The hosts find themselves 22nd having gone five games without a victory since the opening day, while their visitors sit at the summit of England's second tier thanks to an unbeaten start.
© Imago
Indeed, in their last five attempts the Owls have added just one more point to their tally, as the perfect start was immediately followed by consecutive defeats at the hands of Sunderland, Leeds United and Millwall prior to the September international break.
A first draw then came in agonising fashion at home to Queens Park Rangers, having gone 1-0 up in injury time through Barry Bannan only for Alfie Lloyd to force a share of the spoils with a 96th-minute leveller.
Then on the back of a 1-0 victory away at Blackpool to progress to the EFL Cup fourth round, Rohl's men most recently visited Luton Town on Saturday, and, after again going ahead through Bannan, they left empty-handed as Carlton Morris converted a penalty 13 minutes from time and snatched all three points for the hosts with his second in the dying embers.
Having now dropped into the bottom three in England's second tier as a result of their tough run, Sheffield Wednesday will be desperate to record a second league win of the campaign on Saturday to kickstart a climb up the division.
© Imago
They face another tricky test, though, as the visitors arrive in South Yorkshire on the back of a near-perfect start to their promotion bid this term.
Following their fifth-placed Championship finish and semi-final playoff defeat last season, West Bromwich Albion sit atop the table after six games in the 2024-25 term, having gone unbeaten thus far while amassing 16 points.
Their only dropped points came in a goalless stalemate with Leeds United in mid-August, and Carlos Corberan's side have bounced back in style since, firstly seeing off Stoke City and Swansea City prior to the international break.
The Baggies have since turned those results into a four-match winning streak in England's second tier, beating Portsmouth 3-0 on their travels before most recently hosting Plymouth Argyle on Saturday and adding another three points to their tally as Josh Maja netted the only goal of the game on the hour mark.
With momentum quickly growing at the Hawthorns, having netted 10 goals and only conceded two in their six outings thus far, West Bromwich Albion will bid to further strengthen their position at the front of the leading pack with a fifth straight victory on Saturday.
© Imago
Sheffield Wednesday's Captain Speaks Out
As night follows day, his pre-match dealings with the media in his capacity as Sheffield Wednesday captain have one uniform trait. They are invariably timed at points in the season when his beloved Owls are in a touch of strife and/or the tension is palpable.
Twelve months ago for instance, he went into bat ahead of a home game with Sunderland amid an autumn storm at Hillsborough and a lousy run of form.
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In the Owls’ previous match there, tennis balls had been thrown onto the pitch by disgruntled fans in protest at chairman Dejphon Chansiri, with a black balloon protest planned for the Wearsiders’ visit.
Typically, Bannan was also the one to face the music after a bitter play-off elimination to the same opponents at S6 in May 2022.
And so it came earlier this week that on the back of some hard results - and a couple of rough calls - the talismanic figure fronted up ahead of today’s game against leaders West Brom.
Hardly the ideal opponents to face following a winless league streak stretching back to the opening weekend’s win over Plymouth Argyle on August 11.
Wednesday’s leader, as he does and will continue to do, did what was necessary.
In fairness, as difficult times go at Hillsborough, this current period seems a comparative picnic to several that Bannan has witnessed in his near-decade of service at the club – and fielded questions about.
He said: “This season, things are going against us, which probably on another day (time) wouldn’t have done. It’s not knocked our confidence, as bad as that sounds.
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“We are one result away from everything changing and what better to do it than on Saturday against a team who are high-flying at the top of the league.
“Everything around at the club, going on in the background, is (now) stable and in a really good place.
“It’s just the results, which haven’t been what we wanted. But it’s completely different to last season when we weren’t really performing in games and just there to be shot at, on the pitch.”
Learning from the Best
A serious player for a good few years, Bannan takes his responsibilities as captain of one of English football’s historic names equally seriously. He counts himself as fortunate to have learnt from someone among the very best in that regard in former Celtic and Aston Villa favourite Stiliyan Petrov.
Bannan, an avid Hoops fan who idolised the Bulgarian as a youngster in his time at Parkhead, garnered plenty from rubbing shoulders with his hero at Villa Park. And not just in terms of midfield craft either.
Bannan added: “Stiliyan was captain for a large part of my time there (at Villa) and was amazing.
“He’d ‘dig’ people out, but you’d also know, as a player, that you could go to him with anything as well - if you had any problems in your life outside football. You could share it with him and he would help you with this side of it.
“On the pitch, he was a winner. He wasn’t the nicest player to play with on the pitch because he was hammering me with what he demanded and standards. If you fell below them, you would know.
“That’s the kind of way I have tried to be. Even if I am not performing personally, you still need to demand those standards as that’s your job as captain. You need to get the standards from everyone, even if I am falling below it. I will try and drag the other ones, so they keep theirs.
“Watching him was big for me and it’s something I have tried to carry throughout my career.”
The Hate of Losing
Bannan’s demanding nature with his team-mates, not just on a match-day, but throughout the working week, continues to be driven by one simple thing. Namely, his deep competitive instinct and hatred of losing. If that ever dimmed, it would probably represent the time for him to hang his boots, in truth. Not that it will.
