Bread And Butter Football

Sheffield Wednesday vs Arsenal preview

Posted on October 27, 2015
 

Arsenal face a tough test tonight as they travel to Hillsborough in the Capital One Cup 4th round as they take on a Sheffield Wednesday side who currently sit 9th in the Sky Bet Championship.

Arsenal come into the game full of confidence after recent victories against Manchester United and European champions Bayern Munich. But a victory at Hillsborough has proved allusive for Wenger since becoming Arsenal manager.

The Gunners have failed to secure a single victory in their last six visits to fortress Hillsborough and this is something that they will be looking to change tonight.

That may be more easily said than done though with Wednesday currently of an unbeaten run of their own. They are currently eight games undefeated in all competitions and will not want to give this run up easily.

Unfortunately for the Owls they are going to be without a number of first team regulars for tonight’s clash which could prove a problem if they have any aspiration in knocking out this confident Arsenal side.

The injury list includes the likes of Michael Turner, Alex Lopes, Marco Matias and Modou Sougou who are all not fit enough to make an appearance in the game.

Playmaker Fernando Forestieri is cup tied to add insult to injury to the already depleted Wednesday side.

But the injuries have also opened up great chances for some youngsters including 19 year old Joe Wildsmith who looks certain to start in goal in place of injured Kieran Westwood.

Wildsmith will have his work cut out against the fire power that Arsenal possess but this is an ideal opportunity for the young man to make a name for himself against a top Premier League side.

Tonight’s game does see a welcome return for top goal scorer Lucas Joao who had to have emergency dental treatment after a facial injury he sustained against Rotherham. The clinical finisher will be looking to cause problems for the Arsenal backline.

Joao and his team mates just have one problem… and that’s trying to score against an inform Petr Cech who will retain his place in the side with David Ospina still out with a shoulder injury.

Wenger also has the luxury of no new injury concerns and even welcomes back the commanding presence of centre back Per Mertesacker, who missed the weekends victory over Everton due to illness.

Expect to see a few changes in the Arsenal line up tonight with Wenger allowing some of his younger stars a run out. Alex Iwobi could lead the line for the Gunners and with his lightning pace he should be a real handful for the Wednesday defence.

Wenger should be wary of changing his team too much though as the Owls haven’t lost a home League Cup tie since August 2008 against Rotherham where they lost out on penalties.

That added with the fact that Arsenal have kept just once clean sheet in their last 11 away League cup games this will be no easy match.

An away game at Hillsborough under the lights is going to prove a big test for this Arsenal side with the home crowd sure to make themselves felt.

Will Arsenal have the firepower to shoot down Wednesday or will the Owls fly away with a ticket to the 5th round.

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