Sheffield Wednesday’s upcoming Championship trip to Leeds United will be shown on free-to-air television following confirmation of a ground-breaking agreement.
Wednesday return to league action with a short journey north to Elland Road next Sunday, following their FA Cup third round clash at Coventry City this weekend. Danny Rohl’s side will be hoping to build on a decent start to 2025 in which they beat Derby county 4-2 before levelling late to draw 2-2 at home to Millwall, with focus on climbing further up the division rather than simply avoiding relegation.
The Owls lost 2-0 at home to Leeds in the reverse fixture way back in August and will face a huge challenge getting anything from a ground only Burnley left with all three points. The Yorkshire derby kicks off at Elland Road at 12pm on Saturday, January 19 and will now take on special significance, as confirmed by the EFL on Wednesday morning.
Leeds vs Wednesday decision
Sky Sports picked Wednesday’s January visit to Elland Road as one of their TV picks some time ago but those without a subscription will also be able to watch, with the EFL confirming ITV will also broadcast the game simultaneously. A statement said: “ITV will broadcast two Sky Bet Championship fixtures as part of an agreement with Sky Sports and the EFL to give all UK football fans the chance to watch free-to-air coverage.”
Those watching on television can either flick to Sky Sports Football or ITV1, while anyone on the go can log in to the Sky Sports or ITVX apps to stream the Elland road clash live. Leeds vs Wednesday is the first of two Championship games this season to be picked for the ground-breaking agreement, with Middlesbrough vs Sunderland to follow on Monday, February 3.
Mark Demuth, Controller of ITV Sport, said: “We are delighted to continue our relationship with the EFL by broadcasting free-to-air fixtures for our viewers to enjoy. The Carabao Cup and Sky Bet Championship are staples of English football and I am sure fans will relish the opportunity to watch on ITV Sport.”
Trevor Birch, Chief Executive of the EFL, added: “The EFL is home to some of the most popular and exciting competitions in world football, and the competition for promotion places is already shaping up to be as competitive as ever across the three divisions as we head into the second half of the season.
“We are delighted that this agreement between the League, ITV and Sky Sports will open them up to an even wider audience, and would like to extend our thanks to both partners for making this possible.”
Wednesday looking up
One win in four presents a slight drop off in form for Wednesday but the optimist might suggest they have only lost once in that same period, and have in fact lost just one of their last six in the league games. Rohl’s men are picking up points at a rate keeping them within arm’s reach of a play-off place and things are incredibly tight between mid-table and the top-four.
Leeds, Sheffield United, Burnley and Sunderland look to be fighting for automatic promotion but between fifth and 11th, there are just five points. That leaves seven teams fighting for two final play-off places and Wednesday are right in there, with just three points separating them and sixth-placed West Brom.
A significant improvement has allowed Wednesday fans to really start looking up going into 2025, but they will need to produce one of their best performances to get anything from Elland Road. Leeds have taken 28 points from the last 30 on offer at home, keeping an impressive seven clean sheets in that 10-game run.
Discussion about this post