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2 months ago
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I’m looking forward to seeing how Fabio Carvalho does tonight. I really liked the look of him at Liverpool, and I think he might have fun tonight roaming behind the Brentford midfield.
In the studio, Curtis Davies thinks Wednesday have a shot at going up in a relatively poor Champo. And I guess he’s right – they’re only four points off the playoffs while still improving.
He says today was a difficult team to decide but he has players with small knocks who need a break. Today will help tell Wednesday where they are, but there’s been a massive improvement since he arrived and having taken small steps in this cup, they now get to show how good they are.
My sense is that Wednesday will look to get men into the box, with the wing-backs looking to hit crosses. But here’s Röhl to give us more…
Email! “From Wednesday’s point of view,” beings Bill Preston, “I think this season is looking a lot better than last years at this point in the year. Also, I do believe this is the first quarter-final they’ve been in for a long time. As a fan, I am ot too bothered about the cup, but it’s always nice to cheer on a good run.
Hopefully, the Championship side will go full bore, get a stomp on from the beginning; their thrilling heroics will be on a par with the playoff semi-final that was their penultimate step back into the second tier.
Brentford are a side I’ve also enjoyed watching over the years, and they’ve got some canny players and astute leadership.
All in all, should be a good meeting of the bees and the birds. Three paragraphs to lead into that, I know.”
All of them worth it. Wahey!
Also tonight, we’ve got Southampton v Stoke, while tomorrow we’ve got good sides cutting each other’s throats: Brighton v Liverpool, Newcastle v Arsenal and Spurs v Man City, among other matches.
Frank tells Sky that he’s always trying to find the right balance and pick the right team. He wants rotation and freshness, but also to pick a strong team. and he’s included 10 players who’ve started in the league this season, including several established starters. Er, and that’s it?
Lovely stuff dept: Meghoma and Maghoma are both in the Brentford squad.
While Röhl leaves out Beadle, Palmer, Bernard, Famewo, Valentin, Charles S, Bannan, Windass and Smith, bringing in Charles P, Otegbayo, Iorfa, Fusire, Paterson, Ingelsson, Johnson, Gassama and Ugbo. Or, in other words, he changes everyone bar Lowe M and Musaba. No prizes for guessing where his priorities lie.
Frank leaves out Pinnock, Roerslev, Norgaard, Damsgaard and Wissa, bringing in Mee, Meghoma, Jensen, Carvalho adn Schade.
I’m going to write these down, then we’ll have a think about what they mean.
Teams!
Brentford (4-2-3-1): Flekken; Van den Berg, Collins, Mee, Meghoma; Janelt, Jensen; Carvalho, Lewis-Potter, Schade; Mbuemo. Subs: Valdimarsson, Pinnock, Widssa, Yarmoliuk, Damsgaard, Konak, Trevitt, Roerslev, Maghoma.
Sheffield Wednesday (3-4-2-1): Charles; Lowe, Iorfa, Otegbayo; Johnson, Fusire, Paterson, Ingelsson; Musaba, Gassama; Ugbo. Subs: Hamer, Barrett, Palmer, Bernard, Reed, Windass, Lowe J, McNeill.
Preamble
When any side, doesn’t matter which, meets Brentford, they know one thing for sure: whatever the result, playing them is going to hurt. Thomas Frank’s side are aggressive, attitudinous and organised, so beating them requires major doses of will and skill – whoever the opponent.
All of which should make them a good cup side except, in the three seasons they’ve been a Premier League outfit, they’ve managed just one quarter-final – in the 2021-22 edition of this competition. In fairness to them, Frank has sometimes fielded weakened sides because their priority has always been survival, but given the poverty of the promoted teams and their comfy ninth position, they will surely see tonight as an opportunity. They bloody well should.
Wednesday, meanwhile, lie 13th in the Championship having narrowly escaped relegation last season, their improvement largely down to Danny Röhl – the youngest manager in England before fellow German, Fabian Hürzeler, usurped him. “Very good on the counter and very good at playing direct,” said Frank, presumably aware he could just as easily be describing his own men. “They play early in behind, they have good runners. They have good offensive structure in everything they do. They also have great physicality on their set-pieces”.
And they have Barry Bannan, one of the last midfield schemers who, if he’s at it, will be a problem. Which is to say this match may look like a gimme and maybe that’s how things’ll pan out. But do not be surprised if Wednesday make it nasty – every bit as nasty as Brentford make it for everyone else.
Kick-off: 8pm GMT
