Both searching for three crucial points in the fight at the bottom of the Championship table, Millwall and Sheffield Wednesday will do battle at The Den on Saturday.
Having both suffered midweek defeats, the visitors sit 23rd in England's second tier, seven points adrift of their hosts in 21st spot.
Match preview
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Millwall head into the weekend aiming to break a dismal run of form in the Championship, having quickly dropped into a concerning position at the bottom end of the division.
A run of three straight victories over Queens Park Rangers, Norwich City and Bristol City during the festive period saw the Lions climb away from the threat of relegation and onto 32 points from 26 outings, but they have since failed to add another notch to their wins column in six further attempts.
Defeats to Middlesbrough and QPR followed, and then after a 1-1 draw at home to Preston North End, Joe Edwards's side now find themselves on the back of another three defeats on the bounce, starting with 1-0 and 2-1 losses away at playoff chasers Hull City and Coventry City respectively.
Fourth-placed Ipswich Town then visited The Den on Wednesday, and the hosts failed in their bid to bounce back, instead taking a 4-0 beating as Nathan Broadhead and Kieffer Moore got on the scoresheet alongside a Wes Harding own goal in the first half before Ali Al-Hamadi added a fourth in injury time.
Now sitting one place and just four points above the relegation zone as a result of their rut, and seven points ahead of their 23rd-placed visitors, Millwall will be desperate to end their losing run with a much-needed home victory on Saturday to increase their cushion in a bid to maintain their second-tier status this term.
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Their visitors, meanwhile, will set out to narrow that gap and move closer to safety at the weekend, having been cut adrift again in recent weeks after moving closer to safety in an inspired run under Danny Rohl.
After looking all but condemned to the drop back to League One with just one win on the board at the beginning of December, Sheffield Wednesday were able to give themselves a much-improved chance of jumping out of the bottom three as they went on to pick up five victories from the following eight matches, culminating in consecutive triumphs over Preston North End and Hull City either side of the turn of the year.
They have been unable to truly build on that upturn in form since, though, adding just one more notch to their wins column in the last six attempts as the pair of three-point hauls were then followed by defeats to Southampton, Coventry City and relegation rivals Huddersfield Town alongside a draw with Watford, before they were able to bounce back to winning ways in a crucial six-pointer against Birmingham City, prevailing in a 2-0 victory at Hillsborough thanks to Ike Ugbo's brace.
With a degree of renewed momentum from that result, the Owls most recently faced the unenviable task of a trip to league leaders Leicester City on Tuesday, and they would come away empty-handed as first-half goals from Abdul Fatawu and Jamie Vardy made the difference in a 2-0 home victory.
Now keen to move on from that tough test and get their survival bid back on track, Sheffield Wednesday will travel to The Den in search of an eighth league win of the campaign to reduce the gap to safety to four points.
Team News
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Joe Edwards may opt to make several changes to his Millwall starting XI after their heavy midweek defeat, although he has limited options in attack with Ryan Longman, Kevin Nisbet and Aidomo Emakhu remaining sidelined by injuries.
Instead, Tom Bradshaw may again lead the line with support from Zian Flemming and Romain Esse, although January arrival Michael Obafemi should return to contention and will fight to come back in from the outset.
Elsewhere, Japhet Tanganga may return in a back three after Ryan Leonard and Wes Harding were preferred alongside Jake Cooper last time out, while Casper De Norre and Allan Campbell will fight to displace George Saville and George Honeyman in the engine room.
Sheffield Wednesday continue to deal with several injury issues of their own, with Dominic Iorfa, Callum Paterson, Momo Diaby and Josh Windass likely remaining confined to the treatment room.
Ian Poveda and Ike Ugbo arrived in January to bolster the Owls' attacking ranks, with the latter netting a brace in their win over Birmingham, and they should again feature from the outset with Djeidi Gassama and Bailey Cadamarteri also set to continue in the front line.
Captain Barry Bannan continues to play a key role in midfield with Will Vaulks likely anchoring, while Di'Shon Bernard and Michael Ihiekwe should fight off competition from Bambo Diaby to again get the nod in the middle of a back four.
Millwall possible starting lineup:
Sarkic; Leonard, Tanganga, Cooper; McNamara, De Norre, Saville, Wallace; Obafemi, Bradshaw, Flemming
Sheffield Wednesday possible starting lineup:
Beadle; Valentin, Bernard, Ihiekwe, Johnson; Vaulks; Ugbo, Bannan, Poveda, Gassama; Cadamarteri
We say: Millwall 1-1 Sheffield Wednesday
In a pivotal game for both teams' survival bids this season, we anticipate a cagey affair at The Den on Saturday and cannot envisage one getting the better of the other, instead opting for a share of the spoils.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Sam Varley
