Sheffield Wednesday selection ‘irrelevant’ to Sunderland plan for Carabao Cup clash says Alex Neil

The match will be Neil’s side’s first visit to S6 since they broke Owls hearts in the League One play-off semi-final.

And having achieved an opening day draw with much-fancied Coventry City and a win over Bristol City on Saturday, Neil has intimated a switch-up is to be expected when it comes to his selection for the midweek match.

Wednesday too are expected to make changes but what Darren Moore chooses to do with his team is ‘irrelevant’ to Sunderland’s plan, he said.

“I think every competition is important for different reasons,” he told BBC Radio Newcastle.

“If I’m being honest, regardless of whether Sheffield Wednesday change their team or not is irrelevant to me, we’ll be setting out to do what we were going to do in the first place, so that’s the first thing.”

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Sunderland have a good modern record in the EFL Cup, reaching the quarter-final last season as a third tier outfit before losing out to Premier League Arsenal.

The Mackems were runners-up in the competition as recently as 2014 and have made the fourth round on two occasions since.

And though Neil has made clear he sees the Hillsborough clash as a chance to refresh his squad and give chances to those on the periphery of the sides he has put out in the league so far, he laid down a challenge to those involved to use the evening as a chance to break in closer to his thinking.

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“I always think these competitions early on in the season are important,” he said. “The difficulty I have on people who are starting or not starting, on the bench or not on the bench, sometimes the difference between a starter or a non-starter is so marginal it’s ridiculous.

“When it gets to this stage it’s really important for those lads to put their best selves forward and show what they can do because this is their opportunity not only to show me, but the fans, the club, everyone that they deserve to be in the starting 11.”