Brighton v Sheffield Wednesday: Owls have not achieved anything yet, warns Carlos Carvalhal

Tonight sees the Owls head to Brighton & Hove Albion as odds-on favourites to reach the May 28 final thanks to Friday’s 2-0 win at Hillsborough. Hull City are the likely opponents after opening up a three-goal advantage in their own first-leg tie at Derby County.

That raises the mouth-watering prospect of two White Rose clubs going head-to-head in a fixture that will have a minimum £170m riding on the result thanks to the cash windfall that accompanies a place in the Premier League.

Carvalhal, however, insists all thoughts about Wednesday making a first trip to the rebuilt national stadium are on hold due to needing to complete the job tonight at the Amex.

The Portuguese said: “Nothing is finished. There are 90 minutes to play and Brighton have their wishes for the game.

“We have to prepare well as we know it will be a tough game for both sides. We are two similar teams with good value. We understand that we have the advantage, but we must play, thinking the game starts at 0-0.

“We must now play the second leg and see what happens. We haven’t achieved anything yet.

“Our team is very experienced and I am sure they will be absolutely focused on the game. “No one is thinking about what will happen after (if Wednesday progress to the final). They are just thinking about Monday.”

Wednesday’s comprehensive victory on Friday night in front of a raucous Hillsborough was achieved through goals from Ross Wallace and Kieran Lee.

Brighton were left to rue their luck on Friday the 13th after losing four players to bad injuries during the game, meaning Chris Hughton’s men had to play the final half-hour with 10 men.

What made the situation even more crippling was that all four were key players, top scorer Tomer Hemed and defender Connor Goldson limping off before the break and the vastly experienced Steve Sidwell following suit in the second half along with lively winger Anthony Knockaert.

All four are unlikely to be available tonight, while Dale Stephens is also missing following his red card on the final day of the regular season at Middlesbrough – meaning Hughton is without 10 players in total. One boost is the return of Lewis Dunk from suspension.

The Owls, meanwhile, are expected to stick with the same XI that started Friday’s first leg. Carvalhal, who has rotated his squad at times this season, added: “It is something that is not strange to us because we have played all the season every few days.

“Both teams are in the same circumstances. It doesn’t make any difference, and I don’t feel that my team are nervous.

“We played our football on Friday and enjoyed the game. We did what we must do. We played positive, aggressive football. We had good defensive organisation when we lost the ball.

“We must play with the same intensity. We are very fresh and healthy. Our team have power in this part of the season, which is important after we have played 53-54 games. We are still playing like we were at the beginning of the season.”

Last six games: Brighton & Hove Albion WWWDDL, Sheffield Wednesday DDDWLW.

Referee: R East (Wiltshire).

Last time: Brighton & Hove Albion 0 Sheffield Wednesday 0; March 8, 2016; Championship.