Sheffield Wednesday will be bidding to continue their impressive run of form in League One when they travel to Fleetwood Town on Tuesday night.
The Owls will enter this match off the back of a 3-1 victory over Doncaster Rovers on Saturday, while Fleetwood suffered a 2-0 loss at Cheltenham Town in their last game on February 12.
Match preview
Fleetwood were due to take on Lincoln City on Saturday, but the fixture was postponed due to snow coverage on the pitch at Highbury Stadium, so the Cod Army have not been in action since losing 2-0 at Cheltenham on February 12, which ended a four-game unbeaten run.
Indeed, Stephen Crainey's side drew four straight league matches against Plymouth Argyle, Cambridge United, Shrewsbury Town and MK Dons before losing at Cheltenham, with their last victory in League One coming at home to Rotherham United in the middle of January.
Fleetwood, who finished 15th in the third tier last season, are currently 19th in the League One table, boasting 32 points from their 31 matches.
The fact that the Cod Army are only two points above the drop zone heading into the next set of fixtures is a concern, but they have games in hand on a number of the sides around them.
Fleetwood's home form this season has been inconsistent, picking up 20 points from 16 matches, and they will be hosting a Sheffield Wednesday side with the sixth-best away record in the third tier this term.
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The visitors will enter this match off the back of a 3-1 victory at Doncaster on Saturday, with the visitors turning the game around in the second half courtesy of goals from Callum Paterson, Saido Berahino and Barry Bannan.
Sheffield Wednesday have now won five of their last six in the league, which has left them in eighth position in the table, level on points with sixth-placed Wycombe Wanderers.
Darren Moore's side are finding strong form at a vital stage of the campaign and will be looking to end February with back-to-back wins over Fleetwood and Charlton Athletic before welcoming Burton Albion to Hillsborough at the start of March.
Sheffield Wednesday finished bottom of the Championship last season to drop down to this level, but they will fancy their chances of claiming at least a playoff spot in the final months of the campaign.
The Owls recorded a 1-0 victory when they welcomed Fleetwood earlier this season, while they have won their last two away league games against Burton Albion and Doncaster, scoring five times in the process.
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Team News
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Having not played since February 12, Fleetwood will be the fresher of the two teams heading into this match, and head coach Crainey has no fresh injury concerns ahead of the contest.
The team is expected to be similar to the one that took to the field against Cheltenham, with a 4-3-3 formation set to include Ellis Harrison at centre-forward.
There could be a change in midfield, though, with Harvey Macadam pushing to be involved, which could see Harrison Biggins drop down to the bench.
As for Sheffield Wednesday, Paterson and Berahino both scored off the bench against Doncaster on Saturday, and it would not be a surprise to see the pair come into the starting side for this match.
Lee Gregory was not risked on Saturday, but he could come back into the squad for this game, while Lewis Gibson made his return from injury as a substitute against Doncaster.
Nathaniel Mendez-Laing, Harlee Dean and Tyreece John-Jules remain on the sidelines for the Owls.
Fleetwood Town possible starting lineup:
Cairns; Johnson, Nsiala, Jules, Andrew; Lane, Batty, Macadam; Pilkington, Harrison, Butterworth
Sheffield Wednesday possible starting lineup:
Peacock-Farrell; Brennan, Storey, Palmer; Hunt, Byers, Luongo, Bannan, Johnson; Berahino, Paterson
We say: Fleetwood Town 1-2 Sheffield Wednesday
Fleetwood will certainly be the fresher of the two sides heading into the contest, but Sheffield Wednesday's recent form has been excellent, and we are expecting the Owls to pick up another three points in their fight for a playoff spot.
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Sheffield Wednesday win with a probability of 51%. A win for Fleetwood Town had a probability of 24.76% and a draw had a probability of 24.2%.
The most likely scoreline for a Sheffield Wednesday win was 0-1 with a probability of 10.54%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-2 (9.63%) and 0-2 (8.83%). The likeliest Fleetwood Town win was 1-0 (6.87%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (11.5%). The actual scoreline of 2-3 was predicted with a 2.9% likelihood. Our team at Sports Mole and our data analysis both correctly predicted that Sheffield Wednesday would win this match.
