Sheffield Wednesday

Millwall head to Hillsborough on Saturday for their first away match under new boss Alex Neil (15:00 GMT).

Neil began his reign with a 1-0 home defeat by Oxford United on New Year's Day and will be hoping for a brighter outcome against Sheffield Wednesday as the Lions look over their shoulder at the drop zone.

However the Owls are in fine form, with forward Josh Windass' stunning goal from inside his own half helping them to a thrilling 4-2 win over Derby County on 1 January.

The victory took them up into ninth on the Championship table, just three points short of a play-off spot.

• Sheffield Wednesday have lost three of their last four league meetings with Millwall (W1), having only lost two of the previous 14 (W6 D6).

• Following a 3-0 home win in August this season, Millwall will be looking to record a league double over Sheffield Wednesday for the first time since the 2002-03 season under Mark McGhee.

• This is the first time both of Sheffield Wednesday's first two league games of a calendar year have come at home since 2017, when they drew 0-0 with Wolves before beating Huddersfield 2-0.

• Millwall have won just one of their 11 away league games this season (D6 L4), scoring just five goals across their last 10 on the road, since losing 3-4 to Bristol City on MD2.

• Millwall manager Alex Neil has won just one of his last eight league games as a manager away to Yorkshire opposition, beating Hull 3-0 with Stoke in September 2022. That run includes a 1-0 loss at Sheffield Wednesday with Preston in January 2021.

Image source, Rex Features

Sheffield Wednesday manager Danny Rohl believes his side "need" clean sheets to have any chance of climbing further up the table.

Rohl's comments come after the Owls beat Derby County 4-2 at Hillsborough with forward Josh Windass scoring one of the goals of the season from inside his own half.

However, strikes from Jerry Yates and Ebou Adams meant there was no clean sheet to be had for the hosts with them having now conceded 38 goals in the Championship this season, more than the 36 they have scored.

"At the end you never know, 4-2, one goal, and then it becomes a difficult moment again," Rohl told BBC Radio Sheffield after the game.

"We score a lot, I also think this is good that we scored today a little bit more but we need clean sheets.

"This is the most important key point when you look up to the top teams of the league, they concede not so many goals and this is what you have to improve."

Despite Wednesday now sitting in ninth following today's win, the South Yorkshire club have the fifth worst defence in the league with only Plymouth (53), Luton (42), Portsmouth (40), Cardiff (39) and Oxford (39) having conceded more goals, all of whom are in the bottom half of the table.

When asked whether any defensive additions could be made in January, Rohl added that new arrivals at Hillsborough would have to be "impact" players.

"We will try in January to do something but it must be really be an impact player and this for me is important," he said.

"When you ask me about a centre-back it's right footed, left footed would be nice but everyone wants a left foot.

"The targets are clear, now we look what we can do."

Rohl and Sheffield Wednesday next face Millwall at home on Saturday. The 13th-placed Lions sit four places behind the Owls on 29 points.

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Sheffield Wednesday conceded three goals for the second league match in a row to lose out to Preston North End in their final fixture of the year.

Only five Championship teams have conceded more goals than the Owls this season, and the defensive frailties are beginning to take their toll.

"It's frustrating. I thought we were really good, and then you come out losing 3-1," forward Josh Windass told BBC Radio Sheffield.

"But you can't be successful and go where we want to go and concede three goals a game."

Windass scored a dazzling goal from 25 yards out to level the scoreline to 1-1 in the second-half, but the equaliser only lasted six minutes before defender Dominic Iorfa conceded a penalty to gift Preston the lead once more.

The forward was then denied a double by the North End keeper before Emil Riis completed his own at close range to put the game out of reach of the visitors.

"Overall, in terms of performance, I thought we were miles the better team. In control a lot, played really good stuff, and then we shoot ourselves in the foot," Windass added.

"You can't keep coming back from behind; it's not going to keep happening. We need to start keeping clean sheets and scoring the first goal; that would be nice."

You can listen to the full post-match reaction on BBC Sounds.

Rob Staton
BBC Radio Sheffield

Image source, Getty Images

What do Sheffield Wednesday need in January?

Quality needs to be added to match the ambitions of manager Danny Rohl and push the club on.

The Owls boss has made it clear he doesn't want to settle for mere modest progress this year and it'll be a big test for chairman Dejphon Chansiri to deliver a window to satisfy the talented German.

What sort of business are they likely to do?

