Burnley
Blackburn Rovers
Coventry City
Derby County
Leeds United
Luton Town
Middlesbrough
Millwall
Norwich City
Portsmouth
Sheffield Wednesday
Sheffield United
QPR
Sheffield Wednesday will be hoping to keep defying expectations when they play Swansea City this Saturday.
However, if the referee appointment for the fixture is anything to go off, Wednesday fans can expect another tough watch against the Swans.
The Owls are currently protesting against controversial owner Dejphon Chansiri, and a demonstration is already being planned for when they welcome the South Wales outfit to Hillsborough as they look to add to their one point won so far this season.
- READ MORE – Championship transfer round-up as Coventry City net £10m, Wrexham go ‘crazy’ and Derby County close in
It turns out the man in the middle tasked with containing the fan action has an interesting recent history with Wednesday, with one former Owls boss claiming the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) apologised for one of the referee’s decisions in a previous meeting with Swansea.
Xisco Munoz claimed PGMOL apologised for Anthony Blackhouse giving Swansea penalty
Rewind to September 2023 and Wednesday had fallen to a 3-0 defeat to fellow strugglers Swansea City in South Wales.
Current Owls player Jamal Lowe, Jerry Yates and ex-Arsenal loanee Charlie Patino all got on the scoresheet to give Michael Duff’s side their first win of the Championship season.
Lowe, on loan from Bournemouth at the time, marked his first home appearance since rejoining the Swans by scoring a first-half penalty after referee Anthony Blackhouse pointed to the spot following Pol Valentin’s foul on Josh Ginnelly.
Then-Owls boss Xisco Munoz – who led the Owls to their worst ever start to a season – later claimed the PGMOL had apologised for Blackhouse’s decision.
“One of the good things last week was that the referees called us to say they were so sorry because it was not a penalty against Swansea,” said Munoz.
“They said they were sorry about the situation.”
This was despite Valentin’s clear pull on Ginnelly.
After failing to win against Swansea in six years, Wednesday’s last clash against the Welsh side was much more pleasing.
Michael Smith was the hero against Swansea, now Henrick Pedersen has new striker to lean on
Under Danny Rohl in February, Michael Smith scored to make it 1-0 at the Swansea.com Stadium in the 66th minute, steering home Josh Windass’ cross.
The victory put Wednesday two points off the Championship play-off spots – something that now seems like a distant memory despite it being just six months ago.
The goal contributors have both left the club after being able to terminate their contracts due to two months of unpaid wages, with Smith leaving for Preston and Windass parting ways for Wrexham.
Now, Henrick Pedersen has a threadbare squad to find a match-winner from. Bailey Cadamarteri, who scored the equaliser against Wrexham in the 2-2 draw on Saturday, is only 20, but will surely be aiming to take this chance to prove himself by the scruff of the neck.