The clash against Wednesday is the first home game of the season, and the first Division One game that the Madejski has hosted.
Pards feel that his team are better than Saturday's performance - although the painful defeat battered their confidence slightly.
Pardew told readingfc.co.uk: "We had a difficult game on Saturday, it's not going to be any easier tonight but we'd like to get off to a good start. This is a big test for us, the Sky cameras are here, everyone will be watching.
"It's our first home game in Division One and we want to set the right agenda. Our confidence was hurt a bit on Saturday but our resolve has grown. That wasn't us at Derby - we're better than that.
"The fans generated loads of noise on Saturday - they were fantastic. We were disappointed not to give them something to cheer about with our second half performance. Their response at the end of the game was brilliant.
"Although we didn't play well and we didn't pass it well, our discipline and work rate was there again. You couldn't fault these boys, they're honest but we need to improve a bit on quality, we know that.
"Sheffield Wednesday have got some great players. Sibon up front is a fantastic talent, he's 6ft 4in and oozing class. One of the highlights of this season is that we'll have quality players come to our ground, but we need our players to come to the fore, and that's what we're looking for."