Sheffield Wednesday vs Grimsby Prediction: Owls face further struggle

Dejphon Chansiri remains in charge of Sheffield Wednesday, fans are boycotting matches and the team on the pitch remains severely weakened after the transfer window. It’s a nightmare scenario for any football club, but Wednesday did progress to round three of the Carabao Cup, where they will host Grimsby Town (19:45, Sky Sports+). 

Below you will find my Sheffield Wednesday vs Grimsby Predictions as we look to secure a decent Tuesday night winner. 

Team News

Henrik Pedersen faces a tricky situation this season with a limited squad to pick from across league and cup. The Championship is the priority of course, so we can expect several of the senior professionals such as captain Barry Bannan to drop out of the team, and the Wednesday line-up is likely to be fresh-faced.

Ernie Weaver (18 years old), should start at centre-back alongside Gabriel Otegbayo (20) and Cole McGhee (19). Experience will come in the form of goalkeeper Ethan Horvath, who was the penalty-saving hero in the last round, Marvin Johnson, and Ike Ugbo up front. Rio Shipston and Jarvis Thornton could also be handed starts, along with young striker George Brown. 

Football Odds

Meanwhile, Grimsby boss David Artell has a stronger squad to choose from, as he proved as he made changes and still got past Manchester United in the last round. He has named an unchanged XI in the last two league matches, so some rotation is expected, although Christy Pym is likely to start in goal once more, protected by former United youngster Tyrell Warren and Cameron McJannett at centre-back.

Jude Soonsup-Bell will hope for a start along with 19-year-old Cameron Gardner, who led the line against United. Jaze Kabia is the top goalscorer this season and has started every league game, but I think he is likely to drop out of the team here. Charles Vernam scored the opener against the Red Devils and will want to start again, but he may have to settle for a place on the bench.

Sheffield Wednesday vs Grimsby Odds

Sheffield Wednesday continue to be overvalued by the bookmakers in my opinion, and they are 7/4 to win this game giving them an implied win probability of 36%, with Grimsby now priced at 8/5. A draw across 90 minutes is 23/10, over 2.5 goals is 10/11 and BTTS is 8/11. Kabia is the favourite to open the scoring at 11/2.

Grimsby to beat Sheffield Wednesday to nil @ 7/2

Sheffield Wednesday beat Grimsby 5-1 in this competition last season, but they are in real trouble right now, on and off the pitch. They started the season with some resoluteness at Leicester, and then picked up a point at Wrexham, but it feels as though reality has now hit home. Their squad is so weak for the level, and that’s including the senior players. 

When you take them out, as we expect Pedersen to do tonight, then you are left with a bunch of kids. Sure there may be some talent there, and it is worth noting that these kids drew 1-1 with Leeds before beating them on penalties, but ultimately they are unlikely to be able to compete with most senior teams. 

Grimsby are strong this season, as we saw in this competition, but they are also riding high in League 2, currently fifth in the fourth tier. They are excellent at set pieces, and should be able to overpower this young Wednesday outfit. I’ll also back them to keep a clean sheet to boost our odds. 

Under 2.5 goals @ 10/11 

I cannot see this game being an open or entertaining affair, and I think Grimsby’s best chance of success is to defend solidly, and then threaten from set pieces. Sheffield Wednesday have failed to score in their last two home matches, against Swansea City and Bristol City, with the away team dominating in both of those away wins. 

Grimsby are clearly a good outfit having only lost twice this term, but they obviously aren’t at Championship level, so I can’t see them tearing Wednesday apart - despite the fact that I believe they will qualify comfortably. Under 2.5 goals represents good value in my eyes.

Offers

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