Sunday is our first proper look at Dave Challinor's Wednesday, and the tie could hardly be more awkward. It's Boundary Park in November, live on TNT, against a League Two side scrapping at the wrong end of their division with nothing to lose. A League One club is expected to win this kind of game, and this is also the kind that ends up on a giant-killing montage.
Then there's the last time we went there. On 1 August, Oldham beat us 4-0 in our final pre-season friendly, and Henrik Pedersen admitted he was shocked by how far off it we were. A lot has changed since, not least the man in the dugout. Even so, a first-round exit to the side that embarrassed us in the summer is not how anyone wants the Challinor era to start.
Challinor's first game
Challinor has had a matter of days with the squad, and he's been sensible about what he can do in that time. He doesn't want to bombard the players. He's kept what was already working and added small tweaks, which he hopes we'll see on Sunday, with more to come over the next few weeks. He sees this as a good group of players, and his job is to get their best bits onto the pitch regardless of the opposition.
The players will have to make decisions themselves. Challinor says his staff will give them plenty of solutions, and it's up to them to pick the right one in the moment. "It's not black and white. It's grey," he said. That fits everything he said at his unveiling about ownership in the dressing room, and Sunday is the first chance to see how much of it has landed.
He was also clear about what's coming. Between now and Christmas, Wednesday play Saturday-Tuesday, and many of those games are against sides expected to compete for promotion. With Accrington at Hillsborough in midweek and Plymouth there next Saturday, he admitted he'll be planning players' minutes almost as if it were pre-season, which is not ideal in the middle of a League One campaign.
That makes the team sheet hard to call. I'd still expect something close to full strength on Sunday, with more changes for Accrington. Jamal Lowe is available again after his three-game ban, which gives Challinor a real choice up front. Keillor-Dunn, Slattery and Burstow linked up well against Blackpool without him, but Lowe is still our top scorer. If Challinor goes with the 3-4-2-1 he generally favours, there's room to get Lowe through the middle with two of the others just behind.
There's an extra edge for Davis Keillor-Dunn, too. He goes back to the club where he was top scorer in 2021-22.
Team news
The best news is at the back. Di'Shon Bernard is fit after training all week, although his minutes will be managed after such a long spell out. Bernard's return is a big boost, because Sil Swinkels starts his three-game ban after his red card against Blackpool, and Liam Cooper is being held back as a precaution. Bernard, Ernie Weaver and Liam Palmer look the likeliest back three, with Otegbayo the alternative.
Beyond that, don't expect reinforcements this weekend. Challinor said the injured players probably won't be back for Sunday, but they're not far off. Some should be back in training to a degree next week, with Joe Lumley and Ali Al-Hamadi among those targeting a return. Until then, Ashley Maynard-Brewer keeps the gloves. Challinor accepted that some players will be asked to play out of position for the next few weeks, but he refused to use that as an excuse. He sees it as a chance for others to show what they can do, and getting numbers back will mean he can ease returning players in rather than rush them.
Reece James is still a few weeks away, and Billy Mitchell's knock was only expected to be short-term. Everyone wants to know about Louie Barry. He's been back on the grass under his old Stockport boss, but Sunday looks too soon.
The opposition
Micky Mellon has been at Oldham since October 2023, and he has a contract running to 2028. He got them back into the EFL and to tenth in League Two last season, and they've reached the FA Cup second round in each of the last two years. This season has been harder. Oldham sit 18th on 15 points, three clear of the bottom two. A 3-0 defeat at Walsall last month was their fifth loss in seven league games.
Their week has been eventful. Against Crawley on Saturday, referee David Rock sent off Kai Payne after 14 minutes and Kane Drummond on the half-hour, and nine-man Oldham lost 1-0. Neither decision looked like a red, but the club's appeals were rejected. Both players are banned for Sunday. Drummond is the bigger loss, with two goals and an assist this season, while Payne is a regular in midfield on his third loan spell from Wigan. Keenan Appiah-Forson is also out with a knee problem.
They responded well. On Tuesday, captain Ollie Norburn scored his first goal for the club to win 1-0 at Northampton, which was Oldham's first away win of the season. Mellon praised the "grit, hard work, togetherness, resilience" in his side, and that's what we should expect at Boundary Park.
Challinor isn't taking it lightly either. He pointed out that a 5.15pm Sunday kick-off on TV is not what the broadcasters pick when they think a tie will be a walkover. Everyone will be talking about shocks. His answer is simple: Wednesday have to go and be Sheffield Wednesday, and concentrate on their own job. Oldham feel hard done by, the home crowd will be up for it, and they'll try to make it scrappy. They also have a Trophy tie against Barnsley next Wednesday, so their squad is being stretched too.
History
Leave out the friendly, and the competitive record is firmly ours. Our last competitive visit was a League Cup first-round tie in August 2012. We were 2-0 down at half-time and won 4-2, with Jermaine Johnson, a Chris O'Grady double and Michail Antonio. Earlier that year we did the League One double over them, winning 2-0 at Boundary Park and 3-0 at Hillsborough.
Our recent FA Cup record is less encouraging. Last season we went out at home to Brentford in the third round. A win on Sunday earns £47,750 and, more usefully, a bit of momentum.
Prediction
On paper, this should be comfortable. We're ninth in League One, Oldham are 18th in the division below, and they're missing two of their key players. But we haven't won in four, and Oldham have already shown us what happens when we turn up flat.
Challinor has told his players to use the recent criticism as motivation and show a better version of themselves. I like that. A new manager, a few returning players and a point to prove should be enough to get us through. I expect a cagey first hour, with Oldham sitting in and feeding off the crowd, and I don't think it'll be pretty.
Prediction: Oldham Athletic 1-2 Sheffield Wednesday.
Wednesday's 2,323 tickets have sold out. Challinor's message to supporters was to keep backing the club, and that this is the start of a journey that won't be smooth but should be fun along the way. It begins in a full away end at Boundary Park. Kick-off is 5.15pm on Sunday 8 November, live on TNT Sports.