Can Owls Handle The Backlash? Part Two...

Wednesday face a Preston North End side no doubt hurting from their 4-0 thumping at Queens Park Rangers on Tuesday night, can they cope with the backlash this time?

Cast your minds back to the 3-0 loss at Derby, and the fact that the Rams previous outing saw them thumped 6-1 at freescoring Cardiff City.

Nigel Clough demanded his men bounce back against Wednesday in the following game and they certainly did, running out comfortable 3-0 winners against an Owls side who put in arguably their worst performance of the season.

That was against a pretty average Derby side, a side who'll probably end up in a similar situation as to what Wednesday look capable of at the moment - mid-table.

Tomorrow night's clash with Preston will have a similar theme to in, in that the Deepdale club will no doubt be looking to respond from their 4-0 defeat at Loftus Road with an improved performance, and improved points return, at Hillsborough.

North End are one of the teams expected to be up and around the play-off spots this season and, with the exception of a couple of results, have shown with their results that they're certainly capable of doing just that.

It'll mean Wednesday will face a tough test against the Lancastrians come 7.45pm tomorrow.

It's always difficult going into a game against a side who want to prove people wrong, for whatever reason, and Preston have that reason in their poor showing against Q.P.R. on Saturday.

It showed at S6 on Saturday with Wednesday, on the back of their drab performance and 3-0 defeat at Derby, looking to prove some fans wrong with an improved showing and three points against Coventry.

How Wednesday deal with tomorrow night's game, in comparison to their outing at Pride Park, will have to be totally different, that's for sure.

Preston are no mugs, they're one of the teams in the Championship who are capable of coming to Hillsborough and leaving with all three points, even on a cold October evening.

This game, as important as the victory over Coventry was, could be just as important as the Sky Blues meeting in the grand scheme of things, as Wednesday look for that little bit of consistency.

The matter of a trip to Watford just three days later (on Friday night) makes things even more important.

Will Wednesday turn up with the right attitude tomorrow, will they go for back-to-backs wins and, almost, firmly put their Derby horror show to bed?

Or will they show the kind of inconsistent form that has plagued much of the Championship so far this season?

I wouldn't be surprised if it was the latter, but hopefully it'll be the former...

UP THE OWLS!

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