Sheffield Wednesday

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Sheffield Wednesday defender Di'Shon Bernard has said he feels much more confident in himself ahead of Tuesday night's Yorkshire derby with former side Hull City.

The 24-year-old scored his first goal in 101 EFL games in Saturday's 1-1 draw with Cardiff City at Hillsborough - his last coming for Salford City against Mansfield Town in January 2021.

"I wasn't happy with the way I started to be honest, I wasn’t really quite up to speed," Bernard told BBC Radio Sheffield.

"I never had the full pre-season but I’m feeling much better, I’m much more confident in my performances now."

The Jamaican international has played every league minute for the Owls he has been available for since his red card in the 2-1 defeat to Luton Town in September and believes he is getting back close to his best form.

"I’m looking much better on the ball, much better defensively," Bernard added.

"I’m always trying to keep working hard and improving. Hopefully, I can stay consistent with these performances."

Bernard returns to Hull after spending the 2021-22 season on loan there from Manchester United, where he made 28 appearances in what was his first season in the Championship.

"It's always nice going back to the MKM. It should be an interesting game but hopefully we can win," he added.

Hull City are looking for their first win in nine league games (D3 L5) as they host Sheffield Wednesday on Tuesday.

The run of lacklustre results leaves the Tigers in the precarious position of 22nd on the Championship table, three points ahead of Portsmouth in 23rd but, equally, three points off Luton in 16th.

Meanwhile the Owls dominated their 1-1 draw against Cardiff at the weekend and will be hoping that their form sees results this time around as they aim to climb out of the bottom half with a rare away win.

• Hull have won four of their last five league games against Sheffield Wednesday but did lose 3-1 against them on New Year’s Day this year.

• Sheffield Wednesday have lost their last three away league games against Hull since winning 1-0 in April 2018.

• Hull have won just two of their previous 16 home league games (D9 L5) and could lose successive such games for the first time since November 2022.

• No Championship side has lost more away games since the start of last season than Sheffield Wednesday (19), losing four of their seven such games this season (W2 D1).

• Sheffield Wednesday’s Josh Windass has scored two goals in four Football League appearances against Hull, netting last time out against the Tigers in January.

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Sheffield Wednesday head coach Danny Rohl has stated he is not happy his side were only able to pick up a point in the 1-1 draw with Cardiff City.

Wednesday dominated Saturday's game, producing 16 shots, although only three of them were on target.

"Yeah of course not happy from my side - again the performance I think we tried everything to win this game," Rohl told BBC Radio Sheffield.

"It's the final decision, maybe one extra pass to make it a 100% goal chance, then we had a one against one with the goalkeeper.

"We missed I think four big chances, we didn’t score and it’s hard to take.

The Owls have started the season inconsistently, winning five and losing seven of their first 16 league matches, but Saturday's performance ranks as one of their best of the campaign so far.

"I must say we controlled really everything from them, the big things that I wanted them to- ball possession and a good structure.

"But we want to win games and that’s the most important thing in football."

Rohl also acknowledged it was an unusual that his side have not been awarded a single penalty since he took charge 13 months ago.

"You need this in football as well, the luck, I understand everyone says we could have had five [more] points," he added.

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Sheffield Wednesday defender Max Lowe says Saturday's game against Cardiff City at Hillsborough is a "great opportunity" to start putting together a run of good form.

The Owls are 15th in the Championship, three points above the drop zone, but face five other sides from the bottom half of the table over their next seven matches.

"The discussion has been had, we know it's a great opportunity for us," Lowe told BBC Radio Sheffield.

"I still think it's a little bit too early to look at the table but we know these are games we can win.

"In this league, if you put a run of 10 games of really good form and performances and the results come along, you know we will be up there in the table.

"So, we need to look at that and go into this run with full confidence."

Lowe joined Wednesday in the summer after four years at local rivals Sheffield United and says he's been "enjoying it since day one".

"I feel like I've learned every day under the manager and coaching staff," he added.

