The Lowdown: Saturday's Pre-Season Opponents, Sheffield Wednesday

First Team
28 Aug 2020
4 Minutes
Sheffield Wednesday will be Leicester City's second pre-season opposition ahead of the 2020/21 campaign at Loughborough University Stadium on Saturday (12pm kick-off).

Ahead of that encounter with Garry Monk's south Yorkshire outfit, LCFC.com takes a more detailed look at the side which finished 16th in last season's Sky Bet Championship...

The squad

Barry Bannan was among Wednesday's highest appearance-makers in 2019/20.

The Owls have so far made two summer signings, central midfielder Fisayo Dele-Bashiru from Manchester City, and centre-back Chey Dunkley from Wigan Athletic.

Attacking midfielder Izzy Brown, meanwhile, has also joined Garry Monk's men on loan from Chelsea, until the end of the 2020/21 season.

Wednesday's 2019/20 top goalscorer Steven Fletcher, though, departed Hillsborough this summer, joining Stoke City, after netting 13 in 30 games last term.

Jacob Murphy, on the other hand, scored nine goals in all competitions in 2019/20, although his loan deal, from Newcastle United, in south Yorkshire has since ended.

Their highest appearance-makers last time out were midfielders Kadeem Harris (47) and Barry Bannan (46) as Monk's side finished 16th in the Championship.

The manager

Ex-Leeds United manager Garry Monk has been in charge in south Yorkshire since last September.

Former Swansea City defender and manager Garry Monk is currently in charge of Sheffield Wednesday after joining the club in 2019.

As a player, Monk won the EFL Trophy (2006), League 1 title (2008), Championship play-offs (2011) and the League Cup (2013) at Liberty Stadium.

Between 2010 and 2012, meanwhile, Monk played under the guidance of Foxes manager Brendan Rodgers, who masterminded their Championship play-off success nine years ago.

Following a one-year spell in charge of the Swans, between 2014 and 2015, the Bedford-born manager has worked at Leeds United, Middlesbrough and Birmingham City.

Since taking over at Hillsborough, Monk has won 14 of his 44 games in charge, earning a win ratio of 31.8 per cent, as the Owls finished in 16th place last season.

Form guide

The Owls' form stuttered towards the end of the 2019/20 campaign.

Sheffield Wednesday endured a difficult end to their 2019/20 Championship season, winning just two games following English football's restart amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The month of July saw the Owls suffer five defeats in seven games, although a 3-0 victory at Queens Park Rangers, thanks to goals from Dominic Iorfa, Josh Windass and Jacob Murphy, was the highlight.

Garry Monk's men have noy yet played a pre-season friendly this summer, meaning Saturday's encounter with the Foxes will be their first action ahead of the 2020/21 campaign.

They have, however, spent five days in a training camp at Loughborough University, where the clash with Leicester will take place, to build a base level of fitness.

Wednesday will commence the new second-tier season with a points deduction of 12 points after being found in breach of the Football League's Profitability and Sustainability Rules.

Previous encounters

The Foxes' win over Sheffield Wednesday in 2014 was ultimately enough to seal Premier League promotion.

City's last clash with Sheffield Wednesday took place six years ago as goals from Riyad Mahrez and Anthony Knockaert sealed a 2-1 win for promotion-bound Leicester at King Power Stadium.

The Foxes most recent success over the Owls in Sheffield, meanwhile, came in 2012, with Danny Drinkwater and Ben Marshall netting in a 2-0 victory at Hillsborough.

Wednesday have a slight advantage in the overall head-to-head record between the two sides, winning 42 matches, while City have triumphed on 40 occasions.

Twenty-eight of the 70 competitive encounters between Leicester and Wednesday, meanwhile, have ended in draws since their first clash - a 0-0 stalemate - in 1899.

Trophy cabinet

John Sheridan's goal secured a 1-0 win over Manchester United in the 1991 League Cup Final.

Sheffield Wednesday have been crowned as English champions on four occasions across their 153-year history - in 1903, 1904, 1929 and 1930.

The Owls are also five-time winners of the second tier in English football (1900, 1926, 1952, 1956 and 1959), while also finishing as runners-up twice (1950 and 1984).

Wednesday's success in the late 19th and early 20th centuries also included three FA Cup triumphs, in 1896, 1907 and 1935.

More recently, however, the south Yorkshire outfit lifted the League Cup in 1991, beating Manchester United at Wembley, with former City manager Nigel Pearson among their ranks.

The stadium

Hillsborough is one of the most iconic grounds in English football.

Located in Owlerton, Hillsborough has been Sheffield Wednesday's home venue since 1899 and currently has a capacity of 34,854.

Over the years, Hillsborough has been a host for many FA Cup semi-finals, while its record attendance stands at 72,841, for quarter-final tie against Manchester City on 17 February, 1934.

Hillsborough has also staged several senior internationals, including five fixtures during the 1966 FIFA World Cup, including the quarter-final between West Germany and Uruguay.

On 15 April, 1989, the ground was the scene of tragedy as 96 Liverpool supporters died at Hillsborough ahead of an FA Cup semi-final against Nottingham Forest.

Please note, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Saturday's pre-season friendly will be staged behind closed doors at Loughborough University Stadium.

Upcoming fixtures

The Owls begin their 2020/21 season with a 12-point deduction in the Championship.

Sheffield Wednesday's 2020/21 season begins with a Carabao Cup tie against Walsall at Bank's Stadium on Saturday 5 September (2:15pm kick-off).

The Championship campaign starts with a trip to face Cardiff City on Saturday 12 September (3pm kick-off), before hosting relegated Watford on Saturday 19 September (3pm kick-off).

Wednesday's next three league clashes will then see them tackle Bristol City (A), Queens Park Rangers (H) and Birmingham City (A).

All times BST.