Bosnia And Herzegovina
Czech Republic
Hungary
Indonesia
South Africa
South Korea
United Arab Emirates

Preview: Sheffield Wednesday vs. Newcastle United - prediction, team news, lineups

sportsmole.co.uk, 5 January 2023, 13:50
Premier League high-flyers Newcastle United will travel to South Yorkshire on Saturday to do battle with Sheffield Wednesday in an FA Cup third-round tie at Hillsborough.

The Magpies enter at this stage of the competition while their third-tier hosts have already seen off Morecambe and Mansfield Town to earn their tie with top-flight opposition.

Match preview

Alongside their bid to return to the Championship at the second time of asking this season, Sheffield Wednesday began an FA Cup campaign with a home first-round tie against Morecambe at the beginning of November and prevailed with a 2-0 victory courtesy of goals from Josh Windass and Alex Mighten to book a contest with fourth-tier Mansfield Town.

That tie also took place at Hillsborough, and the Owls would go 1-0 down as George Lapslie put their visitors ahead in the first half, only for Michael Smith to hit a brace in the final 15 minutes to ensure Darren Moore's side came out on top and booked their toughest game of the season thus far at home to Newcastle.

They certainly head into the game in impressive form, having now climbed up to second spot in League One with an unbeaten run standing at 13 matches, and the Owls have quickly bounced back from three straight draws with back-to-back wins coming into the weekend, firstly beating Fleetwood Town 2-1 on Boxing Day before quickly seeing off Port Vale.

Hoping to make it three on the bounce and leapfrog Ipswich Town in the race for automatic promotion, the Owls took on Cambridge United in their most recent outing on Monday, and they took another three-point haul in impressive fashion, as Windass opened the scoring early on and Smith hit another double before the former completed a hat-trick in the second half to wrap up a 5-0 triumph.

Now briefly turning their attention away from their league pursuits with the hopes of advancing to the FA Cup fourth round for the fifth time in the last six seasons, Moore's side will look to pull off a major upset on Saturday at home to Premier League opposition.

They face a particularly tough test, though, as the visitors are aiming to add to their eye-catching Premier League season with another cup run, with Eddie Howe's side currently sat third in England's top flight.

Their lofty position is largely due to an eye-catching defensive record, with no other team in the league conceding as few as the 11 goals that they have shipped in 18 matches thus far, while the Magpies now find themselves unbeaten in their last 12 top-flight outings since their only defeat of the season thus far.

Saturday's visitors are also without a defeat in their four matches since returning from the World Cup break, firstly booking their place in the EFL Cup quarter-finals with a 1-0 home win over Bournemouth, courtesy of an Adam Smith own goal, before dishing out a 3-0 beating to Leicester City away from home on Boxing Day as Chris Wood, Miguel Almiron and Joelinton all found the net in the first half.

Then on the back of a somewhat disappointing stalemate at home to Leeds United, the Magpies most recently faced the unenviable test of a trip to league leaders Arsenal on Tuesday, and they stood strong to see out a goalless draw, returning home with a creditable point as a result and ending the Gunners' perfect home league record this season.

Such a result leaves Newcastle third in the top flight and within touching distance of Manchester City, and with an FA Cup tie and their EFL Cup quarter-final looming in the next week, Howe's men will briefly turn their attention away from the league and bid to advance in the cup competitions with the aim of cruising past their League One hosts at the weekend.

Sheffield Wednesday FA Cup form:

W

W

Sheffield Wednesday form (all competitions):

D

D

D

W

W

W

Newcastle United form (all competitions):

W

W

W

W

D

D

Team News

Key Sheffield Wednesday midfielder Barry Bannan missed the Cambridge United contest with a new injury concern, and the captain is unlikely to return in time to feature on Saturday, likely leaving George Byers and Will Vaulks to partner up in the engine room, potentially alongside Fisayo Dele-Bashiru if the Owls opt to set up in a more compact manner.

Michael Smith should again lead the line after firing them into the third round with a brace against Mansfield, and the summer signing took his tally to 10 goals for the season in all competitions with another double in the recent win over Cambridge.

He will be supported by Josh Windass, who netted a hat-trick in that match, while Moore will likely stick with a back three of Liam Palmer, Mark McGuinness and Reece James.

Having rarely made many changes to his Newcastle team throughout the Premier League season thus far, Eddie Howe will likely use Saturday's tie as an opportunity to give chances to some players who have struggled for regular starts, with the likes of Chris Wood and Jacob Murphy expected to feature from the outset in Yorkshire.

Allan Saint-Maximin is also likely to feature, with the winger having only made substitute appearances since the Magpies' return from the World Cup break, with key front men Joelinton, Callum Wilson and Miguel Almiron all set to be rested.

In the continued absence of the likes of Emil Krafth, Matt Targett and Paul Dummett, Jamal Lewis and Javi Manquillo should come in in full-back roles to allow rests for key players like Kieran Trippier, while Jamaal Lascelles should also come in to join either Sven Botman, Fabian Schar or Dan Burn in the middle of a back four.

