall of silence from the man at the top.

The last time he spoke in front of fans he spent a five-hour fans' forum telling supporters it wasn't his responsibility to find a new owner. How did he ever let it get to this?

Fans were resigned to relegation long before last week, so the 12-point deduction – often such a back-breaking consequence of administration – was taken in stride. The other challenges, such as needing to satisfy creditors to avoid a potential further points deduction, will have to be dealt with. Again, the former owner is responsible for all of this.

There's one more home game before a preferred bidder is expected to be identified. The Norwich City game is vital and not just because the club needs every penny to be able to continue running.

There are a lot of eyes on Sheffield Wednesday at the moment. There's interest, potentially from some very intriguing potential bidders. The club putting its best foot forward, selling out that game, and showing off its maximum potential, could be critical.

Sheffield Wednesday will look to make inroads on their points deficit as they make the trip to West Bromwich Albion on Saturday (12:30 GMT).

The Owls are currently on -6 points following a 12 point deduction after they entered administration, leaving them 14 points adrift at the bottom of the table.

However, the Baggies have lost both their previous two matches and will be just as spirited to try and avoid dropping off the pace with this season's promotion contenders at the top of the table.

• West Brom have lost just two of their last 12 league games against Sheffield Wednesday (W7 D3), scoring in all but one match during that time.

• Sheffield Wednesday are winless across their last six away league games against West Brom (D2 L4), losing on their last three visits to the Hawthorns in succession.

• West Brom are unbeaten across their last six league games against sides from Yorkshire (W2 D4), since a 3-2 defeat to Sheffield Wednesday in September 2024.

• Sheffield Wednesday have conceded 25 goals across their opening 12 Championship matches this season, their most at this stage of a campaign since 1999-2000 (27), a campaign during which they were relegated from the Premier League.

• Only rivals Sheffield United (9) have netted fewer Championship goals than Sheffield Wednesday this season (10), though despite that, the Owls have amassed a bigger xG total (13.5) than West Brom (12.6).

"This season is pretty much done. It's about a reset, getting someone in who can come and get the club [Sheffield Wednesday] to kick on and start again fresh."

Ex-Hull City boss Phil Brown joins the 72+ podcast to talk head coaches under the cosh, the highs at Coventry City, the lows at Hillsborough after the Owls enter administration and managerial changes at Reading and Peterborough.

Listen to the full episode of the 72+ podcast and more on BBC Sounds.

"[Chansiri] could make himself, not a hero, but less of a villain if he takes exactly the same approach as we saw with Derby County and Mel Morris.

"Mel Morris was owed £200m by Derby and he went to the administrators and said 'I'm not putting in a claim'."

Football finance expert Kieran Maguire breaks down Sheffield Wednesday's current predicament after being placed in administration and the role chairman Dejphon Chansiri has yet to fulfil.

Listen to the full analysis and more Sheffield Wednesday content on BBC Sounds.