A look ahead to Thursday night’s play-off second leg tie with Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough (8pm).
Peterborough United travel to Hillsborough on Thursday night for the second leg of the Sky Bet League One play-off semi-final (8pm) with Darren Ferguson’s men winning the first leg at the Weston Homes Stadium 4-0.
Jack Taylor, joe Ward, Kwame Poku and Jonson Clarke-Harris were on target in that victory, but the Owls created chances of their own and despite the advantage, Posh will need to defend well at Hillsborough to complete the job.
TEAM NEWS
Posh will be without the services of defender Nathanael Ogbeta, who has returned to Swansea City for treatment on a thigh injury, but there is better news on fellow full-back Nathan Thompson who has trained this week and will be added to the squad.
The experienced former Portsmouth man suffered an ankle injury last month and will provide an option either at right-back or as a centre back should manager Darren Ferguson decide to shuffle his pack for the clash against Darren Moore’s men.
The Owls will probably make changes to their starting line-up with Lee Gregory among those that could come into the XI.
ONE TO WATCH
Barry Bannan (pictured below) is arguably the most talented player in League One and was shortlisted for the Player of the Season alongside Jonson Clarke-Harris and the eventual winner Aaron Collins. Bannan is a midfield play-maker, a threat from set-pieces in terms of delivery and will be a key component to making the visitors tick.
FROM THE GAFFER
“We know that Sheffield Wednesday are a good side, they created chances in the first leg and we know that we are going to have to defend our box really well. The first goal in the game is important. We are going there to try and win the game. We know that their crowd will be up for it, we have to put in a performance that quietens that atmosphere, but we know that it will be tough because they have an excellent home record. We have watched the game back from earlier in the season at Hillsborough and we did a lot of good things, particularly in the first half,” Darren Ferguson said.
TICKET NEWS
There are no more tickets available for Posh fans with a sold out allocation of over 2,000 making the trip to Hillsborough. It is expected to be a home sell-out too.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
For Peterborough United supporters visiting Sheffield Wednesday on Thursday please note there are no away pubs in the area of Hillsborough other than the stadium. The away turnstiles open at 6pm for you. Hillsborough Stadium is 4 miles from the city centre and if using the tram service catch the YELLOW LINE MIDDLEWOOD TRAM and disembark at LEPPINGS LANE. Tram stops can be found at FITZALAN SQUARE S1 2AT or on WEST STREET S1 4GB. The transport network will be very busy on Thursday so please give yourselves plenty of time to get to the stadium”
POSH+
Because the game is live on Sky Sports, we are unable to stream the fixture via Posh+ in the UK, however overseas subscribers can watch the action with match passes available for £10.
PLAYED FOR BOTH
There have been a number of players to have performed for both clubs including promotion-winning Posh skipper Mark Beevers (pictured below left), striker Jack Marriott and winger Nathaniel Mendez-Laing. Among the others to have played for both include;
Mark McKeever, Saido Berahino, Ian Hendon, Guy Branston, Guy Whittingham, Graham Hyde, Lloyd Isgrove, James Quinn (pictured below right), Danny Sonner (pictured below centre), Marcus Williams, Wayne Andrews and George Boyd.
CLASSIC CONTEST
Posh have enjoyed some good wins over Sheffield Wednesday in recent memory including a 4-1 success under Darren Ferguson in 2011 when George Boyd and Lee Tomlin (pictured below) were among the scorers. Prior to that win, Posh hadn’t win at Hillsborough since 1977.
KIT COLOURS
Posh will be wearing the black third kit for the fixture.
MATCH COVERAGE
If you can’t make the game, you can follow all of the action in a number of ways.
- Live match updates on our official Twitter feed @theposh.
- Behind the scenes coverage and updates on our official Instagram story.
- Keep up to date with minute-by-minute updates on our Live Match Centre here.
- Download the official Peterborough United app to get all of the action direct to your smartphone.
MAN IN THE MIDDLE
The match referee is David Rock.