Sheffield Wednesday manager Garry Monk will take on Birmingham City for the first time since leaving the club in the summer. Monk had just one season at the St Andrews helm, and he managed to keep the Blues in the Championship despite suffering from a nine-point deduction. However, Monk’s focus will be firmly on getting a result for his new club. And a win is very much needed – after Saturday’s 2-1 reverse at West Brom, Wednesday are winless in four.
Birmingham, who are managed by Monk’s former assistant Pep Coltet, sit 15th in the table. However, a win for the visitors would lift them one point above Wednesday.
Garry Monk‘s Sheffield Wednesday Look to Bounce Back Against Birmingham City
Late Goals Continue to Cost Sheffield Wednesday Points
A newly-found Achilles heel has been costing the Owls in recent weeks – conceding late goals. Wednesday have conceded four goals past the 87th minute in their previous three games, which has seen them squander six points. Late goals in a 2-1 defeat at Blackburn (twice), the 2-2 draw with Swansea and the 2-1 loss at West Brom have halted Wednesday’s play-off push. The Owls currently sit ninth in the division, but they’d be fourth if they hadn’t thrown those six points away.
After Charlie Austin‘s 88th-minute penalty consigned Monk’s men to a third away loss in four, a deflated Monk told swfc.co.uk that he felt “sick” for his players.
“We’re playing the team who are top of the league, away from home, and we were the better team for the second half.
It’s just individual mistakes that have stopped us taking more points. It’s the third game in a row with a similar theme and we know that can’t continue, we’ve played well but haven’t been ruthless or clinical enough.”
Garry Monk v Pep Clotet: ‘Friends’ Re-united
Monk had some interesting words to say about Blues interim boss Pep Clotet in his pre-match press conference. Clotet was Monk’s assistant at Swansea, Leeds and Birmingham. But the instead of leaving St Andrews with the current Owls boss after his sacking, the Spaniard chose to succeed him. That seems to have left a bitter taste in Monk’s mouth, who didn’t hold back when talking about his former colleague:
“I think what’s most important to me is when I’m assembling a staff around me to work with me, the key for me is to give them an opportunity.
“It is to show them that complete trust and you hope that they repay that trust with hard work and loyalty.
“Sadly, not everyone has those values in their character. Some choose to pursue their opportunities in the worst possible way.”
It could be an interesting battle on the Hillsborough touchline.
Defensive Reshuffle
Wednesday will be forced into a defensive change on Wednesday night after right-back Liam Palmer got sent off for the first time in his career on Saturday. Monk could recall Moses Odubajo as his replacement, but the former Brentford man has had a torrid season and has consistently made errors in that position. Another option would be to move Dominic Iorfa from centre-back to right-back and recall club captain Tom Lees, who could partner Julian Borner at the centre of defence.
Garry Monk confirmed that Cameron Dawson will replace Keiren Westwood in goal. Westwood has made cost his team four goals in the last three games. It’s by far the worst spell of his Owls career, and he needs to be taken out of the firing line. Academy graduate Dawson now has a great chance to nail down a starting spot.
Prediction
Expect this to be a different Birmingham side from the most of the teams Wednesday have faced in previous years. Clotet has changed Blues’ style of play to a more attractive brand of football, and with the likes of Jude Bellingham, Fran Villalba and Daniel Crowley in midfield, Birmingham certainly have the quality to hurt the men from South Yorkshire. Despite that, Wednesday’s home record is good. They’ve lost just once at Hillsborough this term, and are unbeaten in all five of Monk’s home league matches. They’ll be hoping that their recent defensive lapses don’t plague their efforts in this clash. We expect them to sneak this one and extend their unbeaten home run.
Sheffield Wednesday 1-0 Birmingham City
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