Sheffield Wednesday and Luton Town will continue their pre-season preparations on Saturday, when they meet in a friendly at Hillsborough.
After both won promotion last term, they are building towards Championship and Premier League campaigns respectively, with Saturday's match being the hosts' last friendly before their second-tier curtain-raiser at home to Southampton next week.
Match preview
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Sheffield Wednesday will finish off their pre-season preparations on Saturday ahead of their upcoming return to the Championship, after they won promotion back from League One in dramatic fashion last season.
Under the management of Darren Moore, the Owls found themselves fighting for a top-two spot all season but eventually had to settle for a third-placed finish, and they would then pull off a historic comeback in the playoff semi-finals, eventually triumphing in a penalty shootout at home to Peterborough United after losing the away leg 4-0, with Michael Smith, Lee Gregory, Reece, James, Liam Palmer and Callum Paterson all scoring on a memorable night at Hillsborough.
That booked a tie with local rivals Barnsley at Wembley for a place back in England's second tier, and after the 90 minutes ended goalless, extra time looked set to go the same way, only for Josh Windass to head in the only goal in the 123rd minute.
The Owls would then experience some change over the summer, as Moore departed and was replaced by Xisco Munoz, and they have had a busy pre-season schedule, starting with contests against York City, Chesterfield, Burnley and Real Murcia, before most recently suffering a 1-0 defeat in a short trip to fourth-tier Doncaster Rovers, as Luke Molyneux headed in the only goal of the game.
Now heading into their last friendly before raising the curtain on the Championship season at home to newly-relegated Southampton, Xisco's side will be keen to gain some momentum with a positive display against Premier League opposition at Hillsborough this weekend.
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Their visitors, meanwhile, have two further weeks of pre-season ahead of their Premier League campaign, after also winning promotion through the playoffs last time around.
After making a positive start to the term, the Hatters saw manager Nathan Jones depart for Southampton, and his replacement Rob Edwards, who arrived in mid-November, led them through a strong second half, wrapping up a third-placed finish with 80 points on the board from their 46 outings, before they booked a place in the final at Wembley, coming from behind to beat Sunderland 3-2 on aggregate in their playoff semi-final.
They then met Coventry City with a place in England's top flight on the line, and after Jordan Clark's first-half opener was cancelled out by a Gustavo Hamer leveller, the tie went to a penalty shootout, which the Hatters prevailed to confirm their climb to the Premier League.
Following that triumph in the capital, Edwards's men returned for pre-season in early July and played their first friendly against Peterborough United, with Carlton Morris, John McAtee and Dion Pereira finding the net in a 3-1 victory, before they met Ipswich Town at Portman Road on Tuesday and played out a 1-1 draw as Morris was again on the scoresheet after Wes Burns's early opener.
Now with four further friendlies to go before beginning their Premier League campaign away at Brighton & Hove Albion, following the postponement of their scheduled opening-day fixture against Burnley at Kenilworth Road, Luton Town will look to put a victory on the board to build confidence in the camp ahead of tests against Wolverhampton Wanderers and Bochum in the coming days.
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Team News
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Xisco Munoz could hand first Sheffield Wednesday starts to summer signings Juan Delgado and Ashley Fletcher, following their recent arrivals from Pacos de Ferreira and Watford respectively, after they watched the Doncaster Rovers friendly from the sidelines, while defender Pol Valentin joined from Sporting Gijon on Thursday and will hope to play a part too.
After moving deeper into more of a midfield role last season, Callum Paterson could again play in the engine room alongside Will Vaulks and captain Barry Bannan, while Akin Famewo and Dominic Iorfa will likely continue their partnership in the middle of the defence.
The new boss lined up the Owls in a 4-3-3 shape last time out, and Fletcher could lead the line from the outset with Michael Smith, Josh Windass and Lee Gregory also bound to be given time to fight for Munoz's favour ahead of their curtain-raiser.
Luton Town have already blooded several new signings in pre-season, with Mads Andersen, Chiedozie Ogbene and Tahith Chong having all started against Ipswich after their arrivals from Barnsley, Rotherham United and Birmingham City.
Marvelous Nakamba could also come in for Saturday's game after making his loan move from Aston Villa permanent last week, while key defender Tom Lockyer was able to return to the pitch at Portman Road, after collapsing early in their playoff final and being helped off the pitch.
He could again join Andersen and Dan Potts in a back three, while at the other end of the pitch, Carlton Morris should again lead the line, having scored in both of their friendlies so far after helping to fire them to promotion with 20 Championship goals last season.
Sheffield Wednesday possible starting lineup:
Dawson; Delgado, Iorfa, Famewo, James; Vaulks, Bannan, Paterson; Johnson, Fletcher, Windass
Luton Town possible starting lineup:
Shea; Potts, Andersen, Lockyer; Ogbene, Chong, Nakamba, Clark, Doughty; Morris, Adebayo
We say: Sheffield Wednesday 1-2 Luton Town
Both teams will be keen to build confidence with a victory as pre-season ramps up in intensity, but the Hatters boast more quality all over the pitch and will expect to come out on top at the weekend.
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Sam Varley
