Marti Cifuentes will surely end Sheffield Wednesday curse as Leicester City clash looms | OneFootball

Marti Cifuentes has never beaten Sheffield Wednesday, but that will surely change when his Leicester City side take on the Owls next weekend.

With just over a week to go until the start of the new Championship season, it is fair to say that few teams have ever gone into a campaign as unprepared as Sheffield Wednesday.

It has been a nightmare summer for Wednesday, and after failing to pay the wages of players and staff on time in May and June, they were hit with a three-window ban on paying transfer fees, while they also remain under a transfer embargo for the non-payment of fees to other clubs.

In an attempt to raise funds, under-fire Owls owner Dejphon Chansiri has sold star wingers Anthony Musaba and Djeidi Gassama to Samsunspor and Rangers respectively for a combined total of just £3 million, while Josh Windass and Michael Smith had their contracts terminated by mutual consent after handing in their notices.

While Wednesday supporters are desperate for some positive news, it has been another difficult week at Hillsborough, with manager Danny Rohl departing on Tuesday after a summer of speculation over his future, and on the same day, the club were served with a prohibition notice that will prevent them from using the North Stand until the required safety work is completed.

It seems there could be further trouble ahead for the Owls as players are believed to have been informed that they will not receive their July wages on time, and it has even been claimed that they could refuse to play as a consequence, which raises question marks over whether the club's opening fixtures will go ahead.

However, should the dispute be resolved ahead of their first game of the season against newly-relegated Leicester City at the King Power Stadium next Sunday, Wednesday will come up against a familiar face in the opposition dugout.

Marti Cifuentes will begin Leicester City reign against Sheffield Wednesday

After parting company with Ruud van Nistelrooy following their relegation from the Premier League, Leicester were linked with former Wednesday manager Rohl, but they instead appointed ex-Queens Park Rangers head coach Marti Cifuentes.

Cifuentes did an excellent job during his 18-month spell in charge at Loftus Road before being placed on gardening leave in April ahead of his eventual departure in June, but he found the Owls to be tough opponents.

The Spaniard's first meeting with Wednesday came back in December 2023 at Hillsborough when both sides were languishing in the Championship relegation zone, and the R's were leading 1-0 with just four minutes remaining, but late goals from Bailey Cadamarteri and Musaba turned the game around to seal a crucial victory for the hosts.

The stakes were even higher in the reserve fixture at Loftus Road in April during the crunch period of the season, but the Owls again came out on top, with second-half goals from Gassama and Musaba earning them a deserved three points.

After Wednesday and QPR both managed to achieve Championship survival, the first game between the pair last season came at Hillsborough in September, and it looked as though Barry Bannan had won the game for the South Yorkshire outfit when he put them ahead in the 93rd minute, but Alfie Lloyd scrambled home an equaliser just three minutes later to salvage an unlikely point for the R's.

That proved to be a rare moment of joy for Cifuentes against the Owls, but it did not last long as the Hoops were on the receiving end of another 2-0 home defeat to Rohl's men in January, with goals from Smith and Paterson settling the game on that occasion.

Marti Cifuentes has a big opportunity to fix Sheffield Wednesday record with Leicester City

Cifuentes may only have picked up one point from four games against Wednesday during his time as QPR manager, but it is difficult to see anything other than a victory for his Leicester side next Sunday.

Assuming the squad are willing to play amid their ongoing wage dispute, new Owls manager Henrik Pedersen will be keen to start what looks set to be a challenging tenure on a positive note, but given the gulf in quality between the two teams, it will likely be almost impossible for his side to compete.

With captain Barry Bannan yet to sign a new contract, Wednesday have lost 45 of their 60 league goals from last season through player departures this summer, and as the squad currently looks incredibly thin, Pedersen may have to field a number of youngsters against the Foxes.

In contrast, Leicester are yet to lose any of their stars following relegation, aside from the departure of legendary striker Jamie Vardy at the end of his contract, so Cifuentes will have an embarrassment of riches at his disposal as he prepares to name his first starting line-up since taking over at the King Power Stadium.

Complacency is the only thing that could prevent the Foxes from securing all three points against the Owls, and Cifuentes must ensure that his players approach the game with the right attitude, but in truth, the real question is about how great the margin of victory will be for the hosts, rather than whether they will win the match.

Having suffered plenty of frustration at Wednesday's hands, Cifuentes will never have a better opportunity to break the curse that has haunted him over the past two seasons than the one that awaits next Sunday.