Football League World
·27 September 2024
Football League World
·27 September 2024
Sheffield Wednesday manager Danny Rohl is facing a dilemma over whether to restore Anthony Musaba to the team against West Brom.
Sheffield Wednesday will be looking to return to winning ways when they host West Bromwich Albion at Hillsborough in the Championship on Saturday.
Wednesday secured survival last season following a remarkable turnaround under Danny Rohl, and there was plenty of hope among supporters that they could climb the table this campaign.
The Owls got their season off to the perfect start with a 4-0 home win over Plymouth Argyle on the opening weekend, but they have found it much tougher since then, and they suffered their fourth defeat in five league games as they were beaten 2-1 by Luton Town at Kenilworth Road on Saturday.
After a dominant first half performance, the Owls deservedly took the lead shortly after the break through Barry Bannan's delightful volley, and it looked as though they were heading for a victory, but the game changed in the 74th minute when Luton were awarded a penalty and Di'Shon Bernard was sent off after he was controversially adjudged to have handled the ball in the box.
Carlton Morris converted the resulting spot-kick, and with two minutes of normal time remaining, the striker added his second to seal all three points for the Hatters.
It was a much-improved performance from Wednesday, but after another defeat, they are now in the relegation zone, and it will be a tough test this weekend against a West Brom side who currently sit top of the table with 16 points from their first six games.
Rohl will be forced into one defensive change for the visit of the Baggies this weekend after the appeal against Bernard's red card was unsuccessful, but he may also look to freshen up his forward line, and winger Anthony Musaba is one player who could be in contention to start.
Musaba joined Wednesday from French side Monaco last summer, and after a slow start to his time at Hillsborough, he finished the season as the club's top scorer with eight goals in 48 appearances, while he also provided five assists.
The 23-year-old's form towards the end of the season was crucial to helping the Owls achieve survival, and he put in arguably his best performance of the campaign in the 3-0 home win over West Brom in late April.
It was an outstanding display from Wednesday against Albion, who sat in the play-off places at the time, and as well as opening the scoring for his side, Musaba was a constant threat throughout the game.
After starting the first four league games of the season for the Owls, Musaba has been introduced as a substitute in the last two matches, but with that previous performance against the Baggies in mind, Rohl could decide to bring him back into the starting line-up against Carlos Corberan's side this weekend.
There are certainly benefits to reintroducing Musaba to the team, and his pace and ability to run at opposition defences could be useful on Saturday, but his end product has been poor so far this season.
Josh Windass and Olaf Kobacki have started the previous two games in the wide areas, and after a run of three league games without a goal in August, Wednesday have looked much more dangerous with the duo in the side.
Windass caused plenty of problems for the Luton defence on Saturday, putting some excellent balls into the box and coming close to finding the back of the net.
While he was substituted at half time, Kobacki, who joined the Owls from Polish second division side Arka Gdynia this summer, was also a threat in the first half, and a consistent run of games is exactly what the 23-year-old needs if he is to adapt to the Championship.
After the defeat at Luton, Rohl said that "the better team lost" and he insisted that "the improvement is there", and it is difficult to disagree that more performances like the one at Kenilworth Road will see Wednesday pick up points sooner rather than later.
Windass and Kobacki were integral to the improved attacking display against the Hatters, so Rohl must keep faith with them against the Baggies this weekend, with Musaba being used as an impact substitute off the bench if needed later in the game.