Match Preview: Sheffield Wednesday v Sunderland - who will make it to Wembley?!

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Monday 9th May 2022

Sheffield Wednesday (0) v (1) Sunderland

Sky Bet League One

Play-Off Semi-Final - Second-Leg

Hillsborough

Kick-Off: 19:45

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Tickets & Match Coverage

Tickets: Tickets sold out.

TV/Stream: Full live match coverage available via Sky Sports.

Radio: Full live match commentary available via BBC Radio Newcastle (not online)

Don’t forget to follow the blow-by-blow account of the game on the Roker Report Twitter feed (@RokerReport) and check out the player ratings after the full-time whistle at www.RokerReport.com!

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The build-up...

Will Alex Neil stick or twist?

It was almost the perfect performance on Friday night at the Stadium of Light, everything other than the advantage we take to Hillsborough tonight. As a result of arguably our best performance under Alex Neil, we only travel to South Yorkshire with a one-goal advantage which was scant rewards for our domination on the night.

But in the press conferences building up to the second-leg, Alex Neil has looked relaxed and has the demeanour of a man with a plan.

Maybe that has something to do with the fact that Alex Neil has been in charge for seven games on the road since taking over in February, and in those seven games, we have conceded only two goals. In the seven League One games on our travels before Alex Neil took charge, we conceded a total of fourteen.

We are also unbeaten under Neil on the road giving clear indications of how we have evolved under the new manager and can travel down the M1 to Hillsborough with a bit of confidence we can get the result we need to take on Wycombe Wanderers at Wembley.

Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images

Darren Moore looked a relieved man after the final whistle on Friday night. He knew they were let off the hook and the tie could have been done and dusted such was Sunderland’s domination at the Stadium of Light.

Wednesday will now look to the fact they have the best home record in the division to provide the belief they can turn the aggregate score around tonight. Only Sunderland have scored more goals on home soil in League One this season, and they also finished the regulation season with the best home defensive record in the division.

Since the turn of the year, only three games at Hillsborough have not ended in a home victory, and we need to go back to mid-February to find their last defeat on home soil when Rotherham went away with a 2-0 win.

We would expect Darren Moore’s side to be more on the front foot than they were on Friday with an expectant home crowd behind them, and we will have to be at our best in terms of our defending to come away with the result we’ll need to take us to Wembley.

Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images

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League One Form...

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Sunderland away form...

Sheffield Wednesday home form...

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The betting...

The bookies are favouring a home win at 11/10, with Sunderland at 12/5 to win over the 90 minutes and the draw is 23/10.

Despite this, the shortest odds for a correct score is 5/1 for a 1-1 draw, which would do us just nicely. This is followed by 6/1 for a tight 1-0 win for Wednesday and not far behind, a 2-0 Wednesday alongside a goalless draw at 8/1.

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Head to head...

(All competitions at Hillsborough)

• Sunderland wins: 16
• Draws: 17
• Sheffield Wednesday wins: 30
• Sunderland goals: 71
• Sheffield Wednesday goals: 119

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Last time we met... at Hillsborough

Tuesday 2nd November 2021

Sky Bet League One

Hillsborough

Sheffield Wednesday 3-0 Sunderland

[Corbeanu 11, Kamberi 39’, Gregory 53’]

Sunderland: Hoffman, Winchester, Cirkin, Evans, Flanagan, Doyle, Gooch (Embleton), O’Nien, Stewart, Neil (Pritchard), O’Brien (Broadhead) Substitutes not used: Burge, Alves, Wright, Dajaku

Sheffield Wednesday: Peacock-Farrell, Paterson, Corbeanu (Brown), Palmer, Dunkley, Johnson, Adeniran, Bannan (Dele-Bashiru), Gregory (Berahino), Kamberi, Wing Substitutes not used: Wildsmith, Hunt, Shodipo, Sow

Attendance: 23,731

Photo by George Wood/Getty Images

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Played for both...

Michael Gray

Making his debut for The Lads under Malcolm Crosby in 1992, the full-back went on to make 410 appearances over the next 11 years before moving to Blackburn Rovers.

After three years at Ewood Park, he moved to the West Midlands and to Wolverhampton Wanderers in 2007, before joining Sheffield Wednesday in 2009 following a loan move at Hillsborough. It would be Gray’s final club before retiring in 2010.

Photo by Steve Morton/EMPICS via Getty Images

Chris Waddle

Waddle left Newcastle for Spurs in 1985 and then became the third most expensive player in the world when Marseille took him to France for around £4.5million in 1989.

Sheffield Wednesday and Trevor Francis brought him back to England at the age of 32 for £1 million in 1992 and after four years he was released from Hillsborough joining Falkirk and then Bradford City.

It was from Bradford that he signed for Sunderland in our bid to survive relegation from the Premier League on deadline day 1997.

Photo by Laurence Griffiths/EMPICS via Getty Images

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