Match preview: Burton v Owls

4 February 2022

MATCH DETAILS

Burton Albion v Sheffield Wednesday
Saturday 5 February
3:00pm
Sky Bet League One
Pirelli Stadium

Wednesday head to Burton in good form this weekend with three wins from four in League One.

After three successive victories on home soil over Plymouth, Ipswich and Morecambe the Owls will be looking to return to winning ways on the road.

In contrast to our home form and run of wins at Hillsborough, our last three away games have resulted in defeats to Sunderland, Shrewsbury and Oxford.

Currently four points separate the Owls from the top six positions, though Darren Moore’s side have played one game fewer than Oxford in the final play-off spot.

Burton are in strong form too ahead of our visit to the Pirelli Stadium with only one defeat in their previous six outings – a 1-0 home loss to MK Dons late last month.

TEAM NEWS

Wednesday: After sustaining injuries in midweek during our 2-0 win over Morecambe, Owls trio Harlee Dean, Fisayo Dele-Bashiru and Josh Windass are unavailable for selection.

Lee Gregory remains sidelined with a toe injury.

Chey Dunkley and Dominic Iorfa are making good progress at Middlewood Road but remain with the medical team at the club.

Loanee Lewis Gibson is set to return to the Owls on Monday from parent club Everton after suffering a hamstring injury earlier in the campaign.

Burton: Top scorer Daniel Jebbison has returned to parent club Sheffield United. The striker scored seven goals in 14 starts for the Brewers.

Goalkeeper Matej Kovar joined Burton on loan from Manchester United on deadline day and could make his debut this weekend.

Likewise, striker Christian Saydee joined the club on loan from Bournemouth last week and could also feature.

OFFICIALS

Referee – Alan Young
Assistant referee – Lisa Rashid
Assistant referee – Peter Gooch
Fourth official – Andy Haines

iFOLLOW

Live match commentary will be provided by iFollow, while the game will be streamed live overseas.

Audio match passes are available HERE.

SOCIAL MEDIA

The hashtag for our content relative to Saturday’s game is #BURSHW

Our official Twitter account @swfc will provide a blow-by-blow text update of the game as well as all key match information, including team news at 2.00pm.

Our official Instagram @swfcofficial will also keep you up to date on the latest events, with content uploaded to the story throughout the matchday.

The key news will also be uploaded to our Facebook page HERE.

FORM GUIDE (League One)

Owls: LWLWW
Burton: DWDLW

PREVIOUS MEETINGS

Fans are reminded of their conduct during all home and away fixtures HERE.

Match Reports

Report: Burton 0-2 Wednesday

5 February 2022

Goals in each half from George Byers and substitute Sylla Sow saw the Owls return from Burton with three more points as the drive for the top six continues.

Darren Moore was back in the dugout and saw his side post a third successive win with as many clean sheets.

Wednesday had a sharper edge and were good value for a victory that takes Moore’s men to the cusp of the play-offs.

A Callum Paterson header aside that was just too high, much of the first half was evenly played out in difficult conditions.

The wind swirled around a pitch that quickly cut up, making the passing games of both teams far from easy.

It did seem a set piece would trigger a breakthrough and so it proved on 31 minutes as a low key opening period was punctuated only by Byers’ goal, his second in five days.

Nathaniel Mendez-Laing advanced into the box from a short corner, forced Ben Garratt into a near post save, and Byers was on hand to sweep home the rebound.

Jordan Storey brought a smart stop from Garratt moments before the break, after which the pattern of play stayed the same.

The Owls had the upper hand in terms of chances – Massimo Luongo swivelled into space and fired narrowly over – but possession was balanced.

Burton struggled to make an impact in the final third but as the minutes went by, the hosts did push further upfield in a bid to get back on terms.

Wednesday’s backline, though, was resolute and never looked like conceding, until with 13 minutes to go when the Brewers broke and spurned their best opportunity.

Harry Chapman burst into the box and looked favourite to score only to be thwarted by Bailey Peacock-Farrell, who darted off his line to expertly deal with the danger.

And on 81 minutes, the Owls made the game safe. Barry Bannan found space 15 yards out on the angle to look up and aim for the far corner and Sow got the final touch to double the lead.

Christian Saydee smashed a late hit against the post but it was too little too late and the final analysis of a hard-fought win concluded a wonderful week for Wednesday.

Wednesday: Peacock-Farrell, Hunt, Palmer, Storey, Hutchinson, Johnson, Bannan (Brennan 89), Luongo, Byers (Kamberi 73), Mendez-Laing (Sow 73), Paterson