Sheffield Wednesday will finish off their pre-season preparations on Saturday ahead of their upcoming return to the Championship, after they won promotion back from League One in dramatic fashion last season.
Under the management of Darren Moore, the Owls found themselves fighting for a top-two spot all season but eventually had to settle for a third-placed finish, and they would then pull off a historic comeback in the playoff semi-finals.
eventually triumphing in a penalty shootout at home to Peterborough United after losing the away leg 4-0, with Michael Smith, Lee Gregory, Reece, James, Liam Palmer and Callum Paterson all scoring on a memorable night at Hillsborough.
That booked a tie with local rivals Barnsley at Wembley for a place back in England’s second tier, and after the 90 minutes ended goalless, extra time looked set to go the same way, only for Josh Windass to head in the only goal in the 123rd minute.
The Owls would then experience some change over the summer, as Moore departed and was replaced by Xisco Munoz, and they have had a busy pre-season schedule, starting with contests.
against York City, Chesterfield, Burnley and Real Murcia, before most recently suffering a 1-0 defeat in a short trip to fourth-tier Doncaster Rovers, as Luke Molyneux headed in the only goal of the game.
Now heading into their last friendly before raising the curtain on the Championship season at home to newly-relegated Southampton, Xisco’s side will be keen to gain some momentum with a positive display against Premier League opposition at Hillsborough this weekend.
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Their visitors, meanwhile, have two further weeks of pre-season ahead of their Premier League campaign, after also winning promotion through the playoffs last time around.
After making a positive start to the term, the Hatters saw manager Nathan Jones depart for Southampton, and his replacement Rob Edwards, who arrived in mid-November, led them through a strong second half.
wrapping up a third-placed finish with 80 points on the board from their 46 outings, before they booked a place in the final at Wembley, coming from behind to beat Sunderland 3-2 on aggregate in their playoff semi-final.
