Declan Walsh

Tue 19 January 2021 12:42, UK

Everton will face Sheffield Wednesday in the FA Cup on Sunday having not played since January 12 when they beat Wolves at Molineux.

Carlo Ancelotti and his Everton players should not have any excuses for not being properly prepared for the fourth-round clash at Goodison Park, where the winner will set up a home tie against either Wycombe or Tottenham in the next round.

Sheffield Wednesday have had a torrid season in the Championship.

The Owls have won four and drawn one of their last five matches in all competitions but they remain in the second tier’s relegation zone with six wins in 23 and just 15 goals to their name.

Ahead of Everton’s clash with the struggling Championship, we’ve had a look at how the Blues might be able to win this weekend and ensure they’re in the fifth round of the FA Cup.

Sheffield Wednesdays’ woes in front of goal is the major stand-out when looking at the Hillsborough club.

Only Derby [14] have scored fewer goals than them in the Championship while according to Wyscout, the Owls have had the fewest touches inside the box in the second-tier this season [260] and, rather expectedly, the fewest shots at goal [183], averaging just 7.26 per 90 minutes.

Neil Thompson’s men have tried to have most of their attempts at goal by the way of crosses and headers. They rank 18th for headed efforts at goal [32] and 17th for attempted crosses [316].

Five of their 15 goals have come via headers. Callum Paterson ranks 18th for aerial duels per 90 minutes [11.42] and only Brentford goal machine Ivan Toney [4] has scored more headers than Wednesdays’ Scottish striker [3].

Below, we can see why Paterson can be such a threat because he absolutely throws himself at the ball when it’s launched into the box.

Sheffield Wednesday have the ball out wide and a hopeful cross is aimed into the danger zone with Paterson approaching, closely marked by a Reading defender.

Paterson doesn’t win the header cleanly. He dives forward and heads the ball into the ground, beating his marker, another defender and the goalkeeper as his header crept in.

Stats by Wyscout show that even though Sheffield Wednesday are one of the worst attacking outfits in the Championship – their xG is the lowest at 18.77 – 33.2 per cent of their crosses are accurate, which is the 10th best in the league.

Adam Reach’s cross accuracy of 37.14 per cent puts him 13th-best in the Championship but Barry Bannan’s set-pieces are also a major threat that the Owls have going forward.

Elias Kachunga could – and should – have scored against Derby on New Year’s Day when Sheffield Wednesday beat the Rams 1-0 at Hillsborough.

Bannan’s out-swinging free-kick from the right beat all the of the Derby defenders and was met by Kachunga at the back-post.

He, like Paterson, launched himself at the ball but couldn’t get the header on target as it went just wide of the left-hand goalpost.

If there’s something that we’ve learned about Sheffield Wednesday, it’s that they are very one-dimensional.

They like to shift the ball out wide and rain crosses into the box. While that sounds like a very ‘hit-and-hope’ approach, they do have players who 100 per cent commit to winning the ball when it’s in the air.

Paterson and Kachunga can both be threats this weekend, coupled with the accuracy of Bannan and Reach’s crosses into the box.

Everton have to be on their toes but if they can limit Sheffield Wednesday’s play down the flanks and maybe not press their full-backs as far forward, they should be able to repel the Championship side very easily.

In other Everton news, Kevin Campbell is worried by the Blues’ form after Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s injury setback.