"Magic" - Sheffield Wednesday: Josh Windass issues Sheffield United warning ahead of derby | OneFootball

The Owls make the short journey to Bramall Lane for the first Steel City derby of the season on Sunday.

Sheffield Wednesday's Josh Windass has sent a warning message to Sheffield United ahead of the first Steel City derby of the season on Sunday.

The Owls come into the game off the back of a stunning 2-0 win over Norwich City in midweek after falling to a 6-2 defeat last weekend at home to Watford.

Nevertheless, they will be relishing the opportunity at Bramall Lane of taking the game to their high-flying city rivals. The Blades have been excellent so far in 2024/25, and despite a small wobble in October, they have come back from their first two defeats of the campaign to pick up wins in their last three matches.

Sheffield United will be buoyed by their late winner against Bristol City on Tuesday, with Harrison Burrows firing the ball into the back of the net in the 98th minute to secure all three points for Chris Wilder's side at Ashton Gate. However, Windass is confident about Sheffield Wednesday's chances.

Windass sends warning to Sheffield United

Although the two have had fairly different seasons up to this point, as with any derby match, form goes out of the window, and it becomes all about which side performs best on the day.

But, the Owls will still need to find a way past this excellent Blades defence, one that has conceded only seven goals in 14 matches so far, keeping nine clean sheets in the process.

Despite this, Windass does not fear the task at hand, and in his pre-match press conference, he spoke about taking the game to Sheffield United despite their strength at the back.

He said: "They seem good as a unit at the minute because they're not conceding too many goals, but any team can concede through bits of magic and bits of good play.

"We've got plenty of players in our team that can open defences up. So I'm looking forward to the challenge with such a good defensive record they've got so far, so as I said, we've got to keep balls out our net because we're conceding quite a lot at the minute.

"But hopefully we can score more than them and come out with a win."

Windass will be hoping to carry on his run of form

Sheffield Wednesday have lacked consistency throughout this season, but Windass himself has slowly started to find himself in a bit of form, and he will want to keep this going against the Blades on Sunday.

The attacking player has scored three goals in his last six Championship appearances, including the opener against Norwich in his team's most recent match.

This game has come at the perfect time for the 30-year-old, who is playing in his first Steel City derby, and he will be hoping to be on the winning side against Sheffield United for the first time in his career.

He has only played twice against the Blades before, but his former side, Wigan Athletic, were on the receiving end of two losses in the 2018/19 campaign, and this may only give him more determination to help the Owls get one over their bitter rivals.

Windass was extremely relaxed in his press conference ahead of the clash at Bramall Lane, and Sheffield Wednesday fans will be hoping that this calm and collective attitude will be enough to take the bragging rights this weekend.