The Shrimps face off against the Owls at the Mazuma Stadium in Sky Bet League One on Tuesday evening.
Morecambe head into the fixture on the back of a 2-2 draw away to Bristol Rovers, a performance that manager Derek Adams labelled as the best of the season. A Jensen Weir stunner from distance and Kieran Phillips' first for the Club fired the Shrimps ahead on two occassions, but Adams' men were pegged back each time as the spoils were shared at the Memorial Stadium.
Wednesday's last taste of Sky Bet League One action ended in defeat as the Owls met Barnsley in a Yorkshire derby. Goals from Devante Cole and James Norwood either side of half-time ensured Michael Duff's men left Hillsborough with all-three-points.
The opposition
Out of their opening seven league games of the season, Wednesday have won four, drawn one and lost two. In the process, they've accumulated 13 points and currently sit fourth in the table.
Like the Shrimps, the Owls have progressed to Round Three of the Carabao Cup after seeing off Sunderland and Rochdale in the opening two rounds, though their first Papa John's Trophy group stage game of the season ended in a 3-1 defeat away at Bradford City.
Manager Darren Moore arrived took charge of Wednesday on 1 March 2021 and has since taken charge of 79 games. Of those fixtures, he has won 36, drawn 20 and lost 23, averaging out at 1.62 points-per-match.
Key players
Wednesday's most dangerous player so far this season is Josh Windass who leads the tally for assists (three) and sits in joint first for goalscoring (two). Son of Dean Windass, the 28-year-old is no stranger to finding the back of the net, and has recorded 70 goals in 287 professional appearances to-date. Before arriving at Hillsborough on a permanent deal in September 2020, the attacking-midfielder enjoyed spells with Accrington Stanley, Rangers and Wigan Athletic.
Summer arrival Will Vaulks joined Wednesday in the summer after three years with Cardiff City. The 28-year-old boasts a wealth of experience across the English and Scottish Leagues, racking up 404 appearances in total, 186 of which came in the Championship. Whilst at Rotherham United, the Welsh international won Goal of the Season in 2016/17 and Player of the Season the following year.
Centre-forward Michael Smith joined the Owls in July 2022 following a successful four-year stint with Rotherham United. The prolific goalscorer netted 18 goals in 45 League One appearances last campaign, which helped The Millers to a second place finish as well as automatic promotion to the Championship. The 30-year-old, who has played three times so far this season and scored once in the Papa John's Trophy, will be hoping to replicate last season's success in front of goal for his new side.
Derek Adams' pre-match thoughts
Ahead of Wednesday's visit on Tuesday night, manager Derek Adams says the Shrimps will look to cause the visitors problems, despite the evident talent within their ranks.
“We all know them very well because they’ve played in the Championship, some of them have played in the Premier League as well," he said.
“They’ve got some real quality players; Barry Bannan is a prime example of that, to have the likes of Gregory, Windass as well in that area, they’ve got a very, very good squad.
“They’ve got international players in their squad and that’s why they’re favourites for promotion.
“They come here, which is always a difficult venue for any team to come to, and as a Club, as a team, we’re looking forward to it.
“It’s what we do on the day, we’ve got to get at them and cause them problems, which we will do.”
Meet the officials
Andrew Kitchen will take charge of Tuesday night's fixture, with Paul Newhouse and Graeme Fyvie as linesmen and Alex Gray completing the line-up as Fourth Official.
In the six games Kitchen has taken charge so far this campaign across League's One, Two and the Carabao Cup, he has distributed 28 yellow cards and one red card.
The Durham-based official last took charge of Morecambe back in March, where the Shrimps were defeated at home by Cheltenham Town.
iFollow
After teaming up with Beyond Radio for the 2022/23 season, supporters will be able to listen to exclusive, full and uninterrupted radio commentary of every single game, home and away, which will be broadcast simultaneously on 103.5FM, 107.5FM and DAB+ digital radio across North Lancashire and South Cumbria as well as on the iFollow Shrimps platform.
Lead commentator Dave Salmon will be joined by the Club's Media and Content Coordinator, Matt Smith.
Audio passes are available from as little as £2.50 per match, £4.49 for a monthly pass or £45 for a season pass.
For this fixture, video passes are also available and can be purchased here.
As well as full match commentary, the ‘Shrimps Verdict’ podcast will be available post-match, featuring online, on demand content, including audio match highlights, post-match interviews and reaction, and much more!