EFL confirm Sheffield Wednesday v Sunderland referee decision
EFL confirm Sheffield Wednesday v Sunderland referee decision
Sheffield Wednesday welcome the promotion-chasing Black Cats to Hillsborough on Friday evening.
The officiating team for Sheffield Wednesday’s Championship clash against Sunderland has been confirmed, with Will Finnie to take charge at Hillsborough.
Wednesday welcome the Black Cats to South Yorkshire on Friday night hoping to rediscover the form that handed them an outside chance of play-off football. Danny Röhl’s side were right in the mix earlier this year but one win in five has seen them fall into the bottom half.
Sunderland are in a bit of a slump themselves, having lost the last two. Regis Le Bris’ side were on course to end Leeds United’s 14-game unbeaten run last week before conceding twice to lose 2-1, with that crushing late blow clearly having an effect as they lost 1-0 at home to Hull City on Saturday – their first home defeat of the season.
Wednesday vs Sunderland referee confirmed
Friday night at Hillsborough will offer both the chance to bounce back from recent disappointment and ahead of that clash under the lights, the EFL have confirmed Finnie’s appointment as referee. He will be assisted by Daniel Leach and Mark Stevens, with fourth official Oliver Langford the man between the dugouts.
Finnie’s 2024/25 campaign has been split across the EFL, with 11 of his 24 games at Championship level. Three Carabao Cup games included Wednesday’s round-of-16 penalty-shootout defeat at Premier League clubs Brentford back in October.
He is among the Championship’s more lenient officials, blowing for an average of 21.18 fouls per game while brandishing four yellow cards per 90 minutes – both towards the lower end in comparison to other referees with 10 games or more under their belt this campaign. A penchant for penalties saw three given in his first seven matches of the season but there have been none since.
Wednesday v Sunderland team news
Wednesday fans will be sweating on the fitness of several players ahead of tomorrow night’s game, with Röhl providing a concerning update in his pre-game press conference earlier this week. The Owls boss suggested a number of players could be unavailable but did not single any of the doubts out.
“In general I won’t speak about names,” he told The Star. “But I can just say that it’s been a tough week for us – and you’ll see tomorrow why… There could be players missing. Michael Smith is one of the question marks.
“Ibi [Ibrahim Cissoko] was ill during the week, so let’s see on him – today he trained. Ryo [Hatsuse] has trained a full week. Some players are coming closer, Dom [Iorfa] is coming closer, but we have three or four big question marks this week. We have to find solutions, but I’m convinced the team on the pitch will be on fire.”
Sunderland also have their fair share of injury issues, not least the uncertainty over marquee January loan signing Enzo Le Fee who suffered a hamstring injury during his side’s 1-0 defeat against Hull. Defender Dan Ballard picked up a similar issue shortly after the break, while Tom Watson, Aji Alese, Jayden Danns and Niall Huggins remain sidelined.
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