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Sheffield Wednesday logo
Championship | Gameweek 31
Feb 20, 2021 at 3pm UK
Hillsborough Stadium
Birmingham logo

Sheff Weds
0 - 1
Birmingham


Shaw (44')
Shaw (50')
FT(HT: 0-0)
Hogan (63')
Clarke-Salter (22'), Etheridge (53')

Preview: Sheffield Wednesday vs. Birmingham City - prediction, team news, lineups

Sports Mole previews Saturday's Championship clash between Sheffield Wednesday and Birmingham City, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

Relegation rivals Sheffield Wednesday and Birmingham City face off in a huge clash at the bottom end of the Championship on Saturday afternoon.

The two sides are in the relegation zone after tasting defeat in midweek and are locked level on points heading into this game at Hillsborough.


Match preview

Sheffield Wednesday caretaker manager Neil Thompson pictured in February 2021© Reuters

Wednesday were always likely to spend the campaign fighting for survival after being hit with a 12-point deduction, later reduced to six on appeal.

That has proved the case, the Owls finding themselves second from bottom with 29 games of their campaign played - one match fewer than Birmingham.

City were perhaps not expecting to be embroiled in a relegation dogfight, however, especially with Aitor Karanka - a man with experience of escaping the division the right way - placed in charge.

Less than a year on from his appointment, however, Karanka is now fighting to save his job following an 11-match winless run in the Championship, with seven of those ending in defeat.

The most recent of those losses came away to Millwall on Wednesday - Jed Wallace and Ben Thompson scoring for the home side in what was a comfortable victory at The Den.

Birmingham City manager Aitor Karanka pictured on January 10, 2021© Reuters

Wednesday also fell to defeat in midweek, going down 1-0 against Stoke City to a late goal from their former striker Steven Fletcher.

Both sides are now a point from safety in what is proving to be an entertaining battle at the bottom end of the division.

The one saving grace for Wednesday has been their home form, having won five on the spin at Hillsborough - not since August 2012 have they enjoyed a longer-such streak.

That includes a run of three successive clean sheets on home soil, and five in their last six. Birmingham, by comparison, have failed to score in three of their last five away games.

Sheffield Wednesday Championship form: LWWLWL

Birmingham City Championship form: LDDLLL


Team News

Sheffield Wednesday's Massimo Luongo celebrates scoring their first goal against Stoke on October 22, 2019© Reuters

Wednesday were without Massimo Luongo and Andre Green against Stoke and interim boss Neil Thompson is unsure whether either player will be back for Saturday's match.

Thompson may be tempted to make some changes on the back of the late loss last time out, which could mean recalls for Josh Windass and Elias Kachunga.

As for Birmingham, they went with Scott Hogan and Lukas Jutkiewicz in attack against Millwall after losing Sam Cosgrove to injury.

City, who have failed to score in eight of their last 11 matches, are almost certain to be without Cosgrove once again here.

Jonathan Leko and Ivan Sanchez will be hoping for a place in the XI after being named among the subs in midweek.

Sheffield Wednesday possible starting lineup:
Westwood; Lees, Dunkley, Urhoghide; Harris, Shaw, Hutchinson, Bannan, Reach; Rhodes, Paterson

Birmingham City possible starting lineup:
Etheridge; Valery, Dean, Friend, Pedersen; Harper, Sunjic; Leko, Halilovic, Bela; Hogan


SM words green background

We say: Sheffield Wednesday 1-0 Birmingham City

Both sides will be looking to respond to midweek defeats in this relegation six-pointer.

Birmingham are unbeaten in three successive away league games against Wednesday, but the home side have been impressive on home soil over the past couple of months.

Indeed, the Owls have won five home league games on the spin - as many as they did in their previous 26 - and we are backing them to come out on top this weekend.


Top tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting a home win in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Home Win:data



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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 37.99%. A draw had a probability of 32.5% and a win for Birmingham City had a probability of 29.5%.

The most likely scoreline for a Sheffield Wednesday win was 1-0 with a probability of 15.99%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (7.91%) and 2-1 (6.59%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 0-0 (16.17%), while for a Birmingham City win it was 0-1 (13.47%). The actual scoreline of 0-1 was predicted with a 13.5% likelihood.


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Game History

How you voted: Sheff Weds vs Birmingham

Sheffield Wednesday
65.3%
Draw
24.5%
Birmingham City
10.2%
49
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Birmingham City manager Aitor Karanka pictured on January 10, 2021
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Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Sunderland129122391428
2Burnley126511751223
3Leeds UnitedLeeds126511981123
4Sheffield UnitedSheff Utd12732146822
5West Bromwich AlbionWest Brom12552137620
6Blackburn RoversBlackburn125431612419
7Watford126151619-319
8Norwich CityNorwich124622216618
9Middlesbrough125341412218
10Millwall124441512316
11Bristol City123721416-216
12Derby CountyDerby124351515015
13Sheffield WednesdaySheff Weds124351318-515
14Oxford UnitedOxford Utd123541515014
15Hull City123541416-214
16Preston North EndPreston123541317-414
17Swansea CitySwansea1234588013
18Coventry CityCoventry123361417-312
19Stoke CityStoke123361317-412
20Cardiff CityCardiff123361118-712
21Plymouth ArgylePlymouth123361322-912
22Luton TownLuton123271420-611
23Queens Park RangersQPR121651119-89
24Portsmouth121561225-138


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