[NoSkillz]

Sat. November 9, 2024

Barclays Premier League
Sheffield Wednesday (5-3-2, 18 points, 8th) vs. Dover (7-1-2, 22 points, 4th)
Hillsborough, Sheffield, UK

Betting Odds: Sheffield Wednesday: 13-8 Draw: 2-1 Dover: 6-4 (Favourites)
Past Meetings: 9W 4D 4L

Sheffield Wednesday had a nightmarish season last year - after qualifying for Europa League the year previous, they struggled to make an impact in the league and finished in 14th place with only 39 points. Injuries took their toll and the club, thinking they were better than their record, essentially stood pat during this summer’s transfer window, spending only £7.25 million on seven players, with the biggest move being a £4.5 million deal for Stoke defender Craig Murray. They also signed former Dover left midfielder Simon Bouwman on a free - Bouwman last played for our club in 2017-18 when we were in the Championship but he is a depth player with Sheffield now. Their danger man, as always, is English international Steve Pates, who always seems to battle injuries but he’s healthy now. Darijo Jukic is also a talented forward and I am guessing they will both start today.

We make sweeping changes to the lineup today - Ingo WIlke is in goal, Rafinha, Saber Nasri and Emerson are on defence and Mads Pedersen is in at left midfield. Neil Cairney is back in today, as is Benedikt Raab, as we give Jose a much needed day off. Graham Allan must have been running quite a bit while injured, as he’s already match fit despite missing the last four weeks - he’ll start at right midfield today but will not make it through the game due to stamina issues. Up front, Zoltan Bardi has regained match fitness after some great work in reserves games and off the bench the last couple weeks - he’ll spell Chiquinho today. Control mentality as favourites on the road.

Dover: 4-4-2 Control
GK - I. Wilke
D - Rafinha, C. Contreras, S. Nasri, Emerson
M - M. Pedersen, N. Cairney, B. Raab, G. Allan
S - A. Broomes, Z. Bardi
Bench - C. Guzman, M. Mutesa, E. Harvey, A. Rocca, A. Bamba, L. Kunchev, Chiquinho

Pates and Jukic are up front in Sheffield’s flat 4-4-2. Fernando Cardoso is in goal. Lets do it for the fans today.

37’ - Sheffield look to have controlled possession for the most part but chances have been in our favour it seems. However, Jukic is sprung on a partial breakaway and just as he enters our penalty area, he’s taken down by Rafinha. The ref doesn’t hesitate and points to the spot. It’s a PENALTY! Rafinha is given a yellow and dangerous wide midfielder Eugenio Balestra steps up to take the kick. He goes right but it’s high and hits the crossbar and bounces out! Oh my!!!

45’+2 - Our defence has made a couple of blunders when covering for each other and it happens again, as Saber Nasri closes down a midfielder and that allows a through ball to be sent to a wide open Balestra and this time he makes no mistake and it’s IN! Disaster. SHEFFIELD WEDNESDAY GOAL 0-1

HALFTIME - Not good at all. Sheffield holds 53% of possession but we outshoot them 10-4 (7-2 on target). We just can’t beat Cardoso, who has been hot lately but even so, we could easily be down two due to that missed penalty. I tell the lads I expect way more and for now, I pull back into a 4-2-3-1 formation to switch things up a bit, with Bardi dropping back into an attacking central midfielder role.

48’ - We have a corner but it’s cleared to midfield. Zoltan Bardi gets the ball and sends a pass to Andy Broomes - with his back to the goal, he turns on the defender, makes a bit of space and fires a rocket that’s past Cardoso and into the net! Great strike - Broomes is up to ten goals on the year already and we pull level! DOVER GOAL 1-1

68’ - We make a double substitution, bringing in Carlos Guzman and Chiquinho while taking out a very tired Rafinha and Zoltan Bardi. We move back to a flat 4-4-2.

87’ - Graham Allan is exhausted and I bring in young Lyubomir Kunchev.

Boy, we had a lot of chances but just couldn’t finish.

Sheffield Wednesday 1 - 1 Dover
Goals - Andy Broomes (7.3)
Assists - Zoltan Bardi (6.8)
Man of the Match - Fernando Cardoso (Sheffield Wednesday GK - 7.7)
Other Dover Notables - Saber Nasri (7.0), Claudio Contreras (7.0), Benedikt Raab (7.1)
Attendance - 43,284

Well, this is a disappointing result and I tell the team as much. We only held 43% of the ball, a terrible number but outshoot them 18-9 (11-4 on target). Their keeper was excellent and wins man of the match honours. Mads Pedersen wasn’t very good in this game. We’re lucky to get a point. If anything, I’m likely to blame for starting such a weak lineup on the road. Not smart and we lose two potential points.

-- In other action, as usual, most of our main rivals win, with United cruising over Reading 4-0, Middlesbrough beating Wolves 2-0 and City battling to an entertaining 3-3 draw against Huddersfield. The one shocker was seeing Liverpool knock off Arsenal 2-1.


BARCLAYS PREMIER LEAGUE - STANDINGS
(ALL TEAMS HAVE PLAYED 11 GAMES UNLESS NOTED)

1. Manchester United - 28 points
2. Arsenal - 24 points
3. Middlesbrough - 24 points
4. Chelsea - 23 points (after 10 games)
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5. Dover - 23 points
6. Manchester City - 21 points
7. Newcastle - 21 points (after 10 games)
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Dover U18 Update

-- Young left midfield super prospect Felix Hernandez strikes for three goals in a 6-0 dismantling of AFC Wimbledon. Vlastimil Silhavy, James Campbell and Alberto Velazquez also score singles. Velazquez also had two assists in the contest.



Dover Injury Update

-- Strikers Paul Moses and Manuel Lugo are still on the long-term injury list and we’re looking at about a month before Moses returns to training. Lugo is further away and won’t be back until the new year most likely.



Premier League Update

-- We have a Wednesday game coming up but six teams are in action on Tuesday and the big news is Aston Villa drawing against first place Manchester United 1-1 only days after firing their manager. Man City win a huge 3-0 game over Chelsea to jump all the way into second place from 6th! Everton also knock off Sheffield Wednesday 3-0.



Next Up

-- We’re finally headed home to face Sunderland in Premier League play.