Sheffield Wednesday will be aiming to pick themselves up on the back of successive defeats when they host Queens Park Rangers in the Championship on Saturday.

The Owls were knocked out of the EFL Cup last week and then went down 2-0 to Bristol City, while QPR have made an identical start to the season with four points from three games.

Match preview

Queens Park Rangers players celebrate scoring against Nottingham Forest on September 12, 2020 © Reuters

Confidence was high at Wednesday after earning a deserved 2-0 win over Cardiff City on the opening weekend of the season, but Garry Monk's men have since lost their way a little.

The Yorkshire outfit played out a goalless draw with Watford in their next league match and that was swiftly followed by those aforementioned losses in the league and cup.

Wednesday's record is identical to that of opponents QPR, the difference being Monk's men were hit with a 12-point deduction before a ball was kicked for breaching spending rules.

The gap on safety is now eight points and Wednesday will want to get themselves out of the relegation zone as soon as possible, before then re-evaluating their targets.

If they are to do that, the Owls quite simply need to improve on a pretty dismal record at Hillsborough that has seen them go eight games without a win in all competitions.

Sheffield Wednesday's Jacob Murphy celebrates scoring against QPR in the Championship on July 11, 2020 © Reuters

Going further back, they have won only one of their last 14 matches on home soil. QPR are hardly the best travellers, though, taking two points from the last 24 on offer.

Something has got to give in that regard, then, and the visitors have a good record in this fixture, winning on their last two league visits to Hillsborough.

Mark Warburton's side played out a 1-1 draw with Middlesbrough in their most recent game, having also beaten Nottingham Forest and lost to Coventry City so far.

It is a mixed return and the Rs' campaign could still go either way. Likewise, Wednesday will know the importance of three points this weekend if they are to revive their season.

Sheffield Wednesday Championship form: WDL
Sheffield Wednesday form (all competitions): WWDLL

Queens Park Rangers Championship form: WLD
Queens Park Rangers form (all competitions): LWLD

Team News

Callum Paterson in action for Cardiff on January 25, 2020 © Reuters

Callum Paterson completed a bargain £500,000 switch from Cardiff on Wednesday and is in contention to make his debut on Saturday.

Wednesday are without a goal in three matches and Paterson could provide a bit of added spark in attack alongside one of Josh Windass, Elias Kachunga or Jordan Rhodes.

Alex Hunt is back after recovering from a knee issue, meanwhile, but Massimo Luongo, Barry Bannan and Izzy Brown seem certain to start in midfield, with a 3-5-2 formation expected.

As for the visitors, goalkeeper Joe Lumley was left out of the squad last weekend because of doubts over his future.

Not a lot has changed in that regard, so Seny Dieng is expected to start again between the sticks at Hillsborough.

Up top, summer signing Lyndon Dykes has two goals in three games since joining and will lead the line, with attacking midfielder Ilias Chair positioned just off him.

Sheffield Wednesday possible starting lineup:
Dawson; Iorfa, Lees, Van Aken; Palmer, Luongo, Bannan, Brown, Harris; Windass, Paterson

Queens Park Rangers possible starting lineup:
Dieng; Kakay, Dickie, Barbet, Wallace; Cameron, Amos; Thomas, Chair, Samuel; Dykes

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We say: Sheffield Wednesday 1-1 Queens Park Rangers

Wednesday are winless in seven home league matches and QPR have failed to pick up a victory in their last four away outings.

That, combined with the sides' identical records from the first three games this term, suggests that the points could be shared on Saturday.

Top betting tip

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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 37.49%. A win for Queens Park Rangers had a probability of 34.54% and a draw had a probability of 28%.

The most likely scoreline for a Sheffield Wednesday win was 1-0 with a probability of 11.47%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (7.93%) and 2-0 (6.92%). The likeliest Queens Park Rangers win was 0-1 (10.9%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (13.15%). The actual scoreline of 1-1 was predicted with a 13.2% likelihood.