Sheffield Wednesday face arguably their toughest game this season yet as they make the trip to face West Brom on Saturday.

Garry Monk’s side are well within reach of pushing for promotion this season but face a tough game on Saturday as they make the trip to the Hawthorns to face a West Brom side who currently sit top of the table by two points.

The Owls sit outside the play-off places at the moment on 25 points, as they are three behind sixth-placed Bristol City, knowing that a win could help bridge the gap to the top six with Bristol facing Nottingham Forest on Saturday. 

The international break has left Garry Monk with serious food for thought surrounding his squad as players return to fitness, along with the fact that individual errors in recent fixtures have meant his side have squandered a potential seven points from winning positions late on.

With this in mind, we take a look at three decisions facing Garry Monk ahead of the West Brom game on Saturday…

Who to play at centre-back?

At present, Wednesday have had to deal with multiple injuries to their back four. This has meant they have already had to call upon four different centre-back pairings, with Tom Lees, Julian Borner, Dominic Iorfa, and Sam Hutchinson all playing there this campaign at some point.

Borner recently suffered a twisted ankle during the warm-up before the 0-0 draw with Leeds last month, around a similar time that Lees was nearing a return to the lineup. As it has been rare that both players have been fit at the same time, natural right-back Dominic Iorfa has deputised very well for both players.

The decision that Garry Monk now faces is that after an international break for his squad to gain fitness, he must decide on who to play in defence. If Lees and Borner are both fit then it would mean that Iorfa has to sit out, which might seem harsh considering he could play right-back, but Liam Palmer has also been in fine form of late.

Does he start Westwood?

Wednesday’s last league game was a dramatic 2-2 draw with Swansea at Hillsborough in which the hosts came from behind to score two late goals, which they surely would have thought would clinch the game.

However, a late mix-up from a corner saw a deep cross drift over Keiren Westwood for Ben Wilmot to tap home into an empty net, seeing Swansea snatch a draw.

The dilemma facing Monk in this department is whether he continues to place his faith in Westwood after his inability to deal with crosses against the Swans led to both goals, or play Cameron Dawson who has filled in very well of late and has a point to prove with his contract running down.

Who to play up front?

There is seemingly no doubt that Steven Fletcher will be the first attacking name on the team sheet, with stellar performances in all aspects of his play this season. However, with the Owls typically operating with two strikers under Monk, it begs the question of who they pick to partner Fletcher.

The two main candidates appear to be Atdhe Nuhiu and Fernando Forestieri. Garry Monk’s dilemma stems from how he sets up against West Brom knowing that the hosts will probably have the lion’s share of possession.

Opting for Nuhiu gives Wednesday a focal point to hit long balls to and have an outlet to play within West Brom’s half, along with his threat in the air. However, choosing Forestieri gives Wednesday the spark to create a chance out of virtually nothing, but will be sacrificing that physical presence.

Garry Monk has a tendency to be very pragmatic in his tactical choices so it is difficult to see who he will start against West Brom up front.