Sheffield Wednesday v Mansfield Town: Fringe players given chance by Cup specialist Carvalhal

IF ANY Sheffield Wednesday fans are looking for lucky omens this season, the last time the Owls played Mansfield Town the season ended with the south 
Yorkshire club winning promotion to the top flight of English football.
By The Newsroom
Published 11th Aug 2015, 07:15 BST
Owls' Stevie May in pre-season actionOwls' Stevie May in pre-season action
Owls' Stevie May in pre-season action

That was 1991, when Ron Atkinson’s side also beat Manchester United in the League Cup final at Wembley thanks to John Sheridan’s goal.

Tonight, the Owls welcome the Stags to Hillsborough in the same competition, the first time the two sides have met since Atkinson’s side triumphed 2-0 at Field Mill in the FA Cup third round 24 years ago.

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New head coach Carlos Carvalhal will be looking to make it back-to-back wins after an impressive debut in English football, a 2-0 Championship win over the reigning League One champions Bristol City getting the new season off to a flying start.

The Portuguese head coach is likely to make numerous changes, the Cup offering him the chance to give debuts to summer signings Vincent Sasso, Darryl Lachman, Modou Sougou and Rhoys Wiggins.

Strike duo Stevie May and Sergiu Bus – left out of Carvalhal’s match-day 18 on Saturday – could also feature tonight against their League Two visitors.

Carvalhal may be a newcomer to English football, but he is a veteran coach with a good pedigree of doing well in Cup competitions.

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As manager of Leixoes, he led the third-tier club to the Portuguese Cup final and then into the first round proper of the UEFA Cup. The Owls chief also led Vitoria Setubal to the inaugural domestic League Cup in his native country where they beat Sporting Lisbon.

The 49-year-old, therefore, understands Cup football well and has no problems in leaving players out.

“It is not a problem to me,” he said. “On Tuesday we have a match in the cup. We will see how the players recover.

“Some players recover fast. Some don’t recover so fast. We analyse all the players. We need all the players through the season.

“It is a marathon competition. It is not 100 metres.

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“There were some players who didn’t play well (against Bristol City) so maybe there a couple of players who will play against Mansfield.

“It is an important match. We need all the players.”

Right-back Jack Hunt and winger Ross Wallace were both substituted after suffering from cramp against Bristol City, and look set to be rested this evening.

Last six games: Sheffield Wednesday DWDLDW, Mansfield Town LWLLLD.

Referee: M Brown (East Yorkshire).

Last time: Sheffield Wednesday 0 Mansfield Town 0; October 6, 1979; Division Three.

Related topics:Carlos CarvalhalEast YorkshireMansfield TownLeague TwoBristol City