Robert Sykes
Dailysports's expert
Sheffield Wednesday
Middlesbrough
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On September 19, the main losers of the Championship at the moment will meet at the legendary Hillsborough. The teams hugged each other at the bottom of the standings with one point in their possession. The game will start at 21:00 CET.
Sheffield Wednesday
Wednesday is one of the oldest and most titled teams in Foggy Albion. The club is a four-time English champion, three-time FA Cup winner and winner of the Football League Cup.
At the turn of the 80s and 90s, this club from Sheffield was highly rated in England. The team managed to reach the final matches in the English League Cup and FA Cup. They managed to win the League Cup in the 1990/91 season, beating the formidable Manchester United in the final, and the following season the team won bronze medals in the Premier League.
After relegation in 2000, Wednesday spent most of their time in the Championship, from where they were relegated at the end of the 2020/21 season. It was not possible to return immediately - they lost in the semi-finals of the playoffs to Sunderland. But last season the “owls” performed a miracle.
The first match of the semi-final was lost without a chance - 4:0 in favor of Peterborough. In Sheffield, the hosts first managed to win back such a handicap, with the decisive goal being scored in the 8th compensated minute, and then in a penalty shootout they snatched a ticket to the final.
The team achieved their return to the Championship at Wembley thanks to a goal in the 120+3 minute of extra time.
Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough, like Sheffield Wednesday, is one of the founding clubs of the Premier League. It is worth noting that Boro played in the Premier League much more often than their next opponent. The team last played there in the 2016/17 season. And in the early 2000s, it was generally a strong middle peasant and competed in European competitions under the leadership of Steve McClaren.
Middlesbrough also had another interesting coach at that time - the team was led for several years by Gareth Southgate, the current coach of the England national team.
Boro fought for promotion until the end last season. They finished fourth in the championship and lost to Coventry in the play-off semi-finals.
This season was off to a bad start. Only one draw and five defeats dropped Middlesbrough to the bottom of the table. But in the League Cup, the team has already made it to the third round, where they will measure their strength with second-league Bradford.
The statistics of head-to-head matches
Sheffield Wednesday have not won an official match in normal time since May 7, when they beat Derby in the last round of League One.
Middlesbrough have only once managed to leave the field without conceding a goal in their last 18 matches.
There is some parity in personal meetings. The teams take turns exchanging victories. In the last four matches, the opponents always scored against each other.
Predictions
When all factors are taken into account, the difference in the class of teams may seem significant. I think Middlesbrough will recover quickly from their poor start. Therefore, I’ll risk betting on the guests to win.
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