Sheffield Wednesday will be hoping for a positive FA Cup run this season after a disappointing first-round exit last time around, having lost 3-0 in their replay away at Plymouth Argyle following a 0-0 draw on home turf.
They have certainly started in more pleasing fashion on the whole than they did last season, though, with the Owls establishing a bid for promotion with 34 points from their opening 17 matches in League One.
One of their 10 third-tier victories thus far came away at Friday’s opponents last month, as Josh Windass, George Byersand Michael Smith all got on the scoresheet in the final 20 minutes of a 3-0 triumph.
Following a narrow loss away at Plymouth at the beginning of October, the Owls now come into their cup tie in a six-game unbeaten run which has seen them move back within two points of
the top two, most recently bouncing back from consecutive draws with a 4-2 win over Burton Albion last weekend courtesy of goals from Barry Bannan, Smith, Mallik Wilks and Fisayo Dele-Bashiru.
Darren Moore’s side will now turn their attention to the domestic cup and look to put up another victory over Morecambe to book their place in the second round.
The visitors, meanwhile, make the trip having not enjoyed a strong start to the League One season, with the Shrimps sitting 22nd with 13 points from 17 outings.
They will, however, be vying to reach the FA Cup second round for the third consecutive time, having beaten Maldon & Tiptree and Newport County at this stage in the previous two seasons, with the 2020-21 term producing a trip to the third round and a landmark clash with Chelsea.
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Derek Adams’s side make the trip to Hillsborough on the back of arguably their most pleasing run of the league campaign thus far, having at least managed five points from four games in a tough run of fixtures, firstly beating Barnsley 1-0 before losing by the same scoreline away at Cheltenham Town.
After sharing the points away at Wycombe Wanderers in the following encounter, Morecambe most recently took on Derby County on Tuesday and played
out a second straight 1-1 draw to take a creditable point, with Jensen Weir’s opener on the stroke of half time cancelled out by a Louie Sibley equaliser on the hour mark.
While they still have plenty of work to do to improve their chances of surviving the drop in England’s third tier this season, Adams’s side will now turn their focus elsewhere this weekend and look to build momentum with a cup triumph on South Yorkshire
