Second-placed Town travel to Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday aiming to maintain their 100 per cent away record since their return to the Championship.

The Blues won 2-1 at Sunderland on the opening weekend and then defeated QPR 1-0 at Loftus Road in their second game on the road later in August. In addition, they won at Reading in the Carabao Cup second round, albeit on penalties.

While Town, unbeaten on the road in the league since the Oxford match in the fog in January, have made an outstanding start to their campaign since promotion, Wednesday have struggled after their return to the second tier via the League One play-offs, having taken only one point from their first five games and sit second-bottom ahead of only Middlesbrough on goal difference.

Quizzed on whether he is surprised by the Owls’ start to the campaign, Blues boss Kieran McKenna isn’t entirely due to the tough nature of the division but no one should be judged at this stage of the campaign.

“Not really because I think the league's just so tight. I don’t think you can read too much into it at this point,” he said.

“We've had five games, we've won four, another time we could have won five, but maybe we could have won only two or three if things hadn't gone our way.

“They haven't won games yet, but Middlesbrough haven't won games yet and they're one of the best teams in the league and their xG's really high, they're creating chances and they just haven't won games yet. 

“Sheffield Wednesday are a strong team with a new manager [Xisco Muñoz] integrating new ideas and in their last game they went to Elland Road to a confident Leeds who just came off the back of beating us and performed really well and got a [0-0] draw.

“The league is so tight, every weekend it's very hard to predict the results and I think probably nearly all the teams across the season will have spells where they win games and spells where they lose games. 

“I don't think it pays too much to focus too much on other teams’ form because the margins are so tight.

“I think it's more important to just look at their strengths as a team, look at their areas where we think we can hurt them and focus on that and deliver a good performance.”

Town coming from two behind to win 3-2 at home to Cardiff a fortnight ago illustrated the closeness of the division.

“The margins are really fine,” McKenna continued. “All of our games have shown that. They've all been tight games. As I say, on another day, we could have beaten Leeds, but on another day we could have maybe lost one of our other games.

“The margins are really fine. Everyone is competitive, especially at this stage of the season and it's why we try and focus more on our processes day-to-day and focus on our performances and do as many of those things well as we can and trust that if we do that then we come out on the right side of the margins more often than not, and hopefully we'll pick up more positive results than not.”

Town’s games against Wednesday have been close affairs since McKenna took charge, the Owls winning 1-0 at Hillsborough in January 2021, before the teams played out 2-2 draws in both last season’s matches, each of the home sides coming from two goals behind to level.

Summer Blues signing Jack Taylor was a member of the Peterborough side which allowed a four-goal play-off semi-final first leg lead slip in the second game at Hillsborough in May.

“Really challenging games, really good games and that leaves us really clear going into this weekend of the scale of the challenge,” McKenna reflected.

“We've played three times in the last 18 months and we haven't managed to beat them yet. We've had three really difficult games against them and we know all about their threats and what they can do so we'll be fully ready for that. 

“We've experienced Hillsborough, we've felt what it was like in the first 70 minutes of the game last season when we were playing really well and 1-0 and then 2-0 up. 

“And then we also felt how quickly it can change when they put one ball in your box and score a goal. It can flip very quickly there, which Jack and Peterborough can certainly attest to.

“So we know the strengths of the team, we know how powerful they can be, we know the impact that the crowd can have on it there, but we also know that we can go there and play good football and take control of it because we've done that for a large part last year.

“A great game for us to look forward to. Another really big football club and a great challenge to resume the campaign with.”

Despite their promotion, Wednesday parted company with manager Darren Moore by mutual consent over the summer. Owner Dejphon Chansiri claimed the issue was Moore’s wage demands, while the former boss has said it was down to differences of opinion regarding transfer targets and the club's vision for their return to the Championship.

McKenna says he and the former Owls boss swapped messages following their respective promotions.

“He's someone I exchange texts with,” he said. “He texted to congratulate us when we got promoted, we texted through the course of the season and I texted them to congratulate them on their fantastic play-off victory.

“He's someone I've got a lot of respect for, a very good man, very good football man.

“I don't, to be honest, know the ins and outs of the situation there, so it's not something to comment on, but he's someone who I, and I think anyone who's come across him in football, would certainly respect his values as a man.”

Chansiri issued another statement on the matter on Wednesday but McKenna says it’s not something to which he has paid much attention.

“To be honest, I haven't followed it,” he said. “It's not something that I've informed myself on.

