Forestieri Primed to Fire Wednesday Back to the Premier League

The Championship Play-off Final this season has been dubbed the £170m game. Given what is at stake for both Sheffield Wednesday and Hull City in Saturday’s crunch match at Wembley, both teams will go all out to secure victory. Not only is there a place in the Premier League up for grabs, but also the massive financial windfall the comes with promotion to England’s top tier. 

With the gargantuan TV deal set to come into play from the start of next season - the team that finishes 20th stand to earn as much as the £100m Arsenal gained this campaign - victory is of the utmost importance to both teams. While much of the focus is on the Champions League final later on Saturday evening, it’s hard overlook the goings on at Wembley given the magnitude of the fixture. 

Both times Wednesday and Hull met in the Championship this season resulted in a draw, with little to separate the pair coming into the tie - other than nine points in the table. In both encounters, summer signing Fernando Forestieri had an impact, netting the opener in the 1-1 draw between the two sides at Hillsborough last October, before receiving his marching orders late on in the 0-0 draw at the KC Stadium back in February. 

The 26-year-old is hoping to replicate the former at Wembley having suffered final heartbreak while at Watford three years ago, falling to defeat at the hands of Crystal Palace. “Anything can happen in the play-offs,” Forestieri said this week. Indeed, the Championship’s final game of the season is one of the tougher affairs to call and given the unpredictability of the one-off encounter, adds to the sense of occasion. 

Factoring in the league meetings between the two sides this season and there is very little between Wednesday and Hull. Yet, in Forestieri, Owls boss Carlos Carvalhal has the match-winning performer required to fire the club back to the Premier League. The Argentina-born attacker netted an impressive 15 league goals in the regular season, nine of which were netted when he started in the number 10 role; no player bagged more in that position in the Championship. 

An average of 3.4 shots per game was also the most of all players in England’s second tier this season, not including the play-offs, and shines light on the player’s unwavering confidence in his pursuit of goal. While Forestieri ended the campaign with a conversion rate of just 12.2%, it’s clear Carvalhal built his attack around the former Watford star. 

He was rewarded with a series of fine performances in the final third. Forestieri was Wednesday’s highest rated player in the regular Championship season with a rating of 7.26. His 15 league goals was more than any other teammate, while a further six assists was a notable return, especially when taking into consideration Alan Judge and Johann Berg Gudmundsson (both 11) were the top goal creators in the Championship this term, excluding the play-offs. 

Opponents evidently found it difficult to contain Forestieri, though it was not for want of trying. Only Joe Garner (129) and Diego Fabbrini (108) were fouled more times than Forestieri (91) in the Championship this season. Yet it hardly affected his overall impact for Wednesday in their pursuit of promotion. While often required to perform the offensive duties, Forestieri was one who didn't shy away from the defensive responsibilities. An average of 2.5 tackles per game was second only to Kieran Lee (3.5) of all Wednesday players in the Championship this season.

Forestieri's willingness to involve himself in the physical battle for the club is a further reason why Wednesday are one win away from a return to the top-flight of English football. He justifiably comes into the playoff final as the Owls’ key man and if Hull are to secure an instant return to the Premier League, he is the player who needs to be kept in check. 

It’s a huge ask for midfielders Jake Livermore and Tom Huddlestone. The former Tottenham pair are expected to be the players tasked with keeping a close watch on Forestieri and they are likely to have their hands full on Saturday. Of course, their top-flight experience will weigh in Hull’s favour against Wednesday, but they can’t rest on their laurels if they are to limit Forestieri’s influence. If complacency sets in, you can be sure Wednesday’s primary offensive threat will punish the Tigers. 

Wednesday failed to bounce back to the Premier League following their relegation to England’s second tier back in 2000 and now have an excellent chance to reclaim their place among England’s elite. If Forestieri can maintain his fine goalscoring form to put the Hull backline to the sword, chances are high that he will put his 2013 play-off final disappointment behind him to fire Wednesday back to the Premier League.

Do you think Forestieri will fire Sheffield Wednesday back to the Premier League on Saturday? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below