Two Championship sides moving in opposite directions meet on Saturday afternoon as Sheffield Wednesday host Fulham at Hillsborough.
The hosts are winless in six league games, while Fulham are on a three-match winning streak in all competitions.
Wednesday
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It was a bright start to the season for the Owls when they comfortably saw off newly-promoted Bristol City, but since then they have picked up just three points out of a possible 18 to slump to 18th in the table.
That leaves them just a point off the relegation zone, so defeat here could see them drop into the bottom three ahead of their third-round Capital One Cup tie away at Premier League strugglers Newcastle United on Wednesday.
Last Saturday they matched high-flying Burnley at Turf Moor, but failed to take their chances and two late goals saw them go down 3-1 in Lancashire. They played again in Red Rose county on Tuesday night, stumbling to a goalless draw against lowly Bolton Wanderers.
Carlos Carvalhal has admitted that his side must be more clinical in front of goal and he will hope that a return home will provide Fernando Forestieri with the platform to score his first goal for the club after some bright moments against Burnley and Bolton.
If the Owls are to find the net, it will extend their run of scoring in the league at home to 11 matches, a streak that stretches back to their goalless draw with Brighton & Hove Albion on Valentine's Day. However, they have failed to score more than two at Hillsborough since April 2014, a run of 28 matches.
The trip to Bolton was the first of a four-match run against sides in the bottom half, with a trip to Brentford and visit from Preston North End following the League Cup tie at Newcastle.
Recent Championship form: LDDLLD
Recent form (all competitions): DDWLLD
Fulham
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Three wins in a row in all competitions for Kit Symons's side and if they make it four it will be the first time since their famous 2009-10 campaign that they have managed four victories on the bounce.
Back-to-back league wins saw them, astonishingly, climb into the Championship's top half on Sunday for the first time since their relegation in 2014, but as their midweek fixture against Wolverhampton Wanderers was rearranged due to other teams playing on a busy Wednesday night in West London, they have slipped back to 13th.
The Cottagers have scored eight and conceded only two in their recent winning streak, last time out edging Blackburn Rovers 2-1 at home.
Ross McCormack and Moussa Dembele put Symons's side in control, but Blackburn fought back in the second half and will feel hard done by as they seemed to have a fair goal ruled out when the officials failed to spot that the ball had crossed the line.
Fulham are chasing three league wins in a row for the first time since March 2012, but their run could be viewed as easy because the two sides they have beaten for their first maximums of the season, Rotherham United and Blackburn Rovers, prop up the rest in 23rd and 24th.
A good run against the sides below them must provide the platform for better results against those higher up if Fulham are to become a playoff contender this season.
Recent Championship form: DLLDWW
Recent form (all competitions): LLDWWW
Team News
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Last season's Championship goalkeeper of the season, Keiren Westwood, has completed 90 minutes just once this season but is now fully fit and could replace youngster Joe Wildsmith between the sticks for Wednesday.
Carvalhal made two changes to his backline for Tuesday's match and could go with the same defence again, leaving club captain Glenn Loovens on the bench, after their clean sheet at the Macron Stadium.
Symons is likely to go with the same side that started against Blackburn given that they have had six days' rest.
Ryan Fredereicks was one of the substitutes used against Rovers, but he will not be available in two days' time due to a knock. Symons said today that there is no need to risk the full-back as he is cup-tied for Tuesday's League Cup tie against Stoke City, so has plenty of time to recover before next weekend's visit of Queens Park Rangers.
Wednesday possible starting lineup:
Westwood; Hunt, Turner, Lees, Pudil; Lee, Hutchinson, Bannan; Forestieri, Nuhiu, Matias
Fulham possible starting lineup:
Lonergan; Richards, Stearman, Ream, Husband; Cairney, Tunnicliffe, O'Hara, Pringle; McCormack, Dembele
Head To Head
Five of the last six league meetings between these two sides have ended in a draw, including their last encounter, which was a 1-1 draw in May.
Wednesday's scoring run at home is mentioned above, but if Fulham find the net at Hillsborough it will be the 13th time in 14 matches that they have scored against the Owls.
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Hit play below to see what the Sports Mole Sofa had to say about this encounter:
We say: Wednesday 2-2 Fulham
Wednesday were perhaps a little unfortunate not to take more than one point from their two Lancastrian trips, but a match against an in-form Fulham side might not offer the chance to get their first win since the opening day. Draws have been the order of the day in recent years and it could be so again on Saturday.
Pascal Lemesre
