On the first day of the Championship season, newly-relegated Aston Villa will travel to Hillsborough to face a very tricky test against a good Sheffield Wednesday side.

The Villains had an unbelievably disappointing season last time round as they finished rock bottom of the league.

Whereas the Owls had a very different season in the Championship, achieving a top-six finish, surprising a lot of people in the meantime.

Nothing less than promotion at the first time of asking is expected from Villa but it may not be as easy as that.

The Championship has proved a very difficult division to get out of and it just so happens that they face, arguably, one of the best sides in the league on the opening day.

Sheffield Wednesday could very well take advantage of Villa's poor season last time round and exploit their flaws on the first game of the season.

FLW writer Tom Rawcliffe identifies the Wednesday side who could romp Aston Villa on the opening day....

 

GK - Keiren Westwood

Keiren WestwoodKeiren Westwood

With Keiren Westwood, Sheffield Wednesday have one of the best goalkeepers in the whole of the Football League.

The Republic of Ireland international, who was part of the Euro 2016 squad, could arguably easily find himself a team in the Premier League but for now he remains with the Owls.

The former Premier League player has been with Wednesday for a couple of seasons now and he has played a crucial part in the club's success. He has helped the club to 32 clean sheets including 14 last season where the Owls reached the play-offs.

Aston Villa have been linked with signing some prolific strikers and they also have proven strikers in this division, such as Rudy Gestede, so Westwood will have to be on his game in order to keep them out.

 

RB - Jack Hunt

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Hunt only joined the club at the beginning of the last season, but since then he has made himself one of the first names on the team sheet.

The former Huddersfield full-back has impressed during his time at Hillsborough, but he can sometimes be a little bit inconsistent so Wednesday fans will be hoping that he can string together some consistently good performances next season.

The 25-year-old loves to get forward but can sometimes struggle defensively.

He may have to be on top form on the opening day as well as he could come up against promising winger Jack Grealish.

 

CB - Tom Lees

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Sheffield Wednesday arguably have one of the best centre-backs in the Championship with Tom Lees.

He is a player that every team in the league would be lucky to have in their ranks.

He adds a huge amount of solidity to the back line and during his 2 seasons with the club he has featured 90 times.

Lees will no doubt play a key part in the Villa match and he will do his bit to keep out Villa's dangerous forwards.

 

CB - Sam Hutchinson

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Despite his favoured and more natural position being in central defensive midfield, Hutchinson can also occupy the position of centre-back.

The former Chelsea man is very highly-rated at Hillsborough and his tough-tackling makes him a very solid player.

With him and Lees forming a partnership, they are guaranteed to not give any striker an easy time.

 

LB - Daniel Pudil

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Last season, current Watford player Daniel Pudil was on loan at Hillsborough and the Owls will be hoping to re-sign the Czech before the campaign starts.

He featured 42 times for the side and really locked down his place as first-choice left-back.

The 30-year-old is an all-rounder with him being great in both an attacking and defensive sense. He has a great left-foot on him and he is always a threat down the left hand side.

 

RM - Ross Wallace

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Wallace had a successful first season with Wednesday last time round with 6 goals and 10 assists to his name.

The former Scottish international is a very useful player to have, as he has not only got a great cross but he can also hit a great strike on goal.

Having a creative midfielder is crucial in all teams, especially those pushing for promotion, and Wallace certainly fits the bill.

 

CM - Kieran Lee

Kieran Lee

Lee has played a crucial part for Sheffield Wednesday after he joined the Owls from Oldham Athletic in 2012.

Since his move he has made himself a key player and he has featured almost 150 times for Carlos Carvalhal's side.

The former Manchester United player has the ability to produce pin-point passes and to create goal scoring opportunities. Villa will certainly have to keep this lad off of the ball as much as they can do otherwise they may find themselves in trouble.

 

CM - Barry Bannan 

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Barry Bannan has only spent one season at Hillsborough but he took no time to quickly become a fan's favourite.

The former Bolton Wanderers player had a great campaign last time round and he resultantly earned himself a place in the PFA's Sky Bet Championship Team of the Year.

Bannan used to play for Aston Villa, appearing 82 times for the Villains.

Every player loves playing against their former employers and Bannan should be no different, with him probably wanting to prove a point after his first-team opportunities became limited at Villa Park.

 

LM - Fernando Forestieri

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With Forestieri in the side, Wednesday will always be a threat going forward.

Every time that he gets the ball at his feet he scares defenders with his pace and trickery.

Despite his favoured position being up front, he may have to settle for a place in wide midfield due to the strength up top.

But this will be no problem because he is a potent threat both out wide and as a striker.

He has netted 35 goals in the Championship, including the 15 that he scored last season.

Villa will certainly have to watch this lad as he could cause them serious damage.

 

ST - Gary Hooper

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Last season in the Premier League, Aston Villa had the worst defensive record in the league, leaking 76 goals.

One person who will be looking to take advantage of this is Wednesday forward Gary Hooper.

Hooper has scored a lot of goals in his career and his 13 goals last season really helped the Owls to achieve a place in the play-off final.

He is always a handful up front and with a new striking partner, he may thrive even more.

 

ST - Steven Fletcher

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Fletcher is the only outfield player who has been brought to the club this summer, as he arrived after his departure from Sunderland.

The Scottish international is extremely experienced with 189 top flight appearances, with a return of over 50 goals.

However, he has never played in the Championship but he will be hoping that he can adapt to the division quickly and maybe even grab a goal against Aston Villa.