Sheffield Wednesday Beware – timing of Rotherham trip is all wrong
Published:
It’s been a long time coming, but defeat against Fulham this weekend finally confirmed Rotherham United’s relegation from the Championship. But that’s actually bad news for their remaining seven opponents this season.
That’s including promotion hopefuls Sheffield Wednesday, who travel to South Yorkshire on Tuesday night as 4/9 favourites to take all three points and put pressure on the sides currently occupying the play-off spots in the second tier.
It’s not very often we like the look of a side that have picked up just one point from a possible 39 over the last few months. But now that their fate has been decided, the Millers will be able to play with a freedom we haven’t seen for almost a year.
Wednesday, meanwhile, will head to the New York Stadium with plenty of pressure on their shoulders.
They’ve not won any of their last four in the league, and have picked up just five points from their last seven games.
In truth, a play-off spot should’ve been all but guaranteed for Carlos Carvalhal’s men by now, but we’re sensing this side have got the jitters.
Remember, this is a side that missed out on promotion to the Premier League after a 1-0 defeat to Hull City in last year’s play-off final – those psychological scars will be tough to shake off.
Their form on the road hasn’t been the best either, winning just 30 per cent of their away games this season, while if Rotherham fans need cheering up in preparation for this game, it’s worth noting here that each of the Millers’ four league victories this season have come at home.
In fact, 16 of their 17 points this season have been picked up in South Yorkshire – so if Wednesday think they’ll breeze past Paul Warne’s men, they’d be wise to get that idea out of their heads before stepping out on Tuesday evening.
Meanwhile, fellow promotion hopefuls Fulham boast the third-best record in the league since the turn of the year, and while Sheffield Wednesday have stuttered of late, Slavisa Jokanovic’s men have gathered momentum at the perfect time.
Yet they could only scrape past Rotherham this weekend, picking up a vital three points thanks to a Sone Aluko goal in a 1-0 win.
With that in mind, it’s likely the Millers – though plenty will assume they’re there for the taking – will prove a hard nut to crack, and we wouldn’t be too surprised to see Sheffield Wednesday fall even further behind in the race for a top six spot.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing
