"Ultimately the better choice" - Sheffield Wednesday striker dilemma deliberated ahead of Luton clash | OneFootball

The Owls head to Kenilworth Road on Saturday hoping to claim three point to kickstart their season.

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...

Danny Rohl will take his Sheffield Wednesday side to Kenilworth Road on Saturday to take on Rob Edwards' Luton Town, as the Owls look for their first win in the Championship since opening weekend.

Wednesday find themselves sitting in 20th place in the league table after five games, in what has been a frustrating start to the 2024/25 season for the Owls following their 4-0 opening day drubbing of Plymouth Argyle.

Luton haven't fared any better either, as the Hatters boast an identical league record as Wednesday through the first five, that being one win, one draw and three defeats.

Kenilworth Road will be expecting three points this weekend, as after dropping from the Premier League this summer, supporters will be expecting their side to be challenging for an immediate return to the top-flight.

But Rohl and his Owls team will be desperate to secure a victory that could kickstart their campaign, and to do that, should the Wednesday boss consider a tactical change in attack?

Sheffield Wednesday claim made on Michael Smith, Ike Ugbo dilemma

Changes could be afoot for Wednesday after they dropped two points against QPR last weekend, and one position that could be altered is up-front.

Ike Ugbo has been starting since his return from Troyes, but Michael Smith - who was touted for an exit this summer but stayed - has been coming off the bench and making an impact.

Despite this though, FLW's Sheffield Wednesday fan pundit Patrick McKenna believes that despite a dry spell in front of goal to start the season, Rohl shouldn't be tempted to make a tactical tweak at the centre-forward spot for Saturday's trip to Luton Town.

"He's shown his worth this season, all his attributes have been on show, and he's certainly worth a place on the pitch every game as it stands. But, would I start him on Saturday? No I wouldn't.

"I think that he would be the first sub option to come on if things aren't working. He's shown himself to be an effective sub, you can particularly look to Norwich last season when he came on, went more direct, switched it up, and he got two goals.

"He's got strength, good hold-up play, and he's been amongst the assists this season. But, one of our main problems this season has been goalscoring. So yes, we're going to have to start taking our chances and scoring more in games.

"Ike Ugbo, I think is ultimately the better choice between the two. He's more of a natural finisher, goalscorer and he would be more likely to put away a chance than Smith.

"As well, alluding to the fact that Luton are quite a physical team, Ugbo certainly isn't a weak player in any sense. So, I don't think he would have any issues where he'd be muscled off.

"Yes, he hasn't got off the mark this season, but bear in mind he's been phased in because of his late signing. He missed a good chance on Saturday, but last season he was a streaky player as well.

"He would score a few games in a row, and then go goalless. So yeah, I think he's due a goal very soon, and once he gets that goal, that could kick him off on a bit of a run."

Luton Town's struggles against strong strikers could see Michael Smith be considered by Danny Rohl

With both Ugbo and Smith being strong, physical centre-forwards, Rohl should be confident that either option can cause Luton's defence a lot of problems this weekend.

That's because the Hatters have seemingly struggled against sides who deploy a physical centre-forward in the early weeks of the season, as evidenced through their early Championship results.

Referencing the table above, one can see a pattern of Luton largely struggling to contain target-man strikers this season, so with both Ugbo and Smith being over six-feet tall, there should be optimism from a Wednesday standpoint that they could be in for a successful afternoon.

With as proven a manager Edwards is at Championship level, one would imagine that he will find the solution to this problem sooner rather than later. But whilst it's still an issue that's unresolved, Wednesday should look to take full advantage.