Sheffield gears up for another Steel City Derby
Hundreds of police will be on the streets for the match tonight
More than 300 police officers will flood the streets of Sheffield tonight - as thousands of fans turn out for another huge Steel City derby.
Some pubs and bars had to close last time United and Wednesday met back in September - after a few violent clashes between fans.
South Yorkshire Police say their plan's more flexible this time - with a heavy presence across the city, not just at Bramall Lane.
Chief Superidendent Shaun Morley says they've got a huge operation in force:
“We know that there were some concerns raised about this fixture taking place on a Friday evening, which is typically a busy night for the city centre anyway with its bustling night-time economy.
“We have been planning for this fixture for months, before the first derby match had even taken place, and I’m confident that we have the right plans in place that will allow those attending the match to do so safely, as well as anyone who wants to come into the city centre to enjoy the night-time economy.
“We have been working closely with both clubs and other partner agencies to ensure that we have done all we possibly can to prevent those individuals subject to strict banning orders from attending Friday night’s match."
On the pitch - it's a massive first test for new Owls boss Jos Luhukay whose squad is also plagued with injury doubts going into the game.
He's doubled the amount of training the team's been doing since he took over at the start of the week and says some of the under 23 squad could feature tonight.
He says it'll be a big occassion:
"It’s a special game of course, for everyone, derbies are special. We have a lot of respect for United, but I as a manager always have respect for every opponent. But they make a very good job, they have a good position in the league, so we must try to give our best. We know we lost the first derby game so we’ll try to change the situation.
"My team had not enough confidence I think, they need stability. We must have strong defending, we will go into attacking football but we must have a good balance. That’s why we have had intensive work together.
"It will be a fast game I think. It is a hard game, it is a game with atmosphere, with emotion, so you must also have a mentally strong situation."
Sheffield United are 9 places above their rivals in the Championship, sitting in 7th.
Chris Wider says he's got no injury doubts ahead of the game - and wants to take the momentum of their good form this season into the derby tonight.
He says they've looked into the new Wednesday manager:
"We’ve done a little bit of digging but it’s only three days that he’s (Ludokay) had to change the team around so I think the most celebrated of managers will find it difficult to change a lot of things round in a short period of time. We respect the opposition, we know it’s a derby game, any result can happen but you know, we’re really looking forward to what we can do and taking the game to the opposition.
"We’ve not changed our approach all season. We’ve been fearless, we’ve gone for it, and we’ve managed to gain some good results with our approach. We respect what’s in front of us and it’s up to us, our players, to overcome that.
"For everybody in the red and white half of the city it’s massive, no getting away from it. We didn’t change our approach for the first game, we said it was a big game for us, and we got a right result for our football club and we’ll be looking to do the same on Friday night."
Kick off's at 7.45.