Sheffield Wednesday return to Hillsborough on Saturday with momentum firmly behind them as Henrik Pedersen’s side look to continue an excellent start to life back in League One against Wigan Athletic.
The contrast between the two sides could hardly be greater heading into the weekend. Wednesday have won four of their opening five league games, while Wigan have taken just one victory from five and arrive at Hillsborough bottom of the table.
It makes the Owls clear favourites, but Wigan’s results do not tell the entire story. Gary Caldwell’s side have created chances throughout the opening weeks of the season and their biggest problem has been turning those opportunities into goals.
For Wednesday, the challenge is to continue winning while Pedersen works to make a new-look squad increasingly comfortable with the football he wants them to play.
Wednesday winning while still developing
Wednesday’s early progress has already earned recognition.
Pedersen has been nominated for August’s League One Manager of the Month award after the Owls took six points from their opening three league games, beating Leyton Orient and Bromley either side of the narrow home defeat to Bradford City.
Jamal Lowe is also among the nominees for Player of the Month after producing three goals and two assists across those August fixtures.
Results have continued to come since then, with Wednesday completing three away victories in succession and three wins inside a week with Saturday’s victory at Peterborough United.
Pedersen was delighted with the outcome but made clear afterwards that he sees plenty of room for improvement.
A packed schedule has allowed little meaningful time on the training ground, while a number of new and younger players are still being integrated into the group.
The Wednesday boss felt that showed at Peterborough. His back line dropped too deep during the first half, leaving too much distance to the players further forward, while he also wanted more dynamism when his side had the ball.
There was improvement after the break as Wednesday became more compact and increased the intensity of their play.
With a clear week ahead of the Wigan fixture, Pedersen now has something he has been asking for: time on the training pitch to work more deeply on the principles he wants to establish.
A strong start built on mentality
If Pedersen believes the football can improve, there is one area in which he already appears extremely satisfied.
The mentality within the group has been central to Wednesday’s start.
Saturday’s win at Peterborough was another example. The Owls were not at their fluent best throughout the afternoon but found a way to come through difficult periods and get the result.
Pedersen described it as evidence of the culture developing within the squad, highlighting the willingness of his players to keep working for one another when things are not going perfectly.
That resilience has become an important part of Wednesday’s early success.
It is also worth remembering how much change there has been within the squad. Wednesday’s EFL submission contains only 17 players on the senior ‘In Squad’ list, although that number does not tell the full story, with a substantial number of first-team options qualifying for the Under-21 list.
The Owls therefore have a mixture of established senior players and younger talent that Pedersen is still bringing together.
So far, the results have arrived quicker than the finished product.
Wigan arrive after heavy Stockport defeat
Wigan’s most recent league outing could barely have been more different.
Caldwell’s side were beaten 4-0 at home by Stockport County, with the Latics two goals down inside the opening stages and unable to recover.
Caldwell accepted responsibility afterwards for a performance he described as massively disappointing.
Wigan initially attempted to press Stockport from a 4-2-3-1 before switching to a 5-4-1 and adopting a more man-to-man approach. Neither solved the problems they were facing.
The Wigan boss felt his side lacked enough intensity when pressing and needed to be much stronger in their duels.
There was some improvement after half-time and Wigan created chances, but pushing forward also left them increasingly vulnerable on the counterattack.
It was a significant setback after a more encouraging performance in their previous game and highlighted the inconsistency Caldwell is trying to address within a young squad.
Results worse than the performances
Wigan’s position at the bottom of League One makes for grim reading, but their attacking numbers suggest they have been more competitive than their points return indicates.
The Latics have generated an expected goals figure of 9.57 from their opening five league matches but scored only five times.
That gap tells much of the story.
They have created numerous good opportunities without finding the finishing required to make them count.
The defeat at Wimbledon was a particularly striking example. Wigan created enough chances to have been ahead before eventually losing 1-0 to a late goal, including passing up opportunities from extremely close range.
They also created heavily in their Carabao Cup meeting with Barnsley without making the most of their dominance.
It means Wednesday cannot afford to judge Saturday’s opponents purely by the league table.
Wigan are getting into scoring positions. Their problem has been what happens next.
Caldwell working with a young group
There has been considerable change at Wigan over the summer.
The club have continued to reduce costs, moved experienced higher earners out and relied heavily on young players, loans and academy talent.
Caldwell has openly acknowledged the challenge of getting consistency from players still adapting to the demands of senior football.
