Sheffield Wednesday: Danny Rohl needs to sacrifice forward ahead of QPR clash - view | OneFootball

With his Sheffield Wednesday side struggling and leaking goals, boss Danny Rohl may need to sacrifice a striker to bolster his midfield ranks.

After getting their 2024/25 Championship season off to a great start with a 4-0 opening day victory over Plymouth Argyle, Sheffield Wednesday have struggled since, failing to find the net in their subsequent three matches, while conceding nine themselves in the process.

The recent international break, perhaps, came at the ideal time for frustrated Owls manager Danny Rohl, who is keen to get to the bottom of what's going wrong for his side, and with some difficult-looking fixtures on the horizon, the German will be looking at ways to make his side more competitive against strong second-tier opposition.

Wednesday welcome QPR to Hillsborough this weekend in what all associated with the club will see as an opportunity to get back on track after setbacks against Sunderland (4-0), Leeds United (2-0), and Millwall (3-0) respectively.

It will be far from easy, though, as Marti Cifuentes' West Londoners have had a very solid start to the season themselves, including picking up four points from their two away games to date: drawing 2-2 with Sheffield United at Bramall Lane before winning at Luton Town last time out.

The Hoops will arrive in South Yorkshire full of confidence and hopeful of getting a result in the Steel City for the second time this season already.

Röhl and Wednesday will be keen to prevent that from happening, however, and the 35-year-old has some tactical decisions to ponder as he assesses the best way to approach the contest.

Owls should sacrifice a forward for more midfield solidity

So far this season, Röhl has largely been brave in his team selections, often going with four out-and-out attacking players from the likes of Ike Ugbo, Djeidi Gassama, Anthony Musaba, Jamal Lowe, and Josh Windass.

While the former German national team assistant wants his side to get on the front foot, this bold approach is leaving their midfield exposed and easy to play through, subsequently putting undue pressure on a back line clearly struggling to cope.

With confidence low, and a need to dig out results, the Owls boss should consider bringing in a midfielder for one of his forwards and opting for a little more pragmatism - at least in the short term.

Experienced forward Jamal Lowe, who joined Wednesday over the summer following his departure from Premier League Bournemouth, has struggled for form of late, and despite netting in the win against Plymouth, could be the striker to drop out and be replaced, possibly by Swede Svante Ingelsson, in the search for more solidity.

26-year-old Ingelsson, who arrived at Hillsborough in the summer following time in German football with the likes of SC Paderborn and Hansa Rostock is a hardworking, box-to-box midfielder, and the extra body in the engine room to compete for second balls and protect the back four a little more may prove a welcome development for the Wednesday rearguard.

Lowe could make a real impact off the bench

While Lowe hasn't had the start he'd have hoped for to his time in Sheffield, he's a seasoned operator who will likely come good and play a vital role for Röhl in time.

Having played at second-tier level, or above, for much of his career for the likes of Swansea City, Bournemouth, and QPR, the 30-year-old offers a wealth of knowledge to a fairly inexperienced Owls forward line.

For the time being, however, while the forward settles in at his new club, he may make a better impact from the bench, with his pace and ability to play anywhere across the attack offering his manager a genuine and varied threat to introduce against tiring defenders.

The striker helped change the game when coming on at half-time in the EFL Cup victory against League Two side Grimsby Town, where he and his teammates turned a one-goal deficit into a comfortable 5-1 win, and while that was against lower-level opponents, it proved the forward's ability to make a real difference in the latter stages of matches.

It's highly likely Lowe will become a key figure at Hillsborough, given his substantial quality and know-how, but while the Owls are looking for ways to solidify and pick up points in the short-term, sacrificing the attacker for midfielder Svante Ingelsson could be the right move for manager Róhl against the R's.