MurciaReal Murciavs.Sheff WedsSheffield Wednesday

It will see new manager Xisco Munoz return to his homeland after he replaced Darren Moore shortly after Wednesday sealed promotion to the Championship.

Match preview

A remarkable season finally had a happy ending for Sheffield Wednesday, but few sides will have had a bumpier ride along the way.

With 97 points staggeringly not being enough to confirm automatic promotion by the most slender of margins, Wednesday were in big trouble when they lost 4-0 at Peterborough United in their playoff semi-final first leg.

However, a 98th-minute equaliser from Liam Palmer saw them miraculously force extra time, before the Posh took the league again in the first period of the additional 30 minutes.

Another late equaliser saw the Owls force penalties though, where they won, overturning the biggest deficit in playoff history.

The drama did not end there though, as Wednesday sealed promotion with a 123rd-minute goal from Josh Windass against Barnsley at Wembley in the final.

To the dismay of many though, Moore and his coaching staff left by mutual consent a few weeks later, leading to the appointment of Xisco.

The Spaniard won promotion to the Premier League in his only other job in England with Watford back in 2020, and this fixture will see him face a club he will have played against as a player during the 2000s in La Liga.

It is already Wednesday's fourth friendly of pre-season, after a draw at York City and a win over Chesterfield Town, before a behind-closed-doors encounter with Burnley where they were soundly beaten 3-0.

Murcia now find themselves down in the third tier having been a sporadic La Liga club in past years, but they collapsed late last season when presented with the opportunity to reach the playoffs.

Five points from their final seven matches saw them finish one place outside the top five, and miss out on the chance to play for a spot in the second division.

Despite having the best away record in the third tier, a dismal set of results at home meant they only finished sixth.

Sheffield Wednesday friendly form:

Team News

Murcia's main man and creative asset is former Real Madrid and Getafe midfielder Pedro Leon, who is now 36 and back at the club where he started his career almost 20 years ago.

Pablo Ganet will have reported back later than the rest of his teammates having been away on international duty with Equatorial Guinea in mid-June, helping them to Africa Cup of Nations qualification.

There have been no notable incomings at Sheffield Wednesday yet this summer, apart from Reece James making his loan move permanent from Blackpool, though numerous squad players have moved on over the early stages of the summer.

Fisayo Dele-Bashiru has joined Hatayspor and Jaden Brown has moved on to Lincoln City, while Dennis Adeniran and Jack Hunt, the man who scored the winning semi-final penalty, have both departed on a free.

Real Murcia possible starting lineup:

Serna; Rueda, Gonzalez Marin, Magana, Arnau Sola; Pedro Leon, Galindo, Gracia, Aguza; Dani Vega, Buron

Sheffield Wednesday possible starting lineup:

Dawson; Iorfa, Ihiekwe, James; Paterson, Palmer, Bannan, Johnson; Windass, Smith, Gregory

We say: Real Murcia 0-2 Sheffield Wednesday

Despite a big defeat to Burnley on Friday, if Wednesday play a strong side here, they should have the quality to beat a Murcia side who have lost a few of their high-performing players from last season.

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