“My focus is on preparing for the next game, which is Sheffield Wednesday and focusing on their strengths and qualities as a team and what our performance is going to have to entail.”

Reflecting on the changes at Wednesday over the summer, he added: “Some new players, some who have integrated. Di'Shon Bernard I know very well from Manchester United, who's integrated.

“And then some more international players, who before this week we hadn't seen as much of before we started our preparation. 

“I think it's natural that there's going to be some inconsistencies and some changes when a team is in the early stages of a new manager and starting to introduce different principles of playing along with what they were using last season; trying to introduce new players and also trying to adapt to a new league, as we are. I'm sure they're trying to find their best formula, as many, many teams are. 

“There are certain things with their personnel, with their players and with their football club in their stadium that the game's going to entail and that you're going to have to stand up to. And we're pretty clear on what they are.

“Other than that, there are maybe some details that could be different and we have to be ready for those. 

“But we feel that as a group now we've got pretty good experience facing different systems and different principles, so we'll try our very best to be ready for whatever any team brings against us.”

Can much be read into last season’s games ahead of Saturday given the changes at Hillsborough over the summer?

“Some things, I think,” McKenna considered. “Of course, technically, it's a different manager with different principles of play and there is quite a big variation in some of the principles.

“But on the other hand, without me naming them, we know who some of their key players are and their strengths, and they're not going to change that much.

“So we know the strength of their individual players and we know their main strengths as a team last year are still their main strengths now.

“And we have experience of Hillsborough. We felt it in different scenarios. We felt it in my first six months here for some of the players when I thought we performed pretty well, but we were 1-0 down and they were able to defend with lots and lots of bodies behind the ball, and they can be difficult to break down. 

“We felt Hillsborough last year, what the atmosphere was like when we were 1-0 up, 2-0 up there and playing really well and controlling the game and how that felt. 

“And we felt what it was like when there are crowd disturbances, the game getting stopped and then they put a ball in your box and show the great quality of delivery and heading that they have. And they can score a goal and the entire atmosphere and stadium completely changes.

“Quite a few players in our squad have experience of the atmosphere there and what it can be like in different scenarios and hopefully that would be useful to us.

“We know plenty about their players and their players will know plenty about our players. Many of them have competed against each other or been at the same clubs as each other for the last few years.

“And then beyond that, I think the principles and the tactical things that the new manager is introducing, we'll prepare as well as we can for them this week as we would any other game.”

McKenna has fielded a settled side during the run which saw the Blues to promotion in the second half of last season and in the opening weeks of this campaign, but with two games a week set to be a regular occurrence in the months to come - Town are at Southampton on Tuesday - he expects to have to shuffle his pack at times with squad depth coming into play.

“I think that's fair to say,” the Blues boss continued. “We've ended the league campaign with a really settled team, which was natural because of our form at the end of the season, how close we were to the end of the season and things like that.

“And we started this season and it's been one league game every week and in general the players have started well, and we've been pretty consistent with that.

“We're coming into a phase now for the next few months where there are lots of weeks where we have midweek league games, midweek cup games, but midweek league games as well.

“It's going to be a time where we will look to utilise the strength of our squad, look to utilise our depth, look to utilise the fact that we have players with different qualities who might suit different opponents, and that's something that we're going to have to rise to.

“But we've been in that situation before. It's easy to forget the first half of last season. We had a really busy league campaign and we managed to utilise the squad well, even with injuries we utilised the depth of our squad. 

“We were able to rotate according to the strengths of different game plans. And I think we picked up 50 points across the first half of the campaign.

“So we've had experiences of when the team's pretty settled and we've had experience when the games come thick and fast and for the right reasons you need to utilise the squad more in terms of starting games. And we think that we've got a squad that's equipped to do both.”

McKenna will stick with Vaclav Hladky in goal with Luke Woolfenden and new full Australia cap Cameron Burgess his centre-halves.

Leif Davis will be at left-back but McKenna has a decision to make on whether to start Harry Clarke or Brandon Williams on the right with Janoi Donacien still out injured.

Skipper Sam Morsy, fresh from his first two Egypt caps in five years, and ex-Owl Massimo Luongo are likely to continue at the centre of midfield, although Taylor looks set to play a part at some stage on Saturday and against the Saints on Tuesday.

Wes Burns suffered a hamstring problem while away with Wales and although is expected to train on Friday, may not be risked wide on the right. If that’s the case, Omari Hutchinson would be handed his first league start. Conor Chaplin will be in the middle with Nathan Broadhead on the left.

