Aiming to ramp up their bid to climb out of the Championship relegation zone, Sheffield Wednesday will welcome Bristol City to Hillsborough on Saturday.
The Owls moved within four points of safety with a crucial win last weekend, while the visitors saw their gap up to the playoff places stretched to 10 points by a defeat.
Match preview
© Reuters
Sheffield Wednesday head into the weekend aiming to continue their surprise climb towards Championship safety under the management of Danny Rohl.
Following a particularly dismal start to the term, a nine-match span between late November and the beginning of the new year produced 16 points and left the Owls within touching distance of safety, and after dropping behind again with a subsequent rut, they have since bounced back in positive fashion.
On the back of a four-match winless run, the Owls hosted Birmingham City in early February and returned to winning ways in a 2-0 triumph thanks to Ike Ugbo's brace, and after falling to a 2-0 loss of their own away at league leaders Leicester City, they were most recently able to rebound and again come out on top in another relegation six-pointer away at fellow strugglers Millwall.
Ugbo put the South Yorkshire outfit ahead around the half-hour mark of that game, and after Anthony Musaba added a second late in the first half, they stood strong to come away with a crucial eighth league win of the campaign.
That result saw Sheffield Wednesday move within four points of Millwall in 21st spot with 13 league games to play, and with their survival hopes now in more of a promising position than at any other point in the season thus far, they will aim to gain further ground with a second straight triumph at the weekend with the chance to go within touching distance of Millwall and Huddersfield Town.
© Reuters
In their way stand a Bristol City side who will bid to keep their slim Championship playoff hopes alive at the weekend after suffering a setback last time out.
Under the management of Liam Manning, Saturday's visitors currently sit 12th in England's second tier, having earned 44 points from their 33 games so far and 23 from 18 outings since his November appointment.
Following a disappointing six-game winless streak between late December and early February, the Robins were able to keep their top-six hopes alive with a pair of victories to move within seven points of the playoff places with 14 games to go, beating Middlesbrough 2-1 away from home thanks to goals from Jason Knight and Matty James and ending promotion-chasing Southampton's 22-match unbeaten streak with a 3-1 triumph as Sam Bell, Rob Dickie and Harry Cornick all got on the scoresheet in the second half.
Aiming to build on those impressive results and ramp up the pressure on fifth and sixth spots, Manning's men most recently hosted strugglers Queens Park Rangers last weekend and saw their momentum halted in a 1-0 defeat, as Ilias Chair netted the only goal of the game late in the first half.
Having now dropped back into mid-table with their gap up to sixth spot again standing at 10 points with just 13 games to go, Bristol City will know that any outside chance of a playoff place this term will rest on them producing a fine streak of results heading into the run-in, starting with a return to winning ways at Hillsborough on Saturday.
Team News
© Reuters
Danny Rohl may opt to deploy an unchanged Sheffield Wednesday starting XI from their 2-0 win away at Millwall last time out, with Cameron Dawson, Dominic Iorfa, Callum Paterson and Josh Windass remaining sidelined by injuries, while Ashley Fletcher will serve a suspension after being sent off in injury time in a substitute appearance at The Den.
Rohl tweaked his system for that game with Liam Palmer dropping into a back five, and he should again join Michael Ihiekwe and Di'Shon Bernard in the middle of the defence after a rare clean sheet.
That leaves Will Vaulks and captain Barry Bannan to partner up in the engine room, while Anthony Musaba and Ian Poveda should again operate either side of lone striker Ike Ugbo, who has scored three goals in the last three Championship games after joining on loan from Troyes in January.
Bristol City will travel to Hillsborough without defenders Rob Atkinson and Kal Naismith, as they continue spells in the treatment room, meaning Zak Vyner and Rob Dickie will again partner up at the heart of a back four.
Ahead of them, Joe Williams should again join Matty James in midfield, while Manning has more options in the attacking areas in their 4-2-3-1 setup.
Nakhi Wells led the line against QPR, but Tommy Conway and Harry Cornick will both fight to start up front from the outset on Saturday, while Mark Sykes and January arrival Scott Twine will both compete to feature in a supporting trio after Anis Mehmeti, Jason Knight and Sam Bell were deployed last weekend.
Sheffield Wednesday possible starting lineup:
Beadle; Valentin, Palmer, Ihiekwe, Bernard, Johnson; Poveda, Bannan, Vaulks, Musaba; Ugbo
Bristol City possible starting lineup:
O'Leary; McCrorie, Dickie, Vyner, Roberts; James, Williams; Twine, Knight, Bell; Conway
We say: Sheffield Wednesday 2-1 Bristol City
Sheffield Wednesday are certainly gaining confidence in their fight for survival, and returning to home turf against a Bristol City side on the back of a disappointing result, we fancy them to put three more points on the board on Saturday.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Sam Varley
