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Sheffield Wednesday travel to Notts County on Tuesday night, fresh off a thumping 5-0 win against AFC Wimbledon.
Wednesday’s big win on Saturday was a bit of a surprise to some fans, albeit a welcome surprise of course. The task for Henrik Pedersen now is making sure that performance continues into the game against County.
The Magpies aren’t in the best form. Four straight defeats put them second bottom, joint on points with Wigan Athletic but with a two-goal better goal difference.
There will be an exception from some that the Owls should have too much quality for Notts County, but the hosts won’t just go down without a fight. Here’s what Sheffield Wednesday should expect from the Magpies.
County haven’t had the best start to life back in the third tier. One win all season, and four draws suggest they are in for a long campaign.
Last five League One results:
According to Sofascore, Notts County lined up in a 3-4-2-1 against Wycombe, a game they ultimately lost 2-0.
3-4-2-1: Belshaw; Ness (Samuels-Smith, 46), McDonald, Bedeau; Gibbons, Finneran (Palmer, 62), Sanders (Robertson, 61), Tsaroulla; Roberts, Evans (Grant, 62); Ndlovu (Kanu, 62).
County’s unused subs that game were Qamaruddin Kouhyar and Darius Lipsiuc.
The hosts will be without four long-term injuries; Matty Platt, Lewis Macari, Dean Campbell and Emile Acquah are all out of action.
Goal threat Oli Cooper missed the Wycombe game, as did 22-year-old Luka Smyth. Both are key players for County, and they’ll be hoping they are back.
Despite their poor league position, there are several key players who could pose threats to Sheffield Wednesday.
Notts County’s highest-rated player so far this season is midfielder Cooper. He didn’t feature last time out so might be unavailable again.
After him is midfielder Callum Roberts. The 29-year-old has an average Sofascore rating of 6.96, a little behind Cooper’s 7.16.
County’s two top scorers might both be out of action for the game against the Owls. Cooper leads the side with three, while Smyth has two. After those two, Roberts, Rory Finneran, and Conor Grant each have one goal.
One player who is yet to find the target but is someone Wednesday will need to watch is Daniel Kanu. The 21-year-old is on loan from Charlton Athletic and scored 15 goals in League Two for Walsall last season.
27-year-old Nick Tsaroulla leads the side in assists with three. Often used as a left wingback, Tsaroulla is someone the Owls will need to keep an eye on. He also leads the side for big chances created (four) and key passes per match (1.3, tied with Cooper).
It will likely be Yan Valery’s task to make sure the left-sided midfielder doesn’t get the chance to create too many chances for County.