George Hirst, who came through the Wednesday academy, has been training since suffering a recurrence of his adductor injury against Cardiff but again may not be risked from the start.

Freddie Ladapo, who netted twice off the bench to secure the win against the Bluebirds, would start as the number nine.

Wednesday boss Muñoz says his team need to continue the form they showed in the draw with Leeds against the Blues and then Tuesday’s game against Boro, also at Hillsborough.

“The most important thing is we focus on the next games, with two chances at home in front of our fans. We know they are a dangerous team who play like a team,” he said.

“It's true we put in a very good performance against Leeds but we need to forget about that and put in the full power for Ipswich.

“We need to continue with the clean sheets and keep showing what we showed against Leeds. That was consistent and we were aggressive with and without the ball.

“We have respect for the opponents and they have very good mechanics about how they work. We know about their confidence because they've had a good start. But we need to concentrate and work hard.”

Muñoz fielded a five-man backline against Leeds but he says his team has been training in a different system since that match.

“This week we have been working with a defence of four,” he added. “You never know and it's important the team is able to play different formations.

“It depends on the players that you have. We were more solid [against Leeds] but I think also we are solid with a 4-3-3. We will see [against Ipswich]. It's about the opponents we play too.”

Momo Diaby is out with a leg problem sustained in last month’s defeat at Preston, while Mallik Wilks is on the way back after injury but not ready for involvement on Saturday. You can read more on the Wednesday team in a TWTD blog here.

Historically, matters are very evenly balanced with the Owls just having the edge, Town having won 20 games (19 in the league), Wednesday 21 (20) and with 16 (15) matches having ended in draws.

The Blues most recently won at Hillsborough in March 2018 when Mick McCarthy's side ran out 2-1 victors, Town's most recent win against the Owls anywhere.

The teams last met at Portman Road in February when free-kicks from Broadhead and Davis either side of half-time saw Town come from 2-0 behind to to claim a 2-2 draw.

Chaplin missed a 19th-minute penalty for the Blues before Michael Smith and George Byers netted on 27 and 34 to give the Owls, who went into the match top of League One, a commanding lead.

But Broadhead’s brilliant free-kick in the 43rd minute and Davis’s deflected strike six minutes after the restart claimed a point for the Blues, who subsequently looked the more likely to grab a winner.

After the game, Wednesday’s Marvin Johnson, who has been left out of this season’s 25-man EFL squad, was banned for three games for elbowing Burns in the incident which led to the Town penalty, the officials having been unable to identify the culprit at the time.

At Hillsborough in September last year, Smith’s 89th-minute goal - which video evidence showed was offside - saw the Owls come from two goals behind to claim a 2-2 draw.

Town looked on their way to their fifth away win in a row from the start of the season after Jackson’s opener on four and an own goal by ex-Blues loanee Dominic Iorfa in the 71st minute but George Byers hit back on 75, then Smith headed the leveller.

Blues striker Hirst started his career with the Owls where his father David had been a legend in the eighties and nineties.

Having come through the academy, Hirst junior made two subs appearances before moving on to Belgian side OH Leuven in the summer of 2018.

Midfielder Luongo was with the Owls from August 2019 until the summer of 2022, making 57 starts and 16 sub appearances, scoring four goals.

Owls defender Iorfa spent 2017/18 on loan with the Blues from Wolves making 22 starts and three sub appearances, scoring once.

Midfielder Tyreeq Bakinson was with Town on loan during the second half of 2021/22, making 14 starts and three sub appearances, scoring twice. Town legend Neil Thompson is the Wednesday U21s manager.

Saturday’s referee is James Linington from Newport, Isle of Wight, who has shown 16 yellow cards and no red in five games so far this season.

Linington’s most recent Town match was the 1-0 home victory over Rotherham at Portman Road in January 2019 in which he yellow-carded Cole Skuse, Will Keane and one Miller.

Prior to that, he was in charge of the 2-0 defeat at Nottingham Forest at the start of the previous month in which he booked Skuse and two home players.

He also refereed the 2-0 win against Barnsley in April 2018 in which he booked Jonas Knudsen and one Tyke and the 4-3 win at Millwall in August 2017 in which he booked then-Blues loanee Iorfa, Luke Chambers, Grant Ward and Joe Garner as well as two home players.

He took control of the 3-1 defeat at Cardiff in March of the same year in which he booked only Christophe Berra and Brett Pitman.