Loans are more likely and it'd be a surprise if permanent signings happened. They need to repeat the success of adding Shea Charles and James Beadle and find two more players of that standard. Is it possible? There will be a lot of interest in the players Rohl wants.

How successful have they been in recent January windows?

Last year they had success, with the manager turning around Ian Poveda's career, getting Ike Ugbo scoring and bringing in Beadle for his first loan spell.

I suspect Rohl will want to aim higher this time and add players who can instantly improve the first team.

Are there likely to be any notable departures?

Brilliant young goalkeeper Pierce Charles has been watched by Premier League clubs for years. The Northern Ireland international could be sacrificed to add funds but that would be a big call given Beadle is only on loan for the season.

How important is the transfer window likely to be in determining the success of their season?

It's critical for Wednesday. Rohl essentially discussed recently it would be interesting to see how the club's ambition compares to his own via the January window. He wants to aim high and try to get the club back into the Premier League for the first time in 25 years.

A bad window might prevent the kind of progress Rohl wants and that could be an issue.

Preston North End welcome Sheffield Wednesday to Deepdale on Sunday in a fixture between two sides that played out notably different Boxing Day matches.

The Lilywhites eked out a 1-0 victory over Hull City to notch their first home win since October, while Wednesday stormed back from a three goal deficit to rescue a point away at 10-man Middlesbrough.

In the reverse of this fixture earlier this month, the two sides took a point apiece at Hillsborough.

• Preston have only lost two of their last 24 home league games against Sheffield Wednesday (W12 D10) but did lose 1-0 on December 29 last year to the Owls.

• Sheffield Wednesday are looking to win consecutive away league games against Preston North End for the first time since December 1911.

• Preston have lost their final league game in the last two years, including a 1-0 home defeat to Sheffield Wednesday last year. They last did so in more consecutive years between 2009 and 2012 (4).

• Sheffield Wednesday are looking to end their calendar year with a win in three years in a row for the first time since doing so between 2004 and 2006.

• Preston boss Paul Heckingbottom has never won a Championship match against Sheffield Wednesday in five attempts (D3 L2).

Image source, Getty Images

Sheffield Wednesday's recovery from three goals down to secure a draw at Middlesbrough was "not normal", according to boss Danny Rohl.

Wednesday scored three times in 14 minutes after the break to draw 3-3 at the Riverside Stadium and remain ninth in the table.

Goals from Svante Ingelsson, Josh Windass and a first in more than five years for Yan Valery left Rohl delighted as Wednesday made it 14 points from their past seven games.

"Outstanding," he told BBC Radio Sheffield.

"How we came back was so strong. The mentality, the belief was there, the trust.

"We made some points at half-time, we changed the shape to 4-1-4-1, it was very helpful, we controlled the midfield more, the players who came on helped us.

"But we should also recognise the first half. In the end, we are happy to come back. It's not normal against a strong Middlesbrough, who play a fast, attacking style."

Middlesbrough are currently in the final Championship play-off spot in a tight battle for the top six at the midway point of the season.

They are level on points with seventh-placed West Bromwich Albion while just five points separate fifth-placed Blackburn Rovers and ninth-placed Sheffield Wednesday.

The Owls travel to the Riverside having won two games in a row whereas Boro have won just once in their past four games.

• Middlesbrough have won three of their last five league matches against Sheffield Wednesday (D1 L1) and won 2-0 at the Riverside last season.

• Sheffield Wednesday have lost their last two league visits to Middlesbrough since a 4-1 victory under Garry Monk in September 2019.

• This is the fourth league meeting between Middlesbrough and Sheffield Wednesday on Boxing Day – Boro won 1-0 in 1930 but the Owls have won the last two in 1999 and 2018.

• Middlesbrough have won nine of their last 12 league games on Boxing Day but did lose 1-0 away at Rotherham United last season.

• Sheffield Wednesday lost 2-0 to Coventry on Boxing Day last year but haven't lost on consecutive years since 2000 (2-0 vs. Bolton) and 2001 (1-0 vs. Birmingham).

Image source, Rex Features

Sheffield Wednesday beat Stoke 2-0 despite playing the whole of the second half with 10 men after Di'Shon Bernard's red card.

Manager Danny Rohl told BBC Radio Sheffield: "I am very happy with the three points. Big credit to my team, it was a little bit of a strange week but we stick together and showed big character today - we showed the togetherness we need.

