Sheffield Wednesday

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Sheffield Wednesday manager Henrik Pedersen praised his side's togetherness but called it a "tough day" after they made unwanted English Football League history.

The 2-1 Steel City derby loss to Sheffield United means Wednesday have suffered the earliest ever relegation.

Going down to League One has been inevitable for most of the season but it was confirmed at Bramall Lane with 13 games remaining.

The damage was done early on as goals from Patrick Bamford and Harrison Burrows put the game beyond Wednesday on an afternoon when they needed to win to postpone their relegation.

"It was a tough day and we made the mountain bigger," Pedersen told BBC Radio Sheffield.

"Again the boys showed that they will stand together.

"They worked very hard to get back into it, we invested a lot. At 2-0 after 20 minutes you thought it could be a long day in the office today.

"The boys kept the organisation and lifted their chests up again. We changed a few things at half-time and were much stronger.

"We all believed and hoped that we could make the second goal and the boys did everything.

"The boys did everything that they could but it was not enough today."

Sheffield Wednesday could be relegated by their city rivals United on Sunday.

Defeat at Bramall Lane would consign the Owls to League One for next season, although a win for West Brom over Coventry on Saturday and at least a point for Blackburn on Friday against Preston would seal their fate before they even kick a ball.

Sheffield United were bottom of the table and below Wednesday when Chris Wilder returned to the club in September but have since moved 10 points clear of the relegation zone.

• Sheffield United have won each of their past three league games against Sheffield Wednesday, and last won four in a row against their rivals in September 1953 (4).

• Sheffield Wednesday have not scored in any of their past six matches against Sheffield United – across all competitions, only against one other side have they had a longer run of meetings without scoring (7 v Oxford between 1971 and 1974).

• Sheffield United have lost their past two home league games against fellow Yorkshire opponents (0-3 v Hull and 1-3 v Leeds). The last time they lost three in a row at home to Yorkshire sides was over a century ago, suffering defeats against Bradford (twice) and Sheffield Wednesday between 1910 and 1911.

• Sheffield Wednesday could become just the second team to lose 10+ consecutive games in the Championship (lost their past nine), after Rotherham between February and April 2017 (10).

• Patrick Bamford has scored five goals in seven home league games for Sheffield United so far. His minutes per goal ratio at Bramall Lane (89) is the best by any Blades player in a single Championship campaign (minimum 3 goals scored).

Image source, EFL

Puma's Rainbow ball will return to the English Football League as part of an on-going campaign against discrimination and homophobia.

The special edition rainbow ball was introduced in 2024 to mark LGBTQ+ History Month and will be used at every EFL game from 20 February until 1 March.

Manufacturers Puma will make a donation to Football v Homophobia for every goal scored with their rainbow ball across the Championship, League One and League Two.

The donations will help support education against homophobia and promote inclusion across the season.

The EFL have released a video, external to coincide with the campaign which features a Preston North End fan who was charged with a hate crime following homophobic chanting during an FA Cup fixture against Chelsea.

The rainbow ball will also feature in EFL partner EA Sports' FC 26 video game.

"The rainbow ball is a powerful symbol of the values we uphold across the EFL all season long," EFL chief executive officer Trevor Birch said.

"It not only reflects our longstanding commitment to ensuring the League is representative of all its diverse communities, but also reminds us that we all have a role to play in creating an environment in which everyone feels they truly belong."

Sheffield Wednesday manager Henrik Pedersen believes his side are heading in the "right direction" despite losing at home to promotion chasers Millwall 1-2 on Saturday.

Although Millwall dominated the majority of the game, Jamal Lowe tapped in for the Owls after Charlie McNeill's long-range effort was spilled to give the Championship's bottom side a surprise advantage on the hour mark.

However, an own goal from Cole McGhee and Lions substitute Macaulay Langstaff's close-range finish from Femi Azeez's low cross completed a swift turnaround for the visitors who succumbed Wednesday to their 23rd league loss of the season.

"I think it was a fantastic game for the boys," said Pedersen to BBC Radio Sheffield. We played against a strong Millwall team, a top team in the Championship, and we knew they are maybe the most physical team in the league for set-pieces, long balls, second balls and duels.

"How we managed this game today, big respect to our guys. For the defensive stuff, we were really well organised and we managed all the long balls, and we also managed to win a lot of the second balls.

"Today, compared to some of the other games, we also had some power when we won the ball to play forward, to run forward, to get high up on the pitch and to create something so it's a big step in the right direction."

Image source, Opta

Millwall will look to strengthen their Championship play-off hopes when they visit bottom club Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday afternoon (kick-off 15:00 GMT).

The Lions are fifth and hold a six-point advantage over Preston in seventh - their best league position after 31 games of a second tier season since the 2022-23 campaign when they were sixth at this stage.

The Owls could be relegated against arch-rivals Sheffield United next weekend if they lose to Millwall and the Blades - and one of Leicester or Blackburn pick up another point in that time.

• Sheffield Wednesday have won just one of their past 10 league games against Millwall (D4 L5), a 2-0 away win in February 2024.

• Following their 1-0 win in November, Millwall are looking to complete the league double over Sheffield Wednesday for the first time since 2002-03.

• Sheffield Wednesday have failed to score in their past nine league games, losing each of the past eight. No team in English Football League history has ever lost nine in a row without scoring before.

• Millwall have lost just one of their previous nine league games (W5 D3), with no Championship side suffering fewer defeats since Christmas than the Lions.

• Sheffield Wednesday have failed to score in their past nine league games – only one team in the history of the second tier has failed to score in more consecutively in a single campaign, with Coventry going 11 between October and December 1919.

Image source, Getty Images

Henrik Pedersen admitted his Sheffield Wednesday side found it 'tough' to maintain their promising start once they conceded the opening goal to Swansea's Goncalo Franco.

The Portuguese midfielder's 19th minute-strike was all that separated the sides at the Swansea.com Stadium until the final 20 minutes, when Zan Vipotnik hit a quickfire double and substitute Malick Yalcouye rounded off a 4-0 victory for the Swans.

Owls boss Pedersen, whose side have now lost eight consecutive games and failed to find the net since December, said: "We saw a positive energy in the first 19 minutes. We had good pressing situations, good sequences on the ball.

"Then they score the goal, they played through us, and we also have to say Swansea is a fantastic team. After the goal they got more confident on the ball and started to move us around.

"We wanted to be compact but it was difficult for us. It was tough to press really tight against them.

"Second half we came out with a good energy and started to win balls high up the pitch, but we also lost balls. The biggest challenge was that when we won the ball we also lost the ball – we didn't create what we wanted."