After a disappointing week thus far with just one point picked up out of an available six at home, Wednesday look to Bramall Lane where a win would make Tuesday’s defeat to Boro instantly forgettable. The Owls can expect something in between Forest’s time-wasting tactics and Boro’s free-flowing footie from the Blades but you can guarantee it won’t be pretty from Kevin Blackwell’s men. Brian Laws is the king of the Steel City Derby with three triumphs out of four in his time at S6 but the pessimistic Wednesdayite would tell you the Blades are due a win. Whatever your outlook it should be a full-blooded affair in front of the SKY cameras and we can only hope for more magic from the likes of Marcus Tudgay to bring three points back to Hillsborough and most importantly retain the bragging rights which were most definitely Wednesday’s in 2008/09.


Luke Varney has insisted the disappointing results against Forest and Boro will have no bearing on Friday night. The Derby loanee scored a cracking goal just two minutes in on Tuesday night, however his effort was in vain as the Smoggies went on to win 3-1. "Sheffield United is a massive game whether or not we'd got three points against Middlesbrough, and we'll be fired up for it," Varney told the Sheffield Star. "Sheffield United against Sheffield Wednesday, live on TV...it's a big occasion and I'm sure we'll all rise to it," he added. Michael Gray repeated Varney’s thoughts in his new BBC blog as he proclaimed: “This is a game where form goes out of the window and passion and bragging rights take over.” Of course, Gray is a man with vast derby day experience having feature in Glasgow and Tyne-Tees derbies in his long career and Wednesday will be looking to the winger to inspire the Owls once again after his terrific performance at the Lane last season.


Mark Beevers’ worrying injury on Tuesday night has thrust Richard Hinds into the spotlight with doubts remaining over Richard Wood’s availability on Friday night due to a combination of injury and illness. Brian Laws will understandably be keen to keep his cards close to his chest although it’s still unclear as to the extent of Beevers’ injury. Opinions varied from a broken leg to a dead leg the other night but here’s hoping the latter is the case. Hinds has featured at Bramall Lane before, coming on with five minutes left in the 2-2 draw in 2008 but the avid Wednesdayite will be desperate to start come tomorrow night.


The band returned on Tuesday night and while there was a noticeably better atmosphere than usual for a midweek game it’s difficult to say whether this was entirely down to the band due to Varney’s early goal and the pull of a top-of-the-table side who brought a lot of fans. Lee Strafford has come out and thanked Wednesdayites for turning up in strong numbers for two games in four days and he will hoping for another big crowd for the visit of Cardiff; a win at the Lane would no doubt boost the gate for the visit of the Cambrians.