Shea Charles’ main role for Sheffield Wednesday is to stop the opposition in and around the final 3rd. He will press looking to regain possession as quickly as possible. This in turn raises the prospects of him making a foul, given it is almost impossible to not mistime a challenge from time-to-time.

In fact, the Northern Ireland international has history during his loan spell at the club with regards to doing exactly that. He has quickly become a fans’ favourite because of his combative style of play. Over his 30 Championship appearances this season, Charles has made at least 1 foul in 21 of them. Unsurprisingly, he has made more fouls in league action this season for Sheff Wed than any of his team mates.

The South African was out injured for a few months this season and on his return he found himself back in the team but playing a different position. He is known as being a striker, however Foster is a left winger for Burnley these days, but with license to get into the box at every opportunity. As such, he has found it hard to score too many goals as he has netted just once since his comeback. However, he has frequently been trying to change that through multiple shots on goal. Over his last 8 appearances, Foster has averaged 1.00 shots on target per game. In this time, the 24-year-old has also averaged 2.75 shots, too.

The sheer desperation to get more goals will fuel his motivation, as it has for a little while now. You’d suspect a home game would be his best chance to try and correct this, so it’d be a shock if Foster didn’t get a few potential goal scoring opportunities in Friday’s match.

Dropping points here would likely see Burnley’s gap to the top-two automatic promotion places open up very more. Therefore, it is quite important for Scott Parker’s side to get the 3 points here. Sheffield Wednesday will be no easy obstacle to overcome, however The Owls have had major issues against the top clubs this season. Danny Röhl’s men have lost and are also goalless in all 6 season league meetings against current top-five Championship clubs.

The away side do actually hold quite a strong xG figure in the league, however the same can unwantedly be said regarding xGA. That is what may be the determining factor that decides this match considering Burnley have kept 11 league clean sheets in succession and have lost just twice in league action all season.

Burnley’s biggest issue this season is that they can be frustrated. They’ve drawn too many matches this season; 14 in league action, with only West Brom and Preston managing more at this level. If they miss out on the top-two, that’ll be why. However, it isn’t for the want of trying. They have dominated in many of those draws and that is often reflected in the corner count. For example, they had to be patient to break Oxford down recently, and eventually secured a 1-0 home win. They earned 12 corners on that night, and something similar may occur in Friday’s clash.

The Clarets average 5.42 corners won in the Championship this season. This number increases to 6.75 purely focusing on their home encounters played at Turf Moor. On this alone, they really should be expecting at least 5 more against a Sheffield Wednesday side likely to sit back for fairly lengthy periods of time.

Shea Charles is often a busy player in the Wednesday midfield and is someone who has become a regular name in the referee’s notebook over the campaign. He is a player not to shy away from getting stuck in and making a tackle to the benefit of his team, which can also include tactical fouls. His team will be under pressure at times here, likely long spells, and he will be tested to the point where he might go a step too far.

The Southampton loanee has received more bookings than any Sheff Wed player in Championship action this season. He is the natural defensive option in this area of the pitch, so he’ll sit back and allow the talented Barry Bannan to affect the game in more advanced areas.

In 12 of his 30 Owls league appearances this season he has made 2 or more fouls. This is a significant amount and it is kind of all you really have to know to understand the type of player he is. Charles must be a strong candidate to receive a card.

For all that Sheffield Wednesday would be quite happy to take a draw from this game, they will still aim to hold an attacking threat. They know merely sitting back is asking for trouble and they have too many strong attacking options not to pose at least some problems to Burnley. The Clarets may be keeping clean sheets for fun but they’ve still been tested in that time. The home side have conceded 3 or more shots on target in 3 of their last 5 matches in league and cup.

Windass was rested to the bench against Coventry but should be recalled here given he can be a threat on the counter attack. He will be a little frustrated having not scored since New Years’ Day, meaning he will be prepared to fire away shots at every available opportunity. He has managed a shot on target in 16 of his 26 starts this season in all competitions, so he knows how to work the opposing goalkeeper if given extended minutes.

Considering Sheffield Wednesday are the underdogs here, which is a clear and obvious reason to expect them to receive more cards here. They are the team who will be put under greater stress over the 90 minutes in terms of having to sit back and defend for long spells. A draw would suit them well and if the scores are level near the end, Röhl’s men will do whatever it takes to make that the case.

Also, only in 3 matches all season have Burnley received more than 3 yellow cards in all competitions. They’ve shown to be a team that can handle their emotions when required. An early goal of course would help in that regard. Only 2 other Championship clubs have received fewer yellow cards in home matches compared to Burnley.

What is also telling is knowing just 5 other Championship clubs have averaged more fouls committed in away games than Sheffield Wednesday. Games on the road are naturally that bit harder given the different surroundings, plus taking into account Burnley’s quality means the visitors could be in line for a tough night.

It is well-documented of Burnley’s impressive defensive return in recent times and the entire season in general. They keep clean sheets for fun and clearly take real pride in doing so. This reflects the task at hand for Sheffield Wednesday, who will have to make the most of their attacking situations on the night. Therefore, they may struggle to win corners, particularly as Burnley have a strong record of preventing them. Just once in the last 10 league games have Scott Parker’s side conceded a minimum of 5 corners.

In fact, The Clarets have denied the opponents claiming at least 5 corners in 24 of their 33 league fixtures all season. A large reason is surely because of their super strong defensive organisation, which has seen them go 11 league games without conceding a goal.