Match Preview: Stoke City vs Sheffield Wednesday
Championship | Good Friday, April 3, 2026 | bet365 Stadium | 3:00 PM
Sheffield Wednesday head to Stoke on Good Friday with the season still limping towards the finish line, but for the first time in a while there is at least a bit of light creeping in around the edges.
That does not suddenly make this a good season, far from it, and it does not make the football any easier to sit through at times either. But with recent comments from David Storch giving supporters a bit more reason to believe that better days may lie ahead, the mood around Wednesday feels slightly different. The results still matter, of course, but right now they almost feel secondary to the bigger picture and the hope that the club might finally be moving towards something better.
That is probably why this game feels a little different to some of the recent ones. The pressure and frustration have not vanished, but there is at least a sense now that the club may have a future worth looking forward to. And after the season Wednesday have had, that alone counts for plenty.
The Owls go into this one after defeats to Hull City, Ipswich Town and Derby County, with only a draw against Watford offering any sort of break in the pattern. Since the turn of the year, it has been a tough watch more often than not, but at this stage the focus is less on trying to rescue the season and more on finding signs that there is something to build on going forward.
The numbers still reflect just how difficult it has been. Wednesday have scored 24 goals all season, with only 10 assists, and have conceded 79. A goal difference of minus 55 tells its own story. But there has at least been a little more life in attack lately, with four goals in the last five games, and while that has not led to a sudden turnaround in results, it has offered a few small reminders that there is still something there to work with.
Stoke, meanwhile, are not exactly charging into this one full of purpose either. Speaking to a friend of mine, a long-standing Stoke fan, the feeling from their side is that the season has felt over since mid-January. They were as high as third at the end of October, but injuries have ripped through the squad and taken the edge off their campaign. At one point they had 12 first-team players out, with players like Lewis Baker, Divin Mubama, Tchamadeu, Lawal and Bozenik all missing time, and even their goalkeeping options were hit.
That context matters, because it shows this is not really a meeting between two sides charging towards something meaningful. It is more a case of two clubs approaching the end of the season in very different moods. Stoke sound like a side whose year has simply fizzled out. Wednesday, despite everything, suddenly feel like a club with supporters daring to think a bit more positively about what comes next.
Even so, Stoke still look in a healthier place on the pitch. They have scored 46, assisted 31, conceded 43 and sit with a positive goal difference of 3. That is not promotion form by any means, but it is still a long way ahead of where Wednesday have been.
They come into the game off the back of a 3-1 defeat to Preston, and Mark Robins made it clear afterwards that it was not good enough. Speaking to Stoke City’s official website, he said his side had let their supporters down with an “unacceptable performance which cannot be repeated”. So while their season may feel like one that is drifting, they will still want a response here.
Before that, Stoke had beaten Watford 3-1, drawn 3-3 with Ipswich and beaten Oxford United 2-1. There is enough there to suggest they can still cause problems, especially at home.
The individual numbers underline that. ESPN’s season stats show Sorba Thomas leading the way with 10 goals and 9 assists, making him the obvious danger man. Million Manhoef has 7 goals, Divin Mubama has 5, and Lewis Baker has added 4 in just 12 appearances. Add in Bae Jun-Ho and Lamine Cisse, and Stoke have enough attacking options to make Wednesday work for it.
The head-to-head record is mixed. Wednesday beat Stoke 2-0 in December 2024 and won 1-0 away in December 2023, but Stoke have won the last two meetings, including a 2-0 win in April 2025 and a 3-0 win in August 2025. So there is not much recent comfort to take from the fixture itself.
Still, from a Wednesday point of view, this game now feels less about fear and more about seeing whether there are any green shoots to cling to. Can they show a bit more attacking intent? Can they stay in the game for longer? Can they put together a performance that gives supporters something to take into the summer?
That feels like the real aim now.
Yes, the table still looks ugly. Yes, Wednesday are still sat on minus six points, and just getting back to zero feels like it should be the minimum target. But the bigger thing now is not the maths. It is the mood. For the first time in a while, there is at least a sense that the club might be edging away from pure survival mode and towards the possibility of rebuilding properly.
That does not remove the flaws in this team. If Wednesday are to get anything here, it will still need to be earned the hard way. They will have to stay compact, compete well, and make the game awkward for Stoke. But perhaps the pressure feels a little different now. Perhaps there is just a touch less desperation, and a touch more belief that the bigger picture may finally be changing.
There are smaller positives too. Joe Crann of The Sheffield Star reported that Devlan Moses made his debut for Northern Ireland Under-21s on Friday night. The young attacker has been in strong form in the academy, scoring 17 goals in 10 games this season, and has already had some first-team minutes under Henrik Pedersen. He came on for the final 20 minutes in a 3-0 defeat to Germany, and it is another reminder that there are still bits and pieces around the club worth keeping an eye on.
The Star also reported that Wednesday had three trialists in their Under-18s side against Crewe Alexandra, with Elton Simo of Leeds United, Daniel Vanderpuye of Lincoln City and Feyi Afuape of Barnsley all said to have featured. The young Owls were beaten 4-0, but again it points to a club that is at least looking ahead and thinking about what comes next.
So where does that leave this one?
Probably somewhere between realism and hope.
Stoke still look the more settled side on the pitch, and they have more than enough to make life difficult for Wednesday. But from an Owls point of view, this now feels like one of those games where the result matters a little less than the signs around it. A decent performance, a bit of fight, maybe a goal, maybe even a point, and supporters would have something else to cling to beyond just talk of the future.
And right now, that might be enough.
Prediction: Stoke City 1-1 Sheffield Wednesday
Sources referenced: Stoke City FC, ESPN, Joe Crann for The Sheffield Star, and conversation with a long-standing Stoke City supporter. Best of luck with the remaining games John.. excluding Friday.