Wednesday v Preston
Saturday 19 August
3:00pm
Championship
Hillsborough
THE MATCH
Wednesday go in search of our first points of the season after a tough start to life back in the Championship.
Xisco’s men went down 2-1 on the opening day against a strong Southampton side and, after a midweek Carabao Cup win over Stockport on penalties, the Owls fell to a 4-2 loss at Hull.
It’s early days for the manager and his new-look squad, who will be keen to get points on the board.
Preston, meanwhile, have had a solid start kicking off 2023/24 with a draw away at Bristol City (1-1) before picking up three points at home to Sunderland last Saturday (2-1).
The Lilywhites are managed by former Owls striker Ryan Lowe, who scored nine goals in 30 appearances for us during our 2011/12 League One promotion campaign.
TEAM NEWS
Wednesday: Djeidi Gassama completed his switch to Hillsborough in the week from French giants PSG and could feature against Preston.
Fellow new recruit Momo Diaby is also in contention to play his first minutes for the club.
There were positive updates on Barry Bannan, George Byers and Liam Palmer from Xisco in his pre-match press conference.
Bannan was substituted at half time against Hull but has trained this week and could feature.
Byers and Palmer are making excellent headway on their return to fitness and Xisco said they are available for selection.
Mallik Wilks, yet to feature this season, could also be involved on Saturday.
Preston: Lowe will be able to select from a similar squad that triumphed over Sunderland last week.
Liverpool loanee Calvin Ramsay will be sidelined for six to eight weeks after suffering an injury setback, while Robbie Brady (calf) is expected to miss out.
PRESS CONFERENCE
Watch the gaffer’s press conference as streamed live on our official YouTube channel on Thursday afternoon.
TICKETS
Tickets for this Category E fixture start from £28 for adult Owls Members and £5 for under 11 Members on the Kop.
Purchases can be made online HERE until kick-off or from the Ticket Office.
As always, we advise supporters to arrive at the stadium as early as possible to avoid unnecessary queues.
Please note there are no cash turnstiles in operation from this season.
As a reminder to supporters, when presenting your Season Card at the turnstiles, please ensure the barcode in the bottom right hand corner is scanned and not the QR codes at the top.
FAN ZONE
The Fan Zone is open from midday until 2:45pm.
OFFICIALS
Referee: Jeremy Simpson
Assistants: Richard Wild, Jonathan Hunt
Fourth official: Simon Mather
iFOLLOW
Passes for live audio commentary are available HERE as Rob O’Neill and John Pearson call the action from Hillsborough!
Wednesday v Preston has been selected for overseas broadcast and as such, live streaming via iFollow will now be limited to the following countries: Austria, Germany, Hong Kong, Israel, Italy, South Korea, Spain and Switzerland.
MATCH PROGRAMME
Pick up your copy of 'Wednesday' from in and around the ground this weekend, priced £3!
SOCIAL MEDIA
The hashtag for the match is #SHWPNE
Our X/Twitter account @swfc will provide real time updates, with team news at 2:00pm.
Follow us on Instagram for matchday content and subscribe and turn on notifications for our YouTube channel, where you can view extended match highlights.
LOVE FOOTBALL, PROTECT THE GAME
The EFL, Premier League, FA, FSA, PGMOL, LMA and PFA have come together to announce a series of measures to address behaviour across the game.
This includes new policies, procedures, and regulations that came into force from the start of the 2023/24 season to address unacceptable conduct on the pitch, on the sidelines and in the stands.
The new measures build on the work launched last season to combat dangerous and illegal fan behaviour, supported by the ‘Love Football. Protect the Game’ football-wide campaign.
CLICK HERE for full details.
We are also reinforcing the importance of all supporters staying within EFL Ground Regulations, which can be found HERE.