Preview: Sheffield Wednesday v Sunderland - Carvalhal keeping Forestieri plans under wraps

Fernando Forestieri, omitted at the weekend following a training ground bust-up with team-mate Sam Winnall, is the man in question and yesterday Sheffield Wednesday head coach Carlos Carvalhal was giving little away with regards a possible recall.

Other than revealing that the Argentinian was still training with the squad, the Portuguese stuck to his weekend mantra of saying the matter had been dealt with internally before adding: “I don’t want to talk too much about this.”

Carvalhal’s reticence means Forestieri’s name will be the first anyone looks for come 6.45pm, meaning a whole host of fascinating sub-plots are in danger of being overlooked.

These include a trio of Owls in Ross Wallace, Keiren Westwood and Steven Fletcher going up against their former employer. Aiden McGeady, too, will have something to prove in Sunderland colours at a place where he made little impact during a loan spell in the second half of the 2015-16 campaign.

Then there is Simon Grayson facing a host of his own former players with Jordan Rhodes and Jack Hunt both having won promotion with Huddersfield Town under the 47-year-old.

Barry Bannan is another Owl to have had a short spell under Grayson, who also handed Tom Lees his first senior appearance at Leeds United.

Plenty of intrigue aside from Forestieri, therefore, on a night when Wednesday need a boost after taking just a solitary point from two eminently winnable Championship fixtures against Preston North End and QPR.

“All the teams in the competition are under pressure,” said Carvalhal when asked about the need to claim a first three points of the campaign at the expense of Grayson’s Sunderland.

“At the beginning, we expected to start better and we must live with the reality. But we also have to understand that this is the beginning of a marathon. Like we say in Portugal – it is not the way we start, it is the way we finish.”

Bannan, in his third season at Hillsborough, certainly echoes that final point. “After Preston, it was as if it was the end of the world for Sheffield Wednesday,” the Scotland international told The Yorkshire Post.

“We had lost 1-0 to a dubious penalty and Preston is a tough place to go. Obviously, we wanted to start well but the reaction was a bit too much.

“The gaffer was great in keeping us going when people were asking questions. He remains optimistic and positive, and passes that on to the players.

“You can say it (criticism) doesn’t bother you but, obviously, when you see people criticising you then you get wind of it. The gaffer keeps us positive and on the right track.”

Victory over a Black Cats side fresh from an impressive 3-1 win at Norwich City on Sunday would help settle any jitters being felt by the locals in S6 ahead of a tough-looking weekend trip to Fulham.

A big threat to claiming those three points tonight will be McGeady, who followed Grayson to the Stadium of Light in the summer after netting eight times in 32 starts for Preston last term.

Such an impressive return was in stark contrast to the 31-year-old’s time at Wednesday, when he scored just once in 13 appearances and returned to parent club Everton before the play-off final. Bannan, though, has sympathy for his former team-mate.

“Aiden is one of the better players in that (Sunderland) team,” said the Scot. “He makes things happen for them. I watched the Derby game a couple of weeks ago and he was lively. Aiden is a good, good player.

“It didn’t happen for him here because it was probably difficult for Aiden. He came at a time when everyone in the starting team was flying. We were winning most games so it was hard for him to break in.

“There was no doubt about his ability but the people who had the jersey at the time were doing really, really well and kept him out.

“I had a similar story at Leeds (in 2011, after joining on loan). They were flying, with lads like Robert Snodgrass, Jonny Howson, Bradley Johnson and Max Gradel.

“It meant I didn’t feature as much as I wanted and that was hard because the team was winning games. Aiden had the same here.”

Last six games: Sheffield Wednesday LDDLWD, Sunderland LLLDWW.

Referee: S Martin (Staffordshire).

Last time: Sheff Wednesday 2 Sunderland 4; January 20, 2007; Championship.