Sunderland must fear ‘nasty’ Sheffield Wednesday game plan as Danny Rohl’s comments prove he learned from heavy defeat

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Friday night’s game between Sunderland and Sheffield Wednesday will be a fascinating battle, as two teams in poor form look to get back to winning ways.

The Black Cats travel to Hillsborough later this week hoping to put an end to their slump, coming off the back of defeats to Leeds United and Hull City.

Those defeats have seen Sunderland’s automatic promotion hopes dashed, but Regis Le Bris’ men still have plenty to play for as they look to secure a play-off spot and build some momentum going into the business end of the season.

Wednesday go into the game on the back of a big 4-0 defeat against promotion contenders Burnley last Friday night, and will be eager to pile further misery on Sunderland this week.

We’ve already taken a shot at predicting Sunderland’s lineup for the next game, and Le Bris will have to take into consideration the fact the Owls will want revenge after a heavy defeat the last time these two teams met.

• READ MORE: Sunderland fans furious with one player as they send clear message to Regis Le Bris after Hull City

Danny Rohl learned a valuable lesson vs Sunderland

Back at the start of this season, Sunderland humbled Sheffield Wednesday with a massive 4-0 win at the Stadium of Light.

Goals from Dennis Cirkin, Luke O’Nien, and an Eliezer Mayenda brace sealed all three points for the Black Cats back in August.

Speaking after the game, Owls boss Danny Rohl had plenty to say about where his team went wrong, and pinpointed the strengths of the Sunderland squad at the time.

He said (via the Sunderland Echo): “This [defeat] is also because of our opponent, and we should never forget we always have an opponent who will try good things with good players.

“They did well today and for us it is still about learning, learning, learning, improve… I want to see a team that is nasty and able to be competitive.”

However, it sounds like Rohl learned a lot about his team and where they can do better against Sunderland in future.

Position	Team	Played MP	Won W	Drawn D	Lost L	For GF	Against GA	Diff GD	Points Pts
9	WatfordWatford	34	14	6	14	45	48	-3	48
10	NorwichNorwich	34	12	11	11	55	47	8	47
11	MillwallMillwall	34	11	12	11	34	34	0	45
12	Sheffield WednesdaySheffield Wednesday	34	12	9	13	46	54	-8	45
13	MiddlesbroughMiddlesbrough	33	12	8	13	51	45	6	44
14	QPRQPR	34	11	11	12	40	43	-3	44

He added: “Today we played too much into the six position. We know they are man to man press, especially in this position.

“From us, all the dangerous actions were from where we played behind instead of in front and this was a clear message in the match plan, where we want to attack them.

“They did well, we can learn from this game, we have to learn from this game. When you win games it is always easy to have togetherness but it’s also about staying together, taking the right things from the defeat and going forward.”

Sheffield Wednesday are a much stronger team these days, despite the recent run of defeats, and it’s clear that Rohl has instilled more fight and spirit into his side over the last few months. In this respect, Sunderland will have to be very wary, especially in front of the hostile crowd at Hillsborough.

• READ MORE: Sunderland handed triple injury blow as three key men set for significant sideline spell, one is out for the season

Sunderland have to find ruthless edge vs Sheffield Wednesday

Sunderland’s recent defeats, and indeed most of their performances in 2025, have been displays tinged with a lack of belief and far less energy and dynamism than we have come to expect from the Black Cats.

If Le Bris’ side are serious about maintaining their position in the play-off places and taking some good form into those games at the end of the season, they have to get back to winning ways and eradicate this complacency which appears to have seeped into their game.

Sunderland players were ripped into after the defeat against Hull on Saturday, and they will surely come out fighting with something to prove this Friday.

Fans have been right to criticise Sunderland of late, but it’s now all about how the players react to that and the resilience they show to get through this spell. Wednesday have a similar incentive, though, and you do feel like this game could be make-or-break for both teams as they look to rekindle their flailing seasons.