'Littered with...' - Portsmouth boss John Mousinho's honest verdict on Sheffield Wednesday ahead of Fratton Park head-to-head

John Mousinho believes Sheffield Wednesday remain a ‘very dangerous’ side - that’s in spite of their well-documented off-the-field troubles and their current position in the Championship’s relegation zone.

As a consequence, the Pompey boss will be stressing to his players before Saturday’s game at Fratton Park that the Owls’ starting XI is littered with Championship quality and must not be taken lightly.

The Blues welcome Henrik Petersen’s side to PO4 keen to build on a solid start to the season that has seen them accumulate eight points from their opening five games.

That sees Pompey sit ninth in the table, following Sunday’s goalless draw against fierce-rivals Southampton, and seven points clear of second-from bottom Wednesday, who are yet to win any of their league games to date.

Despite that early-season gap and contrasting form, Mousinho is refusing to underestimate the latest challenge awaiting his side.

He firmly believes the Owls - who lost a host of first-team players in the summer because of controversial owner Dejphon Chansiri’s continued ownership of the club and are under a transfer embargo - remain a serious threat and can count themselves unlucky in the Championship games they’ve played so far.

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John Mousinho’s respect for Sheffield Wednesday

Speaking to The News ahead of the game, the Blues head coach said: ‘As a team, it's an interesting one if you look at all the problems that the football club have had over the summer.

‘The starting XI that they put out for the majority of the league games is still very, very strong.

‘It's still a Championship starting XI, littered with some really, really strong Championship players. Barry Bannon, obviously, is still there, Liam Palmer, Jan Valery and (Dominic) Alorfa, (Ethan) Horvath in goal.

‘There's plenty of very, very well-recognised Championship names that I could keep going across the XI. And I think that means they're a very real threat.

‘They're a side that's had good success in the League Cup, been unlucky in the league, definitely been unlucky in the league, I think. And they've shown some real glimpses in certain games, particularly the Wrexham game, coming from two goals down away from home against a very strong side.

‘That's not a side that's reflecting what's going on off the pitch at the minute there. They're a very, very dangerous side and a very good side when things get going.’

Sheffield Wednesday injury problems ahead of Pompey game

Wednesday have injury problems going into the game, with seven players not making the trip to the south coast - including former Blues loanee Di’Shon Bernard.

Olaf Kobacki and Reece Johnson were the latest to be added to the Owls’ injury list after they hobbled off during Tuesday night’s Carabao Cup defeat at the hands of Grimsby, forcing Peterseon to once again look to his youth ranks for back-up.

An inexperienced bench is, therefore, expected to accompany that strong starting XI that Mousinho spoke about to Fratton Park.

And that’s something he believes might eventually catch up on Wednesday as the season progresses.

Mousinho added: ‘Yeah, I think that's the area, that squad depth is certainly probably the difference.

‘I would talk about the starting XI there. I think as you go a bit deeper, because of what's happened in the summer, that's probably been an area of difficulty for the football club to try and strengthen.’

Michael Smith, Josh Windas, Pol Valentin, Callum Paterson, Akin Famewo are among the host of players who left Hillsborough during the summer.

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