The Sky Blues travel to Hillsborough to take on Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday afternoon. Here’s everything you need to know about our opponents.
Fact File
Name: Sheffield Wednesday
Founded: 1867
Stadium: Hillsborough Stadium (first opened 1899)
Capacity: 34,854
Nickname: The Owls
Address: Hillsborough, 76 Penistone Road North, Sheffield, S6 1SW
Pitch Size: 116 x 75 yards
The Opposition
Sheffield Wednesday are currently bottom of the table seven points adrift of safety and haven’t won in their last nine league matches.
The Owls are managed by Tony Pulis, who was appointed in November after the club’s poor start to the season, and have the likes of Josh Windass, Barry Bannan and Jordan Rhodes in their squad.
The Yorkshire club have lost four games in a row in the league and haven’t won at home since a 1-0 win against Bournemouth at the beginning of last month.
Manager
Tony Pulis was appointed Sheffield Wednesday manager in November this year, having spent over one year out of the game following a spell with Middlesbrough.
The 62-year-old began his managerial career with Bournemouth before taking charge at Gillingham in 1995 and leading them to promotion from the Third Division in his first season in charge.
He led the Gills to the Second Division play-off final just three seasons later, where they were beaten by Manchester City after conceding twice in injury-time before losing on penalties.
Short stints with Bristol City and Portsmouth would follow before becoming Stoke City manager in November 2002.
He kept the Potters in the First Division against the odds, following his mid-season appointment, and spent a further two seasons with the club before a falling out with the chairman saw him depart in June 2005.
After keeping Plymouth Argyle in the Championship following a 10-month spell in charge of the Pilgrims, he returned to Stoke in June 2006.
Pulis led Stoke to the Premier League for the first time in their history after finishing as runners-up in 2007/08 and consolidated their place in the top-flight over the next five seasons.
During his seven years in charge, Pulis also guided the Potters to the FA Cup final, losing 1-0 to Man City at Wembley, and took them into the UEFA Europa League group stages before departing in May 2013.
He returned to management with Crystal Palace in November that same year and lifted the Eagles from the foot of the Premier League table to 11th which earnt him the Premier League Manager of the Year award.
Pulis left Palace just before the start of the 2014/15 campaign and returned to the dugout with West Bromwich Albion in January 2015.
He would spend two and a half seasons with the Baggies, retaining the club’s top-flight status during his time in charge, before being sacked in November 2017.
Just one month later, Pulis was appointed as Middlesbrough manager and led the Riverside club into the play-offs where they were beaten in the semi-finals by Aston Villa before spending one more season with the Teessiders.
He is yet to win a game as Sheffield Wednesday boss and drew three of his opening four matches in charge of the Owls.
With Sheffield Wednesday, Pulis has managed eight matches recording zero wins, three draws and five defeats.
Last Six Games
Lost – Nottingham Forest 2-0 Sheffield Wednesday (Sky Bet Championship)
Lost – Sheffield Wednesday 1-2 Barnsley (Sky Bet Championship)
Lost – Huddersfield Town 2-0 Sheffield Wednesday (Sky Bet Championship)
Lost – Norwich City 2-1 Sheffield Wednesday (Sky Bet Championship)
Drew – Sheffield Wednesday 1-1 Reading (Sky Bet Championship)
Drew – Sheffield Wednesday 0-0 Stoke City (Sky Bet Championship)
Last Time We Met
The two sides last met in the Championship back in May 2010, playing out a 1-1 draw at the Ricoh Arena.
The visitors took the lead on 67 minutes when Luke Varney found the net from a tight angle.
However, the Sky Blues equalised on 79 minutes when former Owls man Richard Wood found the net to bring City level.
Head-to-Head Record
Sky Blues Wins – 31
Draws – 23
Sheffield Wednesday Wins – 28
Club Connections
Leon Clarke
Current Shrewsbury Town striker Leon Clarke enjoyed a goal laden spell with the Sky Blues having played for Sheffield Wednesday earlier in his career.
Clarke began his career with Wolverhampton Wanderers, scoring 15 goals in 83 appearances for the West Midlands club across four seasons, whilst also spending time on loan at Kidderminster Harriers, Queens Park Rangers and Plymouth Argyle.
He completed a move to the Owls in January 2007 and scored 18 goals in 87 appearances for the Hillsborough club over four seasons, which included loan spells with Oldham Athletic and Southend United.
Following short permanent stints with QPR, Swindon Town and Charlton Athletic, in which time he also had temporary spells with Preston North End, Chesterfield, Crawley Town and Scunthorpe United, he initially joined the Sky Blues on trial with a view to a permanent move, before signing on loan in January 2012.
The move was made permanent later that month and Clarke excelled with the Sky Blues, scoring eight goals in 11 appearances, before enjoying a fine start to the 2013/14 season, netting 15 goals in 23 league outings, having formed a deadly partnership with Callum Wilson.
He departed City having scored 28 goals in just 45 appearances, with his form earning him a move to former club Wolves, who he helped win the League One title.
After a brief spell on loan at Wigan Athletic, Clarke enjoyed a fruitful one season spell with Bury, scoring 15 league goals, before joining Sheffield United in July 2016.
He helped the Blades win the League One title during his first season with the club, before enjoying a superb second campaign with the Yorkshire side, scoring 19 league goals.
The 35-year-old also contributed to the Blades promotion to the Premier League, scoring three goals, and, despite finishing the season on loan at Wigan, made two appearances in the Premier League last term.
He signed for his current employers Shrewsbury in September this year and has one goal in six appearances for the Shrews.
Clinton Morrison
Former Republic of Ireland international Clinton Morrison enjoyed a two-season spell with both the Sky Blues and Sheffield Wednesday.
Morrison began his career with Crystal Palace, netting double figures in each of his four full seasons with the Eagles, scoring 71 goals in 180 appearances for the Selhurst Park club.
He secured a move to Birmingham City for a club-record fee in July 2002 and spent three seasons with the club in the Premier League, scoring 16 goals in 97 outings, before returning to Palace in August 2005.
The striker once again found his best form with the Eagles, hitting double figures in each of his three seasons with the club, adding a further 41 goals and 135 appearances to his tally.
He arrived at the Sky Blues in August 2008 and once again achieved double figures during his two seasons with the club in the Championship, making 101 appearances and scoring 23 goals.
Following his spell with City, he joined Sheffield Wednesday in July 2010, scoring 14 goals in 72 matches for the Owls in League One.
After short loan spells with Milton Keynes Dons and Brentford, he signed for Colchester United before finishing his career with Exeter City.
Match Officials
John Brooks will be the man in the middle on Saturday afternoon, taking charge of his 14th game of the 2020/21 season.
He last refereed the Sky Blues on the opening day of the season, when the Sky Blues suffered a 2-1 defeat to Bristol City at Ashton Gate.
This will be Brooks’ fifth season as a Football League referee and he has officiated the Sky Blues on four occasions, with City drawing one and losing three of those matches.
So far, Brooks has awarded 42 yellow cards and one red card across 13 matches in the Championship and Carabao Cup.
He will be assisted by Akil Howson and Daniel Leach with Simon Mather acting as fourth official.