That was particularly evident after the Stockport defeat, when he referenced the difference between academy football and the requirement to recover quickly and perform again in the professional game.
Injuries have made the transition more difficult.
Akeel Higgins, Ryan Trevitt and Luke Harris have all been affected by hamstring problems, limiting Caldwell’s midfield options.
Wigan have also lacked a reliable goalscorer.
They attempted to strengthen up front before the end of the transfer window but were unable to complete the addition they wanted, leaving finishing as the most obvious weakness in a team that is creating enough chances to have accumulated considerably more points.
How Wigan could approach Hillsborough
Caldwell has shown a willingness to alter the shape of his side, but the principles are unlikely to change dramatically.
Wigan want to press, play positively and attack quickly when possession changes hands.
They have also looked to get the ball into wide areas and deliver plenty of crosses, although getting enough players into the penalty area to attack those deliveries has sometimes been an issue.
Wednesday will need to be alert when possession turns over.
Wigan have pace and technical quality in a number of areas and are capable of breaking quickly when space becomes available.
There is, however, an opportunity at the other end.
Caldwell acknowledged after the Stockport game that his side became increasingly exposed as they committed more bodies forward. If Wednesday can draw Wigan out and then play through the first press, there should be spaces available to attack.
An early Wednesday goal could make that problem considerably greater.
Wigan players to watch
Despite their position in the table, Wigan have some interesting talent within the squad.
Bradley Burrowes offers significant pace in wide areas. The Aston Villa youngster made an immediate impact after arriving, registering an assist with his first touch on his debut.
Reggie Walsh is another highly rated prospect. The Chelsea midfielder is only 17 but has already been trusted with significant first-team minutes and is comfortable receiving the ball in tight areas.
At the back, Finley Burns adds considerable size and physicality. The 6ft 5in centre-half joined permanently after leaving Manchester City and spending last season on loan at Reading.
Max Power provides the experience alongside them. Now into his third spell with Wigan, he operates deeper in midfield and remains an important figure within the club.
There will also be a familiar face in Morgan Fox.
The former Wednesday defender remains part of Caldwell’s squad and brings plenty of experience at this level.
Lowe facing his former club
The connections run in both directions.
Jamal Lowe will line up against a club he represented earlier in his career and goes into the fixture in excellent form.
His three goals and two assists in August earned him a place among the League One Player of the Month nominees and he has quickly become an important part of Wednesday’s attack.
Wednesday also have significantly greater attacking depth than they possessed earlier in the campaign.
Mason Burstow, Ali Al-Hamadi and Davis Keillor-Dunn give Pedersen different options around Lowe, while Kieran Morrison and Jaden Heskey are among the younger additions being integrated into the group.
That competition for places should only increase as the new-look squad spends more time together.
Recent meetings
Wednesday have enjoyed the better of the recent competitive meetings between the clubs.
The Owls won 1-0 at Hillsborough in February 2022, with Barry Bannan’s penalty separating the sides, having already won 2-1 away at Wigan earlier that season.
Wednesday also recorded a 1-0 home victory in the Championship in October 2019, while Wigan won the return fixture 2-1 in January 2020.
The most recent meeting overall was a pre-season friendly in July 2022, when Wigan won 4-1.
Across the last five meetings supplied, including that friendly, Wigan lead the goals 7-6, but Wednesday have won three of the last four competitive encounters.
Caldwell knows the scale of the task
Despite Saturday’s heavy defeat, Caldwell was already looking towards the Hillsborough fixture afterwards.
He described Wednesday as a “big powerful team” and a “big club at this level”, while highlighting the challenge of taking his young side into a large stadium after such a difficult result.
Wigan have had a full week to recover and prepare, but so have Wednesday.
That could be particularly significant for Pedersen, who has repeatedly spoken about needing training time rather than simply moving from one match to the next.
For the first time in a while, he has had the opportunity to give his players exactly that.
The verdict
This is one Wednesday should be looking to win.
Pedersen’s side are producing results even while the manager openly acknowledges there is plenty still to improve, and the prospect of a more settled team after a proper week on the training ground is encouraging.
Wigan are more dangerous than their league position suggests. They create chances, have some talented young players and will arrive determined to produce a response after the Stockport defeat.
But their problems are also clear.
They have struggled to finish the chances they create, can become vulnerable when committing players forward and are still searching for consistency within a young and changing squad.
Wednesday have momentum, home advantage and considerably more confidence.
Maintain the mentality that has carried them through the opening weeks of the season and there is every reason to expect another positive afternoon at Hillsborough.