Two of League One's giant clubs go head to head on Tuesday evening in search of three points, with Sheffield Wednesday hosting Sunderland at Hillsborough Stadium.

The hosts are looking for the winning formula to turn draws into wins after recording four in a row, whilst the visitors are looking for a response after their 5-1 hammering on Saturday.

Match preview

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Wednesday are still struggling to put together a consistent run of form since the opening four matches of the season, which saw them win three and draw one of their opening four league games since their relegation to League One.

Since then, Darren Moore's side have recorded just two further victories and although they have only tasted defeat three times in their opening 15 league fixtures, they have drawn on seven occasions.

Saturday's 2-2 draw at Cheltenham Town was the fourth in a row for the Owls, in yet another far from convincing display.

Chey Dunkley provided the equaliser for Wednesday just after the hour mark, after falling behind early on, but despite taking the lead less than 10 minutes from time via an own goal, they could not hang on and conceded in stoppage time.

Frustrations have been building within the fanbase and confidence in the manager and his team are falling quickly, with expectations of an immediate return to the Championship looking less and less likely to be fulfilled with each passing week.

The foundations for a promotion-winning side are certainly there for Wednesday, but a disappointing return of just 17 goals from their 15 games has been the primary reason for their inability to turn tight encounters into three points.

Tuesday evening against a fellow promotion contender will be viewed as a good time to kickstart their season but fortunes in front of goal will need to improve quickly for this to be the case.

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Meanwhile, Sunderland's long quest for a return to the second tier seemed to be on its most hopeful path yet after numerous failed attempts in recent years.

However, back-to-back league defeats have seen the Black Cats drop to fifth in the table, although this means that they remain in a far stronger position than their opponents despite the setbacks.

Sunderland fans would not have thought it could get much more disappointing than suffering a 1-0 defeat at home to relegation-threatened Charlton Athletic on the previous weekend, but the humiliating 5-1 thrashing at the hands of Rotherham United on Saturday certainly trumped it.

Although not a fantastic performance in the first half, Lee Johnson's side remained in the contest despite the 2-1 deficit heading into half time.

However, a four-minute disastrous spell proved to be the pivotal moment in the game, with Michael Ihiekwe extending Rotherham's advantage to 3-1, before Aiden McGeady was sent off for a second booking just three minutes later in the second half.

There was no way back for Sunderland then and they could only cling on to as respectable a scoreline as possible, but this did not turn out to be the case.

Johnson will be after a response from his players on Tuesday, but will be mindful of the fact that three of his side's four defeats this season have been on the road.

Team News

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The hosts could remain without at least five players for Tuesday's encounter with Sunderland.

Massimo Luongo and George Byers will remain unavailable after a couple of months out, although the duo are nearing returns and are featuring for the Under-23s in their bid to regain fitness.

Sam Hutchinson has suffered a setback during his recovery from injury and is expected to miss out again, whilst Josh Windass and Lewis Gibson are currently on the sidelines as well.

As for Sunderland, Denver Hume may remain unavailable depending on the results of his scan after he was forced off against Queens Park Rangers in the cup last week.

He was forced to sit out the defeat at Rotherham, as did Nathan Broadhead, who suffered a setback in his recovery and is expected to return against Mansfield Town at the weekend.

McGeady will serve his one-match suspension after his red card on Saturday, with Lynden Gooch possibly deputising in his place.

Sheffield Wednesday possible starting lineup:
Peacock-Farrell; Dunkley, Hunt, Palmer; Shodipo, Adeniran, Wing, Johnson; Bannan; Gregory, Berahino

Sunderland possible starting lineup:
Hoffmann; Winchester, Flanagan, Doyle, Cirkin; O'Nien, Neil; Dajaku, Pritchard, Gooch; Stewart

We say: Sheffield Wednesday 1-1 Sunderland

It is difficult to separate these two sides on Tuesday, particularly with their inconsistent form so far this season.

Both have exceptional quality in their ranks for this division and it could be a tight game, with a draw being our prediction here.

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