After Wrexham vs Sheffield Wednesday, supercomputer claims only one team will avoid relegation

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Sheffield Wednesday held Wrexham to a draw on Saturday afternoon, but a supercomputer predicts only one club will stay up this season.

Wednesday completed a shock comeback at the Racecourse, coming from being 2-0 down on the hour mark to finishing the match on level terms thanks to goals from Barry Bannan and Bailey Cadamarteri.

Aside from the Owls claiming their first point of the season in dramatic fashion, the focus was also on the visiting fans protests against controversial owner Dejphon Chansiri, with Sky Sports’ Neil Mellor hailing their efforts and Wrexham’s owners and fans standing in solidarity with the disgruntled Owls supporters

While the South Yorkshire side sit 21st in the table, Wrexham are 19th after being winless in their first three Championship matches following their promotion. However, Opta’s new supercomputer shows it’s the Hollywood-owned Welsh club who may be in trouble come May, not chaos club Wednesday.

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Supercomputer predicts Wrexham to get relegated while Sheffield Wednesday survive

Wednesday lost striker Josh Windass to Wrexham this summer after Chansiri’s failed payments to staff, while Michael Smith also had his contract terminated to sign for Preston North End amongst other departures.

The Owls even lost first choice goalkeeper Pierce Charles to injury this week, leading Henrik Pedersen to bring in an emergency loan.

Despite all the carnage on and off the pitch, Wednesday performed well against Leicester, Bolton and Wrexham – and Opta backs them to shake off the threat of relegation by the end of the campaign.

Their supercomputer has the Owls finishing 20th in the Championship, with a 24.66% chance of going down. Opta reckons Wednesday will manage 54 points, with 50 usually being the magic number needed to avoid the bottom three.

If the last four performances are anything to go off, Wednesday have enough in them not to get battered every week. However, if injuries set in, if they should lose any other players, or Chansiri continues to refuse to sell up, the long Championship season could take its toll.

Still, Wednesday fans will surely be cheered up by seeing Opta’s prediction! It’s pretty much where they sit in the table right now.

Position	Team	Played MP	Won W	Drawn D	Lost L	For GF	Against GA	Diff GD	Points Pts
1	Stoke CityStoke City	3	3	0	0	8	2	6	9
2	MiddlesbroughMiddlesbrough	3	3	0	0	6	1	5	9
3	CoventryCoventry	3	2	1	0	12	4	8	7
4	West BromWest Brom	3	2	1	0	5	3	2	7
5	BirminghamBirmingham	3	2	1	0	4	2	2	7
6	PrestonPreston	3	2	1	0	4	2	2	7
7	LeicesterLeicester	3	2	0	1	4	3	1	6
8	MillwallMillwall	3	2	0	1	3	4	-1	6
9	Bristol CityBristol City	3	1	2	0	5	2	3	5
10	SouthamptonSouthampton	3	1	1	1	4	4	0	4
11	PortsmouthPortsmouth	3	1	1	1	3	3	0	4
12	WatfordWatford	3	1	1	1	3	3	0	4
13	SwanseaSwansea	3	1	1	1	2	2	0	4
14	CharltonCharlton	3	1	1	1	1	1	0	4
15	Hull CityHull City	3	1	1	1	3	5	-2	4
16	BlackburnBlackburn	3	1	0	2	4	3	1	3
17	NorwichNorwich	3	1	0	2	4	5	-1	3
18	IpswichIpswich	3	0	2	1	2	3	-1	2
19	WrexhamWrexham	3	0	1	2	5	7	-2	1
20	DerbyDerby	3	0	1	2	5	9	-4	1
21	Sheffield WednesdaySheffield Wednesday	3	0	1	2	3	7	-4	1
22	QPRQPR	3	0	1	2	3	10	-7	1
23	Oxford UnitedOxford United	3	0	0	3	2	5	-3	0
24	Sheffield UtdSheffield Utd	3	0	0	3	1	6	-5	0

Wrexham, meanwhile, have struggled to live up to expectation so far this season. After coming up second from League One behind Birmingham City, their £23.4 million spent on new transfers, including £8 million Callum Doyle from Manchester City, is yet to be reflected in their performances.

The inability to hold a two goal lead against Wednesday personified the big jump in quality from League One up to the Championship, and Phil Parkinson’s side are yet to secure their first win back in the second tier.

Opta’s super computer reflects that, putting the Red Dragons to finish 23rd with a relegation likelihood of 31.98%. They make up the bottom three alongside Derby County and rock-bottom side Oxford United on an expected 52 points.

However, we are of course only three league games in, and there’s plenty of time for the Welsh side to shake off the pressure of the media attention and transfer spending and click into gear.

It’s highly likely owners Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds will give Parkinson what he needs in January if they are really lacking in certain departments of the squad to give them the best chance of a strong finish this season.

If stats from match day three are anything to go off, Wednesday are the ones outperforming the expectations many dumped on them before the Championship campaign began.

Stats show Sheffield Wednesday have the fighting spirit required to stay up

Wednesday fans and players are defying the odds by competing in their opening fixtures and stunning Wrexham on Saturday.

Indeed, one stat in particular from all the games across the second tier show the Owls are fighting to give themselves the best chance of picking up points despite their precarious position.

Wednesday managed seven shots on target against Wrexham this weekend. That was the joint-second highest number in the second tier, the same as Charlton’s in their 1-0 defeat to Leicester.

Unsurprisingly, Coventry had the highest number of shots (8) in their 7-1 demolition job on Queens Park Rangers.

As long as Wednesday are competing in games, rather than just trying not to get sunk 6-0 every week, they have every chance of staying up.