Sheffield Wednesday 2015/16 season
League Position: 6th (2014/15: 13th)
Average league attendance: 22,641 (2014/15: 21,993)
Top league goalscorer: Fernando Forestieri (15)
Sheffield Wednesday's season ended in a painful defeat at the Play-Off Final at Wembley Stadium; a cruel prize for such a good season, which saw them finish sixth and then beat Brighton in the Semi-Final.
The summer transfer window saw The Owls recruit 16 new faces to the dressing room at Hillsborough. That included a vast array of talent from the Mediterranean with Marco Matias [Nacional]; Felipe Melo [Moreirense] and Lucas Joao [Nacional] joining from Portugal. Fernando Forestieri [Watford]; Sergiu Bus [CSKA Sofia]; Alex Lopez [Celta Vigo] and Vincent Sasso [SC Braga] also added experience despite their young ages with international youth caps for Italy, Romania, Spain and France respectively.
In Jack Hunt [Crystal Palace]; Ross Wallace [Burnley] and Lewis Price [Crystal Palace] they found division experience, with well over 350 appearances in the EFL between them.
The first half of the season saw them creep up the table to seventh, just a point behind Ipswich Town and two behind Burnley above them. A 3-0 win over Birmingham City on Boxing Day helped push them further away from the teams below them too, including Cardiff City and Brentford. By the end of March, the team had jumped a position into the top six and would soon face games against the teams around them in Derby County and Ipswich. A 1-1 draw with Derby wasn't considered a resounding success but the victories against Cardiff and Huddersfield Town ensured they would make the Play-Offs.
The Owls cruised to victory in the first leg of the Semi-Final, then drew 1-1 in the follow-up three days later. The Final was won by a fabulous strike from Mohamed Diame, a well-fought but bitter defeat to take.
The Ground
Hillsborough Stadium Owlerton Sheffield S6 1SW Click here for directions to Hillsborough
The Manager
After almost three years away from the game, Carlos Carvalhal joined Wednesday in the summer and has now been in charge for an entire season. The 50-year-old, who spent the majority of his playing career at Braga, succeeded Stuart Gray.
This is Carvalhal's 15th club management job, following spells with Sporting Lisbon, CF Belenenses and SC Braga in his native Portugal. His last position was at Turkish giants Besiktas, where he acted as caretaker manager.
The First Meeting
5 October 1935, Football League Division One - Brentford 2 Sheffield Wednesday 2 Brentford meet Wednesday for the first time in England's top division, the first time The Bees had made an appearance in the competition.
The Last Meeting
13 February 2016, Sky Bet Championship - Sheffield Wednesday 4 Brentford 0 Brentford XI: Button; Colin, Dean, Barbet, Bidwell; Kerschbaumer, Woods; Canos, Judge, Yennaris; Hofmann A red card shown to Yoann Barbet after only five minutes makes things difficult as The Bees are swept aside by clinical opposition.
Head to Head
Brentford wins: 9 Draws: 12 Wednesday wins: 13