"My team has a strong mentality, willingness, we want to take points. 32 points after 22 games is massive. First half I felt we controlled the game but then the reaction from the team (after the red card) was great.

"I am very happy with the assist from Yan Valery, we have four or five players who overcame illness overnight, it's a good story with Callum Paterson who scored - for him it's not always easy but he is always trying, it was great to see him score."

Image source, Rex Features

Sheffield Wednesday midfielder Josh Windass believes a bit of extra help from the supporters could help them improve their home form.

The Owls have the fifth worst home record in the Championship with just one win from their past seven matches at Hillsborough as they prepare to host Stoke City on Saturday.

"We're getting booed off quite a bit at half-time even when we're playing quite well - the ground seems a bit edgy for some reason," Windass told BBC Radio Sheffield.

"I'm not going to blame the fans for the reason we're not doing well at home - that's on us and we need to get results and play the same as we're playing away."

Wednesday's struggles at home are in stark contrast to their fortunes on the road where they have won five out of six games including the past three in a row which has helped them climb up to ninth place.

"The expectations at a club like this are a lot - subconsciously they're higher than we are so you expect to be winning your home games," added Windass.

"The club had so much success historically so the fans expect to win games against teams they see as inferior but at the same time there has to be some realism about where we were last year and how we're doing at the minute - their extra 5% help could help us win more home games."

Sheffield Wednesday have won five of their past six away games to climb up to ninth in the table, but they return to Hillsborough on Saturday, where they have won just one of their past seven matches.

Visitors Stoke are winless in their past seven games and have just one victory in eight on their travels, albeit an eye-catching 2-0 success at Blackburn on 6 November.

The Potters have slipped to 17th, just five points above the relegation zone.

• Sheffield Wednesday have lost just two of their last 12 league games against Stoke City (W4 D6), though five of their past six home matches in that spell have finished in draws.

• Stoke have failed to win any of their last four league games against sides from Yorkshire (D2 L2) last enduring a longer run of seven games between February and October 2019, which included a 1-0 away loss to Wednesday.

• Wednesday have failed to win any of their past three home league games (D2 L1) and could record their second 4+ matches winless run at Hillsborough in 2024.

• Stoke have failed to win any of their last seven league games (D4 L3), conceding exactly two goals in each of their past four matches.

• In the Championship this season, Stoke have faced the most shots (345), while only Plymouth (121) and Luton (115) have faced more shots on target than the Potters.

Image source, Rex Features

Having faith in every department of the team is a big factor in Sheffield Wednesday's stunning away form, says Jamal Lowe.

The forward scored the second goal in the Owls' 3-1 win at Oxford on Saturday which made it three away victories in a row and five from their past six road trips in the Championship.

In four of those five wins, Wednesday have gone behind and Lowe feels it almost spurs them on.

"That stat is good and bad - it shows we've gone behind but it shows we don't give up, we know we can score goals and our keeper can pull off saves so we have faith in every department," Lowe told BBC Radio Sheffield.

"Ideally we keep a clean sheet and win but we fight back and always keep going, and the away support is also unmatched so it's a team effort."

The weekend win has lifted them up to ninth in the Championship table, five points short of the play-off places and they have now collected more points when coming from behind than any other side in the division.

"Going behind can knock confidence but I feel it gives us an extra boost sometimes - which it shouldn't be like - but it's been getting results recently so long may it continue.

"We can comfortably be a top side in this league but it's about consistency, staying humble and keeping grafting."

Oxford United return to the Kassam on Saturday trying to halt their slide down the table as they host Sheffield Wednesday.

The Us have won just one of their past 14 league games and are just a point off the bottom, though 16 of their 18 points have come at home.

The Owls lost for the first time in five against Blackburn on Tuesday and could return to the top 10 with a win.

• Oxford United are unbeaten in their past six league games against Sheffield Wednesday (W3 D3), since a 3-0 defeat in April 1988.

• After winning three of their four away league games against Oxford United between 1980 and 1988 (L1), Sheffield Wednesday have since failed to win on any of their past three visits (D2 L1).

• After winning their opening three home league games of 2024-25, Oxford United have won just one of their past seven (D4 L2).

• No Championship side has won more away games since the start of October than Sheffield Wednesday (W4 D1 L1), while they've won more games on the road in their past five matches (4) than in their previous nine (3).

• Sheffield Wednesday have won nine away league games in 2024, last winning 10+ on the road in a year in the Championship back in 2006 (10 wins).