Sheffield Wednesday will play their first League One game under the management of Dave Challinor on Saturday, when they welcome Plymouth Argyle to Hillsborough.

A four-match winless streak has seen the hosts drop to ninth spot in the League One table, but they only trail the fifth-placed visitors by three points.

Match preview

Sheffield Wednesday return to action at the weekend aiming to end a winless run and get up and running under new manager Dave Challinor.

Enjoying a fresh start under new ownership after administration and relegation in 2025-26, the Owls quickly got up and running under Henrik Pedersen, staking their claim for an immediate return to the Championship by earning 18 points from their first nine games courtesy of five wins and just one defeat.

They have since gone winless in four league games and six in all competitions, though, with 2-0 away losses to Notts County and Doncaster Rovers spelling the end of Pedersen's tenure before Matt Hamshaw took temporary charge and oversaw league draws against Cambridge United and Blackpool.

The Owls hierarchy then turned to Dave Challinor to take the reins, with his spell beginning with consecutive cup games, as the South Yorkshire side firstly lost 2-1 after extra time to Oldham Athletic in the FA Cup, having levelled through Davis Keillor-Dunn, before taking a 4-0 EFL Trophy beating from fourth-tier Accrington Stanley on Wednesday at Hillsborough with a heavily rotated team.

Yet to get going under Challinor, but now with full focus on bouncing back in their League One promotion bid, Sheffield Wednesday sit ninth and two points outside of the playoffs and will bid to end their rut with a victory at Hillsborough to move level with the visitors.

Their opponents, meanwhile, make the long trip to South Yorkshire aiming to build on consecutive cup wins and a four-game unbeaten streak.

Aiming to build on a strong end to the 2025-26 League One season, in which they fell just short of the playoffs after a poor start, Plymouth Argyle currently find themselves fifth having earned 23 points from their first 14 outings, winning seven and losing five of those.

In a tight top end of the table, the Pilgrims lost ground with consecutive defeats in October, losing 2-0 and 3-0, but they bounced back with a hard-fought 3-2 away win at Cambridge United, thanks to an own goal and finishes from Xavier Amaechi and Aribim Pepple, before playing out a goalless stalemate with Reading.

Tom Cleverley's side have also since been in consecutive cup games heading into the weekend, firstly cruising past Alvechurch in the FA Cup first round before Seb Campbell scored a 99th-minute winner in a 2-1 EFL Trophy triumph over Swindon Town on Tuesday.

Now sitting fifth, but only three points above their ninth-placed hosts and just three behind second-placed Stockport County, they can quickly improve their standing at the top end of the division by extending their run in the coming weeks starting with a victory at Hillsborough.

Sheffield Wednesday League One form:

Sheffield Wednesday form (all competitions):

Plymouth Argyle League One form:

Plymouth Argyle form (all competitions):

Team News

Sheffield Wednesday will likely remain without goalkeepers Joe Lumley and Ashley Maynard-Brewer, meaning Connal Trueman should again deputise between the sticks.

Reece James, Liam Cooper, Louie Barry, Tyler Onyango, Ali Al-Hamadi and Mason Burstow may all remain confined to the treatment room, while Billy Mitchell has also missed the last three games.

Davis Keillor-Dunn has scored in his last two appearances and will play an important role in the attack, while the likes of Harry Gray, Jamal Lowe and Kieran Morrison will also compete for spots with Callum Slattery likely to come back in from the outset in support after resting for the EFL Trophy match.

Plymouth Argyle have a relatively clean bill of health, other than Joe Edwards who is sidelined.

The Pilgrims rotated heavily for their midweek EFL Trophy tie, and Will Evans and Aribim Pepple should both return from the start in attack having scored five and eight goals respectively so far this term.

Xavier Amaechi may rejoin them in a front three, depending on the shape Cleverley opts for, but Oliver Irow and Ronan Curtis also have claims to start, while Tyreeq Bakinson and Harvey White could reform their midfield partnership.

Sheffield Wednesday possible starting lineup:

Trueman; Santos, Weaver, Bernard; Valery, Bannan, Heskey, M Lowe; Slattery; Keillor-Dunn, J Lowe

Plymouth Argyle possible starting lineup:

Storer; Harding, Pleguezuelo, Mitchell, Hartridge; Amaechi, White, Bakinson, Irow; Pepple, Evans

We say: Sheffield Wednesday 1-1 Plymouth Argyle

Sheffield Wednesday have not had the dream start under Challinor, but we are yet to see him take charge of a league game at full strength.

The Owls have the quality to at least match their fifth-placed hosts and we anticipate a tight contest at Hillsborough which could end level.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.