Match Preview: Leicester City vs Sheffield Wednesday
Ten years on from Leicester City’s unbelievable Premier League title win, it is hard not to look at this fixture and think about how quickly football can turn. Back then they were the story everybody wanted to believe in. Now they are down in the Championship and fighting for survival.
Leicester go into this one in the thick of the battle at the bottom, sitting on 39 points from 39 games and only just keeping their heads above water. Oxford are level with them, Portsmouth are only a point ahead, and there is not much room for error. This is not a side coasting towards the end of the season. It is one playing with the weight of the table on its back.
Their recent run reflects that. Leicester have taken five points from their last four matches, drawing with Ipswich Town and Watford, beating Bristol City, and suffering a damaging home defeat to QPR. It is not the kind of form that settles nerves, and it does at least offer Wednesday some reason to believe there may be something in the game.
There is pressure off the pitch too. Leicester have already had to deal with the fallout of a points deduction, and there is more noise around the club’s financial position heading into the summer. Reports around possible player sales, including Abdul Fatawu, only add to the sense that this is a club trying to keep itself together while also trying to stay afloat.
Fatawu is one player Wednesday will need to keep an eye on. He heads back from international duty after scoring for Ghana in their recent defeat to Germany, so Leicester will hope he returns with a bit of confidence and momentum behind him. In a game with this much riding on it for the home side, that is not ideal.
Wednesday, of course, have enough of their own problems.
I’m writing this ahead of Friday’s game and before this trip to Leicester, so the full picture may shift slightly, but the broader story is already clear. Recent form has been poor, results have followed a familiar pattern, and confidence has taken another knock. At this stage, the table tells its own story. Wednesday are long gone and the focus has already started to drift beyond this season and towards what comes next.
That brings its own dangers. A side with little left to fight for on paper can either play with freedom or fold altogether. Too often this season it has been the latter.
The reverse fixture back in August was one of those afternoons that seemed to capture plenty of what Wednesday have been about this season. The Owls took the lead through Nathaniel Chalobah after 26 minutes and gave a decent account of themselves for long spells, only for the game to gradually slip away. Chalobah, who had scored the opener, went off injured not long after. Yan Valery also had to be withdrawn. Leicester equalised through Jannik Vestergaard early in the second half, and then the contest turned properly when Barry Bannan was sent off for a second booking on 76 minutes. With Wednesday down to ten men, Leicester found a late winner through Wout Faes and took the points.
That day was not just about football. One of the more notable moments came in the stands, where Wednesday supporters completed their protest against Dejphon Chansiri by entering the stadium after five minutes. When they returned, Leicester fans met them with a standing ovation in a moment of solidarity that said plenty. Rivalries matter, but supporters know when another fanbase is hurting, and that was one of those moments.
Leicester fans applaud Sheffield Wednesday fans after their protest against Chansiri
Looking at the fixture history, this is actually not as one-sided as some might expect. Across the last 15 league meetings, both sides have seven wins each, with one draw between them. That tells you Wednesday have made life difficult for Leicester often enough over the years. The problem is that the recent trend is less encouraging. Wednesday are winless in the last four meetings, and their last victory in this fixture came back in December 2013. Their last away win at Leicester came in March 2013.
So while the longer history says this has often been a competitive fixture, the more recent record suggests Wednesday have struggled to get over the line against them.
There is uncertainty hanging over Hillsborough too, and not just in the dugout or the boardroom. Pierce Charles continues to attract attention, which is no surprise given the level he has shown and the wider situation around the club. Reports linking him with a move away this summer only underline the uncomfortable reality Wednesday face. When you have one of your brightest young assets drawing interest, the question quickly becomes whether you can build around him or whether circumstances force your hand.
For now though, the bigger concern is what happens over 90 minutes in Leicester.
Wednesday will need Charles at his best, because the home side will come into this one knowing how much is on the line. Leicester are not full of confidence, but desperation can be its own fuel, especially at home. Wednesday have already shown in the reverse fixture that they can compete with them, albeit a side now missing the likes of Barry Bannan. They have to manage moments better, stay disciplined, and give themselves a chance of still being in the fight late on.
That has been the issue too often this season. Games drift, heads go, and what looks manageable becomes another defeat.
Leicester will see this as a chance to grab a vital result in their survival battle. Wednesday should be looking at it differently. With the pressure sitting heavier on the home side, there is an opportunity here to make life awkward, frustrate the crowd, and test a team that is hardly in convincing form itself.
Whether they are capable of doing that is another matter.
But if they need any reminder, they only have to look back at the reverse fixture. Wednesday were in that game for a long time before injuries, a red card and late pressure turned it against them. The lesson is obvious enough. Stay in it, stay organised, and do not hand Leicester the moments they are desperate for.
Because for all the gap in mood around the two clubs, this is not a fixture that has always belonged to Leicester.
And for all Wednesday’s flaws, they should still have enough about them to believe there is something there if they fancy the scrap.
Prediction: Leicester City 0-1 Sheffield Wednesday
Dare I dream? Maybe. But Leicester are not exactly on fire of late, and if Wednesday can stay organised, avoid the daft moments that killed them in the reverse fixture, and nick the first goal, there is no reason they cannot make this awkward. It would take discipline, graft and probably a big performance from Pierce Charles, but stranger things have happened.