Prior to that he was the referee in the 3-2 home victory over Blackburn two months earlier in which he booked Andre Dozzell and Tom Lawrence and awarded Rovers a penalty which was converted by Danny Graham, Adam Webster having tangled with Hope Akpan.

Linington refereed the 2-1 home victory over Sheffield Wednesday in August 2015 in which he booked Jonathan Douglas and Ryan Fraser and two of the visitors.

Before that he officiated in the 3-2 home win against Blackpool in April 2015 in which he kept his cards in his pocket throughout.

Earlier in the 2014/15 season he was the man in the middle for the 2-2 draw at Forest, when he booked only one home player, and the 2-0 victory over Middlesbrough at Portman Road in which he yellow-carded David McGoldrick and three Teessiders.

Squad from: Hladky, Slicker, Clarke, Williams, Ball, Woolfenden, Burgess, Edmundson, Baggott, Davis, Morsy (c), Evans, Luongo, Taylor, Humphreys, Burns, Jackson, Chaplin, Broadhead, Harness, Aluko, Hutchinson, Hirst, Scarlett, Ladapo.

Photo: TWTD

Ipswichbusiness added 18:36 - Sep 14 There is an interesting interview with KMc in The Daily Telegraph today (sport section page 5)
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Len_Brennan added 09:37 - Sep 15 With us having to go to Southampton on Tuesday, which will be a tough battle, I could see KMcK resting Luongo against Sheff Wed, & giving Taylor a start. If anyone would be up for going there & giving their all, it would be him after the playoff nightmare game. Mass could be back in for Tuesday. Other than that, I reckon Williams will start at RB, Jackson in for Burns (although Hutchinson really upped his game v Cardiff) & Freddie to start up, hopefully full of confidence. It's a long, gruelling season, where we'll need the full squad to get us through it, so we have to let Clarke, Burns & Hirst get back to full fitness, before throwing them back in; plus we need to let mercurial young players gradually work up to fully understaning how we play/what's expected of them, before they can be regular starters.

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Europablue added 10:06 - Sep 15 Len_Brennan, that's a good call. Taylor doing the pre-match press conference supports that theory. I would definitely start Taylor in this one and Hutchinson in place of Burns, and probably Williams at right back. Taylor has looked in good form when he had come on and Hutchinson has improved his decision-making and now seems like a much more useful member of the team.

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dirtydingusmagee added 15:23 - Sep 15 the inters breaks have never done any favours in the past, heres hoping we can pick up where we left off COYB
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Linkboy13 added 18:32 - Sep 15 No chance Burns not playing if anywhere near fit McKenna rates him and so do i. Not the time to start experimenting by giving other players a run out just to keep the fans happy. If there is a problem it's our defending and i think Williams will come in for Clarke. Clarke is a player who could do a job in the middle of defence if needed. I will hold my hands up if im wrong but i normally see things the same way as McKenna when it comes to team selection. I fully understand fans have got their favourites and want them in the team but it's all about results.

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Len_Brennan added 07:49 - Sep 16 @Linkboy - It's not about fan's favourites for this game, it's about fitness, the management of niggles -> injuries, & management of a busy schedule during periods of Saturday - Tuesday - Saturday matches. It seems like I would pick the same first XI as you would, all things being equal; although I would never have the balls to suggest that I am of the same mind as McKenna!!

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Nigeglos added 10:31 - Sep 16 How have sheff wed got away with moving one of the goals ? Apparently it's ok by the league so will be a different sort of game today.
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Marinersnose added 12:07 - Sep 16 KMK will almost certainly make changes today with so many big games coming up thick and fast. I think Taylor will be in for Morsy who was playing for his country just two days ago. With flights etc and rest time I believe Morsy will be needed against Saints and probably benched today. Ladapo will keep the shirt which he has earned in the last game. Burns again likely to be given longer with a hamstring injury and Saints away would give him extra time. Jacko and Hutchinson both capable of doing a job. I’d be surprised to see Clarke dropped as this would be harsh on a player who is still developing but he also has the Achilles issue to manage. We have more than enough to win this game well

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BeattiesBackPocket added 14:58 - Sep 16 I hear people saying to leave nosey or mass out but how can you? Mass hasn’t had international duty so no reason he can’t do two games in 3 days. I think we need to keep momentum going and those two in the middle are paramount to how we play. Taylor is more than a good deputy but I’d rather him play against Southampton as they play football and less blood and thunder whereas wednesday aren’t playing much different to last season big balls in the box and tackles flying everywhere

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