This article is part of Football FanCast’s The Chalkboard series, which provides a tactical insight into teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…
The Championship is finally back in action this weekend as Sheffield Wednesday return with a testing trip south as they look to put any off-field demons to the side for the time being.
League leaders West Brom play host at the Hawthorns, and it is a game in which Garry Monk can hugely exploit if he sets out his team correctly on Saturday afternoon.
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The Baggies will be without two of their most influential players as both captain Jake Livermore and midfield partner Romaine Sawyers will be absent through suspension.
The pair have started every single game this campaign with the latter featuring for every single minute available.
And while they would have had two weeks to prepare for this very moment, it is something that the Owls chief in command needs to make the absolute most of as they can make up some much-needed ground on those around the playoffs.
At the very least, it may help their cause later down the line if they do get any points deducted too.
On the Chalkboard
West Brom’s central midfield pecking order is substantially weak as outside the two suspended protagonists, there’s only really two true options, but they both come with their doubts.
Gareth Barry has only just re-signed at the club after a career-threatening injury and has played one U23 game while Rekeem Harper has only featured for a whole six minutes in the league.
Albion’s number ten Matheus Pereira still offers a massive threat at the peak of their midfield having scored three and assisted six goals, so the above factors combined make a 4-3-3 formation a must for Wednesday.
Sam Hutchinson is so crucial at the base of that three as his tackling stats will go a long way in neutralising the Brazilian’s threat, he averages 2.2 per game.
In front of him needs to be two of Barry Bannan, Massimo Luongo, or Kieran Lee, depending on who is fit enough to play, given that the Australian hasn’t featured since the win over Stoke City nearly a month ago.
These three offer creative and attacking threats, which they can really take advantage of in the absence of Livermore, who averages 2.1 tackles per game and Sawyers, who manages approximately 69.6 passes per match at an accuracy rate of 91.9%.
Bannan is joint-top in the squad for assists, Luongo has two goals in his last three appearances, and Lee managed an assist against Swansea City last time out in just his second start since the end of September.
The midfield will almost certainly hold the keys to whether or not Wednesday come out on top at the Hawthorns.