Sheffield Wednesday possible starting lineup:

Dawson; Palmer, McGuinness, James; Mighten, Byers, Vaulks, Dele-Bashiru, Johnson; Windass, Smith

Newcastle United possible starting lineup:

Dubravka; Manquillo, Burn, Lascelles, Lewis; Longstaff, Anderson, Willock; Murphy, Wood, Saint-Maximin

We say: Sheffield Wednesday 1-3 Newcastle United

Previews by email

Top News

16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Real Madrid will be bidding to book their spot in the knockout round of the Champions League when they welcome Manchester City to Bernabeu for the second leg of their playoff clash on Wednesday night. 16 February 2025 talksport.com The Premier League has two mouthwatering games on Sunday and talkSPORT has all the latest. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Taking a slender lead to San Siro, Feyenoord endeavour to finish the job on AC Milan when they reconvene for Tuesday's Champions League playoff second leg. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester United centre-back Lisandro Martinez has confirmed that he has undergone surgery on the severe knee injury that he suffered against Crystal Palace earlier this month. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Marcus Rashford is reportedly still hopeful of completing a 'dream switch' to Barcelona during this summer's transfer window. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester United are reportedly prepared to make a €150m (£125m) move for Atletico Madrid forward Julian Alvarez during this summer's transfer window. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk All transfer business is done and dusted for this season, but that doesn't stop clubs from preparing ahead for next season. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Hatayspor vs. Alanyaspor (Sunday, 10.30am) Round 24 of the 2024-25 Turkish Super Lig campaign pits relegation candidates Hatayspor against mid-table Alanyaspor at the Mersin Stadyumu on Sunday evening. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Nijmegen vs. Almere City (Sunday, 11.15am) Aiming to make it back-to-back wins and move closer to escaping the foot of the Eredivisie table, Almere City will travel to the Goffertstadion on Sunday to take on NEC. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Espanyol vs. Athletic Bilbao (Sunday, 1.00pm) Athletic Bilbao will be aiming to stretch their unbeaten run in La Liga to 15 matches when they head to Espanyol on Sunday. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Fiorentina vs. Como (Sunday, 11.30am) Top-four contenders Fiorentina will aim to boost their hopes of European qualification on Sunday, as they welcome Serie A strugglers Como to Stadio Franchi. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Werder Bremen vs. Hoffenheim (Sunday, 2.30pm) European hopefuls Werder Bremen will welcome relegation-threatened Hoffenheim to Weserstadion on Sunday in their 22nd Bundesliga game of the season. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Montpellier vs. Lyon (Sunday, 2.00pm) Looking to give their survival hopes a major boost, Montpellier HSC will welcome Champions League-chasing Lyon to Stade de la Mosson-Mondial 98 on Sunday afternoon for a Ligue 1 battle. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Hearts vs. Rangers (Sunday, 12.00pm) Hearts host Rangers in the Scottish Premiership this weekend, hoping to boost their chances of qualifying for European football next season. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Liverpool vs. Wolves (Sunday, 2.00pm) With or without Arne Slot on the touchline, Liverpool's pursuit of Premier League stardom when Wolverhampton Wanderers stop over at Anfield on Sunday afternoon. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Liverpool could face a difficult test at Anfield on Sunday against Wolverhampton Wanderers and will have to show improvements from last time out, Reds expert David Lynch has argued. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester United attacker Amad Diallo took to Instagram and confirmed he is set to be sidelined for some time after suffering an injury in training. 15 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Liverpool centre-back Ibrahima Konate has hinted that he would be happy to stay at Anfield despite interest from Paris Saint-Germain. 15 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Liverpool have reportedly accepted that goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher will leave in the summer transfer window, and are said to be willing to do business for a fee of £30-40m. 15 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk The primary job of a goalkeeper is to keep the ball out of the back of their own net, but there are times, especially in the modern era, where we see some shot-stoppers contributing to goals at the right end of the pitch. 15 February 2025 talksport.com Arsenal might be struggling for strikers but one former wonderkid is loving life away from north London. 15 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Arsenal should not give any thought to signing an "out of shape" free agent to solve their attacking shortage, Gunners expert Charles Watts has told Sports Mole. 15 February 2025 talksport.com Xabi Alonso continues to haunt his former employers Bayern Munich. 15 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Despite being by far the better side, Bayer Leverkusen were held to a 0-0 draw with Bayern Munich at BayArena on Saturday in an anticlimactic six pointer in the Bundesliga title race. 15 February 2025 talksport.com Aaron Lennon believes Tottenham's clash against Manchester United could be a preview of the Europa League final. 15 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Everton won their fourth Premier League match in five as they beat hosts Crystal Palace 2-1 at Selhurst Park on Saturday evening. 15 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Barcelona head coach Hansi Flick could make two changes to his XI for Monday's La Liga contest with Rayo Vallecano. 15 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Barcelona will welcome Rayo Vallecano to Estadi Olímpic Lluis Companys on Monday night knowing that a victory would see them rise above Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid to the top of the La Liga table. 15 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Galatasaray will travel to face Caykur Rizespor at the Caykur Didi Stadium, aiming to maintain their lead at the top of the Turkish Super Lig table. 15 February 2025 talksport.com It takes a lot to shock Troy Deeney but Bournemouth star Justin Kluivert nearly rendered him speechless.
there is nothing here yet