The top two teams in Northern Group H of the EFL Trophy will lock horns on Tuesday evening, as Sheffield Wednesday welcome Harrogate Town to Hillsborough.
Wednesday and Harrogate have both collected six points from their two games in the group stage and have therefore already secured their position in the next round of the competition.
Match preview
© Reuters
Wednesday opened their Northern Group H campaign with a 3-0 victory over Newcastle United Under-21s at the end of August before winning 2-1 at Mansfield Town in their second game on October 5.
As a result, the Owls have already booked their spot in the next round of the competition but will be looking to secure first position in the section with a victory over Harrogate on Tuesday night.
Darren Moore's side are actually unbeaten in their last seven matches in all competitions, including a goalless draw with Plymouth Argyle in the FA Cup on Sunday afternoon.
In League One, Wednesday recorded an impressive 3-0 win over Sunderland last weekend, and a total of 25 points from 16 matches has left them in eighth position in the table, just two points behind sixth-placed Oxford United.
Wednesday will not view the EFL Trophy as a priority this season, but the competition provides valuable minutes to squad players, and they are certainly among the favourites to go all the way in this year's tournament.
© Reuters
Harrogate, as mentioned, have also already advanced to the next round of this competition, and they currently top the section heading into their final match of the group stage against Wednesday.
Simon Weaver's side play their league football in League Two, and a solid start to the 2021-22 campaign has left them in seventh position in the table, picking up 23 points from their opening 15 matches.
Harrogate are without a victory in their last four in the league, though, losing three times in the process, which makes their encounter away to Walsall on November 13 an important fixture.
Town were victorious in the first round of the FA Cup on Saturday, though, with Simon Power and Danilo Orsi on the scoresheet in a 2-1 home success over Wrexham.
Weaver's team will now be looking for a third straight victory in this season's EFL Trophy, having beaten Mansfield 3-1 and Newcastle United Under-21s 2-0 in their opening two fixtures.
- W
- W
- W
- D
- D
- D
- W
- D
- W
- W
- W
- L
- D
- L
- L
- W
Team News
© Reuters
Wednesday did not suffer any fresh fitness issues in their FA Cup clash with Plymouth on Sunday, but head coach Moore will ring the changes for this match.
Saido Berahino could be in line for another spot in the final third of the field, but the likes of Jack Hunt, Fisayo Dele-Bashiru, Sylla Sow and Jaden Brown should all come into the side.
There is also expected to be a change between the sticks, with Joseph Wildsmith coming in for Bailey Peacock-Farrell, with Moore looking to utilise his squad in the EFL Trophy clash.
As for Harrogate, head coach Weaver will also make a number of changes to the side that started the FA Cup success over Wrexham in North Yorkshire.
Joseph Cracknell should be given the nod between the sticks, while Ryan Fallowfield, Orsi, Power, Jonathan Muldoon and William Smith should all come into the side for the League Two outfit.
Sheffield Wednesday possible starting lineup:
Wildsmith; Hunt, Dunkley, Palmer, Brown; Dele-Bashiru, Wing; Corbeanu, Kamberi, Sow; Berahino
Harrogate Town possible starting lineup:
Cracknell; Fallowfield, Smith, Burrell, Sheron; Thomson, Kerry, Falkingham, Diamond; Orsi, Muldoon
We say: Sheffield Wednesday 2-1 Harrogate Town
Both managers will ring the changes for this match, so it is difficult to know exactly what to expect. Wednesday have home advantage, though, and will also be able to call upon a higher quality of player, so we are backing the League One club to record a narrow victory on Tuesday night.
Top tip
Matt Law
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 42.92%. A win for Harrogate Town had a probability of 30.81% and a draw had a probability of 26.3%.
The most likely scoreline for a Sheffield Wednesday win was 1-0 with a probability of 10.77%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (8.86%) and 2-0 (7.64%). The likeliest Harrogate Town win was 0-1 (8.81%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.49%). The actual scoreline of 4-0 was predicted with a 1.3% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Sheffield Wednesday would win this match.
