Sheffield Wednesday face the unenviable task of hosting Manchester City in the FA Cup this evening, and Barry Bannan is all too aware of the dangers posed by Pep Guardiola’s side.

The Citizens lifted the Carabao Cup trophy on Sunday and will likely be eager for more domestic success this season as they look set to miss out on the Premier League title.

City even had the luxury of resting key players at the weekend, including Riyad Mahrez and Kevin De Bruyne, suggesting they could line up at Hillsborough, and Bannan is determined to stop the latter.

His aim to stop the Belgian is a target not many teams have managed to achieve this season, as the 28-year-old’s return of nine goals and 18 assists this year would suggest.

That has led many fans to reject Bannan’s idea that he and his teammates can reduce De Bruyne’s influence, with some choosing to mock the Scot’s comments.

A run of just two wins in 13 league games since Christmas indicates why there is such pessimism amongst the fanbase currently. The Owls have conceded 10 goals in five games, too, which suggests a team like the current Premier League champions could run riot against them.

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Derby managed that on Saturday and led 3-0 at half-time with Wayne Rooney pulling the strings in the middle of the pitch, and some supporters think that a failure to deal with the 34-year-old shows that Wednesday will really struggle with De Bruyne, and one fan fears the worst because of that.

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In other news, Owls’ fans have also been directing criticism at another player, but for a much bigger reason…