"The lads have been great with me as well. It might come as a surprise but even people like Marvin [Johnson], me and him play in the same position, but the first day I came in, he was helping me with how the gaffer wants us to play."

The 27-year-old has been utilised as a centre-back in recent weeks, as well as his usual left-back position, which he said is a new role for him but has "enjoyed learning it".

"I want to play every game I possibly can and I feel like now is a great opportunity for me to do that," he said.

"Whether it be at centre-back or left wing-back, I'm not bothered. As long as I'm on the pitch, I will give it my all.

"Hopefully we can get a run going now. We've got a lot of games at home and I think that will benefit us."

Sheffield Wednesday will look to bounce back from defeat in the Steel City derby when they welcome Cardiff City on Saturday. The Owls have been inconsistent so far this season (W5 D3 L7).

The Bluebirds arrive at Hillsborough in the relegation zone after two straight defeats having previously gone a six-game unbeaten run (W4 L2).

• Sheffield Wednesday lost both of their two league games against Cardiff City last season 2-1, having lost just one of their previous 11 against the Bluebirds (W4 D6).

• Cardiff City will look to win successive away league games against Sheffield Wednesday for the first time since 1976 after beating the Owls at Hillsborough 2-1 last season.

• Sheffield Wednesday have conceded 13 set-piece goals in the Championship this season (including penalties), four more than any other side.

• Cardiff City have lost 19 Championship matches in 2024, two more than any other side. The Bluebirds have lost each of their last two games.

• Cardiff have lost their last four Championship matches against Yorkshire teams, conceding 14 goals across these defeats.

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Sheffield Wednesday midfielder Nathaniel Chalobah continued his comeback from injury by featuring for the Under-21s in their 3-2 win against Burnley on Monday.

The 29-year-old was substituted at half-time as he eases his way back from recovery for his first match since 27 August.

The Chelsea academy graduate has struggled for fitness since joining Wednesday on a free transfer in July and has only made one appearance for the senior side - as part of the starting line-up for their 5-1 EFL Cup win against Grimsby Town, where he sustained a calf injury an hour into the match.

Devlan Moses scored twice for the Owls either side of Rio Shipston's deflected strike, with the young midfielder having replaced Chalobah at the break.

Tommy McDermott and Joe Westley were on target for the Clarets at Middlewood Training Ground.

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On-loan Sheffield Wednesday midfielder Shea Charles marked his debut as captain for Northern Ireland with a 2-0 victory over Belarus on Friday.

Charles delivered an assist for Dan Ballard's 50th-minute opening goal as brother and Wednesday goalkeeper Pierce Charles kept a third successive international clean sheet, leaving the side one point away from promotion into Nations League B.

Defender Di’Shon Bernard did not feature for Jamaica in their 1-0 loss to USA on Friday but could potentially make an appearance in the second leg of their Concacaf Nations League quarter-final on Tuesday after Everton's Mason Holgate was sent off for a second yellow card.

Meanwhile, keeper James Beadle kept his second clean sheet in a row for England Under-21's to help the Young Lions to a 0-0 draw against Spain on Friday.

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Sheffield Wednesday forward Michael Smith's strike against Portsmouth has won him the Championship's goal of the month award for October.

Smith scored what proved to be the winner as Wednesday came from behind to beat Pompey 2-1 at Fratton Park.

The 33-year-old is in his third season at Hillsborough and the goal on the south coast was the second of three he has managed so far this season.

The Championship goal of the month award is voted for by supporters, with Smith beating two efforts from Norwich City's Borja Sainz and one from Ollie Tanner of Cardiff City.

Sheffield Wednesday's narrow 1-0 loss in the Steel City derby on Sunday sees them in 15th place in the Championship table and just three points above the relegation zone.

Speaking to the Owls Heaven podcast after the match, manager Danny Rohl talked about how some teams in the division can afford to be slightly off their game and still claim results - but it's not a luxury his side can afford.

