Saturday 19th October 2007
Stoke City v Sheffield Wednesday
Coca-Cola Championship
Britannia Stadium
Kick Off 3:00pm

Optimism amongst Wednesday supporters was sky high at the start of the season.

An outstanding back end of the last campaign almost saw them sneak in to the Play-Off places after picking up 15 points from their last six appearances.

However, it wasn't to be, and manager Brian Laws was left plotting another assault at the Premiership over the summer.

The Owls were dealt a huge blow in the summer, with the news that star man Chris Brunt decided to leave for pastures new, with West Brom agreeing a potential £3m package.

Chairman Dave Allen backed the former Scunthorpe boss over pre-season, sanctioning over £1m for former Arsenal striker Francis Jeffers, as well as agreeing to sign several other players such as Akpo Sodje and Yoann Folly.

But despite their arrivals they have struggled to make any impact on the Championship so far this season, and currently languish second from bottom.

A disastrous opening six games of the season saw them fail to pick up a single point, before claiming their first victory of the season over Hull City, and following that up with another three points the following week.

Back to back defeats away at Watford and at home to Leicester have followed up and they arrive at the Britannia Stadium on Saturday desperate for maximum points to kick start their season.

Pre-Match Quotes

Mark O'Connor: "Sheffield Wednesday are a good team and we've had them watched, but we expect to win every home game no matter who comes here.

"Last year they came here and I thought they were the best team we played here last year, they beat us 2-1 over the Christmas period and showed good energy and passion.

"This is a tough game, no two ways about it.

"I know their league position will tell you they're struggling but we know they've got enough good players, I wouldn't say they've had bad luck, but they've had injuries which hasn't helped their squad.

"Having spoken to a couple of members of their staff they don't feel like they've been having any luck so hopefully that continues.

"I think it'll be quite an open game as I don't think they've got the capacity to come here and play for a point.

"I think they're an attacking team and play the ball well but that'll leave them a bit open to the counter-attack.

"We come off worse last year but it's time for us to put that right."

Rory Delap: "The break was good for me as i was struggling a bit before with my groin, now it's had time to settle down.

"It would be great for me to score on Saturday, but the win is the most important thing.

"To score first at home is very important, and we will aim to do that early on, I know they are near the bottom but we are under no illusions it will be a hard game.

"But we are very confident and there is no reason why we can't get another three points."

Brian Laws: "We have worked on making sure our players are aware that Stoke are very strong at set pieces.

"There joint top scorer is a defender who comes up for set-plays (Ryan Shawcross), Rory Delap has got possibly the longest throw I have seen in my life, but it's not just about Stoke.

"They are very well organised, but we are a good side and we have to go their in confidence."

Graham Kavanagh: "I've been in one of those before, at Stoke; they're horrible; they mean a lot of sleepless nights and heartache."

"The situation at the moment is grim because of the position we're in, and the last performance wasn't up to scratch.

"We need to put it right. The next three games will shape the rest of the season. If it doesn't happen for us in this next week, we're in a relegation fight from now to the end of the season."

Deon Burton: "I have some good memories of my time at Stoke but all I will be focussed on is getting three points.

"Every game is important, but this one is even more so because we are going into it on the back of a bad result against Leicester and we are looking to turn things around."

Ins & Outs

Sheffield Wednesday In:

Rob Burch, Tottenham (Free)
Lee Grant, Derby (Free)
Richard Hinds, Scunthorpe (Free)
Akpo Sodje, Port Vale (300k)
Etienne Esajas, Vitesse Arnham (Undisclosed)
Francis Jeffers, Blackburn (£1m+)
Michael Johnson, Derby (Loan)
Graham Kavanagh, Sunderland (Loan)

Sheffield Wednesday Out:

Barry Corr, Swindon (Free)
Chris Adamson, Stockport (Free)
Steven MacClean, Cardiff (Free)
John Hills, Blackpool (Free)
Graham Coughlan, Rotherham (Free)
Steve Adams, Swindon (Free)
David Graham, Gillingham (Free)
Chris Brunt, WBA (£3M)

Match Officials

Referee - Mr L Mason
Assistants - Mr R Burton & Mr P Kirkup

Team News - Stoke

Should Play - Simonsen, Wright, Shawcross, Matteo, Lawrence, Eustace, Delap, Cresswell, Fuller
Could Play - Broomes, Buxton, De Laet, Wedderburn, D. Phillips, Sweeney, Parkin, Pericard
Suspensions - none
Doubts - Dickinson, Zakuani, Wilkinson
Definitely Outs - Pulis, Hill, Sidibe

Team News - Sheffield Wednesday

Should Play - Grant, Bullen, Gilbert, Hinds, Whelan, Esajas, Burton, Sodje
Could Play - Wood, Spurr, Johnson, Kavanagh, Tudgay, Lunt, Beevers, Jeffers
Suspensions - none
Doubts - Simek, Small, Watson
Definitely Outs - none

Last Time Out

Sheffield Wednesday 0-2 Leicester City

Two headers in the first 14 minutes condemned the Owls to their eighth defeat of the season two weeks ago.

Gareth McCauley nodded home first, before Patrick Kisnorbo doubled the advantage shortly after.

Stoke City - LDDDDWDW
Sheffield Wednesday - LLLWLWLL

Head-To-Head

League - Played 76,  Won 28,  Drew 16,  Lost 32
FA Cup - Played 6, Won 2, Drawn 2, Lost 2
League Cup - Played 5, Won 1, Drew 2, Lost 2

Last Time We Met

City's last clash against this weekend's visitors came on Boxing Day last year.

A close affair, eventually saw the Owls secure maximum points thanks to former Potter star Deon Burton firing home late on.

Steven MacClean gave Brian Laws' side the lead after 35 minutes, before Mamady Sidibe powered home a header to level the scorelines midway through the second half.

Despite the game looking likely to filter out in to a draw, ex-Derby striker Burton hit the winner, ending a personal goal drought, in the 79th minute.

Betting

Ricardo Fuller is again favourite to open the day's scoring for the Potters, he's priced at 9/2, while Ryan Shawcross is a good outside bet to continue his goalscoring form at 16/1.

Full Time Result - Stoke City Win 4/6, Draw 11/4, Sheffield Wednesday Win 4/1.

Go to bet365 for more betting options!

Media Watch

Stoke City's Academy will feature on Saturday's Soccer AM, 9am, Sky Sports 1, while manager Tony Pulis will feature on 'The Big League Weekend' show on Sky Sports 1, this evening from 7pm.