Tuesday night gave us something to hold onto. It wasn't a win, and one win in seven is not the form of a side that expects to be anywhere near the top six, but the draw with Cambridge had an energy about it that was missing at Meadow Lane and the Eco-Power. Sunday is the chance to turn that into three points before the new manager walks through the door.
And make no mistake, this is a game Wednesday should be winning. We sit ninth on 19 points from 12 games, two points behind Reading and Cambridge in the play-off places. Blackpool arrive 20th, with 11 points from 11 and a defence that has just shipped four at home. A win, with results going our way elsewhere, could lift us back into the top six before the league pauses for the FA Cup.
Hamshaw's second go
Dave Challinor remains the frontrunner for the job, but with the board only due back from the United States before the weekend, an appointment before Sunday was always a stretch. So it's Hamshaw again, and he has been clear about what he wants: front-foot football, smiles back on faces and an end to the containing mindset that defined last season in the Championship.
His one real gripe from Tuesday was the start. Wednesday were second best for the first 15 minutes against Cambridge and only found their rhythm after a few choice words at half-time. Against a fragile Blackpool side, a fast start is the obvious target. Get on top early, let Hillsborough do the rest.
Team news
The biggest absence is a familiar one. Jamal Lowe serves the final game of his three-match ban, so the top scorer will be back for the FA Cup trip to Oldham but not before. That should mean Mason Burstow keeps the shirt after his goal on Tuesday, and on that evidence he deserves it.
There is a little light in the treatment room. Jordi Liongola has not played for just over two months with a hamstring problem but is back doing limited work in training, and Hamshaw hasn't ruled him out of the squad. Louie Barry is in a similar spot, getting minutes on the grass without being ready to start.
The back line needs watching. Yan Valery limped off late on Tuesday, and Ernie Weaver came off with cramp after a performance that should have earned him another start. Liam Cooper was rested for Cambridge and is an obvious option to return, while Sil Swinkels got his first minutes in over two months off the bench. Hamshaw admitted afterwards that the centre-back pairing he picked wasn't his first-choice, recognised duo, so expect at least one change there.
The opposition
Blackpool are a puzzle. Ian Evatt went back to Bloomfield Road in October 2025, to the club where he won two promotions as a player, and kept them up comfortably. August suggested this season would be different. Seven points from their first three games, including a 2-1 win at Stockport and a 4-0 thrashing of Peterborough, earned Evatt a Manager of the Month nomination, with goalkeeper Bailey Peacock-Farrell up for the player award. He lost out to our own Jamal Lowe.
Since then, the wheels have come off. Blackpool are 20th with 11 points from 11 games, one point above the drop zone, and have won one in seven in the league. Last Saturday summed them up. Fresh from a 2-0 win over MK Dons, they were level at half-time against Mansfield after Peacock-Farrell saved a Michael Smith penalty and Dion Charles equalised Smith's opener. Then they fell apart. Rhys Oates, an Ilmari Niskanen own goal and Tyler Roberts made it 4-1, the home fans booed them off, and Evatt accused his players of throwing in the towel. Asked about the pressure on him, he insisted he is still the right man for the job, but another heavy defeat would test that. They have scored 16 and conceded 20, and have won just once in five on the road.
There was a response of sorts in midweek. Evatt made five changes, planned with Sunday in mind, and Blackpool came from behind to beat Aston Villa's under-21s 3-2 in the EFL Trophy, with Zac Ashworth, Jerry Yates and a long-range strike from Jordan Brown. Even then he wasn't happy, calling his side a naive group after they gave the ball away chasing a fourth in stoppage time and let Villa back in. He was also open about missing big characters, with CJ Hamilton and George Honeyman both out. Centre-back Fraser Horsfall did return off the bench for his first game since April after only two days' training, so he could come into contention.
Yates is a familiar face. He spent the second half of last season on loan at Hillsborough, scoring four times, and will want to make a point. Charles, Tom Bloxham and Dale Taylor are the other attacking options, and Peacock-Farrell has been one of their better performers. The pattern to watch is their starts. Against Mansfield, Blackpool were the better side for much of the first half before collapsing after the break. Wednesday were slow out of the blocks against Cambridge, and a repeat would hand Blackpool exactly the foothold they need. Score early, and this is a side that has shown it can fold.
History
The recent record is firmly in our favour. Wednesday have won four of the last five meetings, conceding just twice. The most recent came in the League Cup at Bloomfield Road in September 2024, a 1-0 win, and we did the double over them in the Championship in 2014-15 with two 1-0 victories. Blackpool's only success in that run was a 2-0 home win in November 2013.
Prediction
Everything points one way. Wednesday are at home in front of 30,000-plus, playing for a caretaker who wants to show what he can do, against a side low on confidence and short of leaders. The worry is finishing. We created enough on Tuesday to win and didn't, and Blackpool will make it hard if it is still 0-0 at the hour.
I expect Burstow and the midfield to get Wednesday on the front foot early, and for the quality to tell eventually. A clean sheet would be a welcome bonus for whoever takes over next week.
Prediction: Sheffield Wednesday 2-0 Blackpool.
Sunday is also the club's official Remembrance fixture. Serving and veteran members of the Armed Forces will be around Hillsborough before the game, with a bucket collection for Help for Heroes. There will be a moment's silence and the Last Post before kick-off, and the North Stand is being asked to hold up cards to create a poppy mosaic. The players' shirts and the programme will carry the poppy, and poppies are available from the Ticket Office for donations to the Royal British Legion. Turnstiles open at 12:30pm, so get in early and be in your seat for the tributes.
Kick-off is 2pm on Sunday 1 November at Hillsborough.
Sources: Sheffield Wednesday FC, The Star, Yorkshire Post, Blackpool Gazette, Blackpool FC, Mansfield Town FC, The72.