"I look not to so often to the opponent but I count our games now: QPR, then we go to Luton, even Burnley, we go to Swansea," Rohl said. "There's always the feeling that there's more in the game.

"I think this is the difference in this league. Bring the small details or the small moments on your side, then you will win games.

"If you have a good day and everything must be 100%, we don't have one game where we can win with 80% or 85% or 90%. Some opponents have this and I understand it's the reason they are on top. We have to do everything right."

When asked about the Owls' record for conceding in the second half - of which Wednesday are the joint-worst in the Championship alongside Portsmouth and Luton with 17 - Rohl believes it's more the type of goals they are conceding than the specific timeframe that is relevant.

"I think you should speak more about the 25 goals we have conceded - this is too much, and 14 of these are set pieces. This is more the topic for me," he added.

Listen to the full episode on BBC Sounds.

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Sheffield Wednesday's Josh Windass admits he is taking a risk by having his hair cut by his Sheffield United-supporting barber ahead of this weekend's Steel City Derby.

The midfielder will experience his first Sheffield derby at Bramall Lane on Sunday.

"My barber is a Blades fan so I'm hoping he doesn't butcher me before the weekend," Windass told BBC Radio Sheffield.

"I told him to make sure he doesn't ruin my haircut but he said he can't promise anything so we'll see how we go."

The 30-year-old played and scored for Rangers in an Old Firm derby against Celtic in 2018 and expects the experience at the weekend to be similar.

"I would compare Sheffield to Glasgow in that it's like a goldfish bowl and you're either a Wednesday fan or a United fan," Windass added.

"My goal in the Old Firm game was in a defeat so if I can score a winner in a derby then that would be amazing but the aim isn't for me to score the winner, it's for the team to win and if that comes by me then brilliant."

Despite this being the first Sheffield derby in more than five years, Windass is well aware of the intense rivalry between the two clubs.

"I've got close friends who're Wednesday fans and they're telling me they won't go to the game because it's at their stadium," he said.

"But I'm looking forward to sampling the atmosphere and if it's anything like the Old Firm then I can't wait."

You can catch Football Heaven: Steel City Derby Special on BBC iPlayer or BBC Sounds.

Former Blades manager Neil Warnock and Owls legend Chris Waddle are no strangers to the Steel City derby.

The two have been speaking on BBC Radio Sheffield's Football Heaven: Steel City Derby Special about just how much the battle for local bragging rights means to them.

"I remember people saying it's just another game and I thought 'what are they talking about?' - it's not," Warnock said.

"The rivalry - no matter what you do, whether you're bottom or top of the league, it doesn't matter in these games. It's who wants it more, who can play on the day."

As for how Sunday afternoon at Bramall Lane is going to pan out, Waddle finds his former side an unknown component in his prediction calculations.

"Going into the derby, you know what you're going to get from United. Very organised, very drilled," Waddle said.

"I don't know how Wednesday will perform, they are such an unpredictable team.

"What you are seeing from Sheffield United so far this season is consistency and I think what you've seen from Wednesday is inconsistency.

"I think if Wednesday get a draw or a win - fantastic! It'll be a great result for them."

Warnock lists United as "favourites" but feels that "Wednesday can beat anyone on their day" - though he does think that the Blades have something special up their sleeve with keeper Michael Cooper.

"For me, he should be in the Premier League and he might be next year. He's one of the best keepers I've seen," Warnock said.

You can catch Football Heaven: Steel City Derby Special in full on BBC iPlayer or BBC Sounds.

A special Sunday afternoon awaits Sheffield as the Blades host the Owls in the first Steel City derby for more than five-and-a-half years.

Join a star-studded line-up of Chris Basham, Lee Bullen, Neil Warnock and Chris Waddle as they look ahead to this weekend's showdown at Bramall Lane on BBC Radio Sheffield's Football Heaven at 18:00 GMT on Thursday.

Not in the area? No bother. You can watch and listen online on the BBC Sport website and app, on the BBC iPlayer and BBC Sounds.