- Stuart Gray previews Newcastle United friendly
- Dejan Kelhar to feature in third game on trial
- Latest team news and injury update
Head coach Stuart Gray expects Newcastle United to provide the Owls with their toughest test so far in pre-season.
Wednesday’s fifth friendly of the summer will see them go head to head with the Magpies at Hillsborough on Wednesday.
While Gray believes the Premier League side’s quality will be a step up from the challenges that have gone before, the head coach wants his side show what they can do but more importantly come through the game without further injuries.
He said: “I’ve got a group of lads that are working very hard, they’re looking forward to the Newcastle game and looking forward to the Barnsley game.
“The important thing when you’re playing against Premier League opposition is that you have to be in their faces, stop them from getting their heads up and picking out passes because they will hurt you.
“From a fitness point of view, I want to see us closing down and winning the ball in their half as quickly as possible.
“They’ll have a lot of the ball but what I don’t want is for them to dominate. I want us to cause them problems.”
On the team news front, Gray has confirmed that trialist Dejan Kelhar will make his third appearance of the summer, lining up alongside Glenn Loovens in the heart of the Owls’ backline.
Meanwhile, Wednesday have several injury concerns that will shape the look of the squad for the Toon test.
Gray added: “Kelhar will be playing tomorrow night alongside Glenn Loovens and it will be a chance for him to play in front of the Sheffield Wednesday fans. We will sit down and have a chat after the game.
“Lavery has got a cruciate injury, hopefully it won’t require surgery but he’s going to be out for a couple of months.
“Keiren Westwood has tweaked a knee cartilage, Jeremy Helan has a slight tear in a muscle, so he will miss Wednesday and Saturday.
“Kieran Lee will hopefully be back available for Barnsley on Saturday.”