The Scot, who turns 35 at the start of December, continued: “Obviously, I have got kids and you need to kind of put a ‘face’ on when you get back home.
“But normally, they are in bed when I get back if we have lost. So I just go into the spare room and don’t speak to my wife until the next morning.
“My mum and dad know and they won’t text me after a defeat until maybe Sunday or Monday. It’s just well known by people who are close to me to leave me alone for a bit once we suffer a defeat. It’s something I have carried in my life.
“Whether it’s playing pool, football or a five-a-side in training, I hate losing and it’s something that will never change. I don’t think anyone likes losing, but maybe I am extreme in the way I act. But it’s what I have known since I have grown up.”
Bannan will continue to hate losing and carry on being the team’s voice in times of trouble for a fair while yet, rest assured.
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Team News and Preview
Sheffield Wednesday head into Saturday's contest without defender Di'Shon Bernard, who will serve a suspension after being sent off in their defeat to Luton Town, while Dominic Iorfa and Nathaniel Chalobah are set to continue spells in the treatment room and Djeidi Gassama is a fresh injury concern.
In Bernard's absence, Michael Ihiekwe should come in to join Liam Palmer and Akin Famewo in a back three, while midfielder Svante Ingelsson may again have to settle for a place off the bench with Shea Charles preferred alongside captain Barry Bannan, who has scored in each of their last two outings.
Danny Rohl may opt to switch up his attacking unit after Olaf Kobacki and Josh Windass supported Michael Smith against Luton Town, with Jamal Lowe, Ike Ugbo and Anthony Musaba all fighting to come back in from the outset.
Carlos Corberan may opt to deploy an unchanged West Brom starting XI from last week's victory over Plymouth Argyle, with midfielder Jayson Molumby and attacker Daryl Dike remaining sidelined by injuries.
Their line will again be led by Josh Maja, who leads the league's scoring charts with six goals in six appearances so far this term.
Despite competition from Jed Wallace, Grady Diangana, Mikey Johnston and Lewis Dobbin, Maja could again have support from the trio of Karlan Grant, John Swift and Tom Fellows, who has contributed four assists in his six Championship games this term, while Uros Racic and Alex Mowatt should continue their partnership in the engine room.
Sheffield Wednesday possible starting lineup:Beadle; Palmer, Ihiekwe, Famewo; Valery, Charles, Bannan, Johnson; Musaba, Ugbo, Windass
West Bromwich Albion possible starting lineup:Palmer; Furlong, Ajayi, Bartley, Heggem; Racic, Mowatt; Fellows, Swift, Grant; Maja
West Bromwich Albion are in formidable form and growing in confidence under Corberan, and we see them having enough to outclass a Sheffield Wednesday side who are lacking any form heading into the weekend.For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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Carlos Corberán has warned Albion they must stay completely focused on their work and not take their eye off the ball as a result of “applause”.
Carlos Corberán’s men have made their best start to a season after six matches since 1992/93, winning five and drawing one while also keeping four clean sheets.
The boss admits praise gives them added “motivation”, but also stressed the importance of improvement and consistency in a league which offers up “no easy games”.
Carlos said: “I’ve told my players to enjoy the applause, but to stay focused on their work. When you lose focus on your work, that’s when you make mistakes and your level drops.
“Of course, the applause is a consequence of the hard work we have been putting in and the rewards we have been getting in terms of victories so far. It’s a massive motivation to keep going, too.
“You have to believe in your work and stay focused. That is our task. That is our task whether we are first in the table or any other position in the table. Nothing changes.
“The stronger you are, the stronger we have to be to stay where we are. Now, the opponent will see us at the top of the table, but we cannot see ourselves at the top of the table. We need to know how hard we need to work to achieve results.
“In this Championship, it’s impossible to find an easy game. Every game is different with different challenges. You have to give your best.”
Sheffield Wednesday defeated Albion 3-0 at Hillsborough in April, but have only collected four points from their first six fixtures in 2024/25.
Corberán thinks they were unlucky to lose at recently-relegated Luton Town last Saturday and is predicting an eye-catching campaign for the Owls.
“I think despite their results, Sheffield Wednesday have started this season as well as they finished the previous one in terms of the competitiveness and their mentality.
“The results don’t always show a true reflection of what has happened on the pitch.
“Last weekend, they played against Luton who were competing in the Premier League last season. They were winning 1-0 away from home and then they had a player sent-off towards the end. Luton went on to score two goals and take the three points.
“If you analyse the game, they didn’t deserve to lose. Maybe, if they had got those three points, people might be looking at this game in a different way.
“In six games, you cannot come to conclusions. They are a very tough team because they have a clear identity, a very good coach and some very good players. They signed important players in the summer and signed players permanently who had done well for them on loan, just like us with Mikey Johnston.
“The signings have made them a stronger team than what they were last season, so it will be a very difficult game for us.
“It’s a very interesting team we’re coming up against. I would not be surprised to see them in some of the key positions in the table at the end of the season because I believe they have everything to be there.
“I expect a very similar game to the one we played in last season when we lost 3-0. We clearly have to be much, much better this time around to get a good result.”
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