da dobrowin： This article is part of Football FanCast’s The Chalkboard series, which provides a tactical insight into teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…
da bet sport： Sheffield Wednesday have been handed the honour of playing the first match back after the international break as they face a trip to the Welsh capital on Friday evening.
England’s top-two tiers have enjoyed the best part of two weeks off as players embarked on their respective national team duties.
It also marks the first month, if you like, of Garry Monk’s reign at Hillsborough as he was appointed during September’s international interval.
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The 40-year-old has steered the south Yorkshire club to ten points from a possible 15 to leave them sitting just one point outside of a playoff position, which is good going considering he inherited the entire squad from former boss Steve Bruce and caretaker manager Lee Bullen.
Monk is now left with a couple of tough decisions to make ahead of Friday’s trip to the Cardiff City Stadium.
On the Chalkboard
One dilemma is in midfield as Owls regular Sam Hutchinson is available for selection following his one-match suspension, which he served last time out against Wigan Athletic.
The 30-year-old has played in all ten of their other Championship matches this term.
However, he now doesn’t have a guaranteed route back into Monk’s starting line up after Massimo Luongo’s performance in his absence.
It was the Australian’s first league start of this season, and he took the opportunity with both hands by scoring the winning goal. That has duly given Monk something to think about ahead of the weekend.
That’s because Friday’s opponents offer a more physical test, one in which they could do with the former Chelsea man being involved – possibly at the expense of Luongo.
Cardiff rank third for aerial duels won in the league this season at an average of 30.5 per game and are also in the top-five for fouls per match, averaging 13.5, via WhoScored.
Hutchinson would offer some strength in combatting that as he’s one of the more experienced members of Monk’s squad at 30 years of age, while this season, the defensive midfielder is averaging 2.1 tackles and 1.9 interceptions per game. That puts him second in the Wednesday squad for both statistics.
The only players ahead of him – that have played more than two matches – are actual defenders, so it’s clear to see why someone of Hutchinson’s presence could be needed.
It also doesn’t mean Luongo needs to be dropped as Monk could be true to his word of being ‘adaptable’ and play a three in midfield system with Hutchinson sitting deeper behind the 27-year-old and Barry Bannan.