Sheffield Wednesday will be looking for a win to fend off the chasing pack and keep their playoff place for another week as they host Blackburn Rovers at Hillsborough on Saturday.
Tony Mowbray's side are somewhat out of sorts at the moment, having failed to record a win in their last six outings across all competitions and will not relish the prospect of facing a playoff contender away from home.
Match preview
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Wednesday, sixth in the Championship table, have responded to a run of three straight defeats with two impressive wins in their last two outings.
First, Garry Monk's side bested Premier League outfit Brighton & Hove Albion by a 1-0 scoreline in the FA Cup, before claiming a 2-0 victory over rivals and Championship title contenders Leeds United.
The Owls have struggled for consistency this season, with their three-game losing streak preceded by a six-match unbeaten run in which they won four times.
However, given their upward trend, they will hope to avoid a repeat of their last meeting with Blackburn in which they suffered a 2-1 defeat at Ewood Park.
Monk's side now boast the joint-third best defence in the division, conceding just 26 times in 27 Championship outings, level with Nottingham Forest and behind only Brentford and Leeds.
It is a record that is unlikely to fill Blackburn with confidence, given their six-game winless run across all competitions.
In that period, Mowbray's side managed to net more than one goal in a single game just once, while Wednesday have just recorded back-to-back clean sheets.
Blackburn's 1-1 draw at home against Preston North End at least arrested the slide of three straight defeats, but Mowbray seems so far unable to keep his side from slipping down the league standings.
Sheffield Wednesday Championship form: WWLLLW
Sheffield Wednesday form (all competitions): WLLLWW
Blackburn Rovers Championship form: WDDLLD
Blackburn Rovers form (all competitions): DDLLLD
Team News
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Wednesday manager Monk has a trio of key players struggling for fitness but has an otherwise healthy squad to choose from. Steven Fletcher, Liam Palmer and Fernando Forestieri are all expected to miss the visit of Blackburn on Saturday.
Blackburn boss Mowbray, however, has three long-term absentees as well as other injuries to deal with. Bradley Dack, Joe Grayson and Greg Cunningham are the trio ruled out for the rest of the season, leaving the squad short.
Meanwhile, Ryan Nyambe and Corry Evans are both expected to be unavailable for the weekend's clash as well.
Sheffield Wednesday possible starting lineup:
Dawson; Urhoghide, Iorfa, Borner, Fox; Lee; Murphy, Luongo, Bannan, Reach; Winnall
Blackburn Rovers possible starting lineup:
Walton; Bennett, Lenihan, Adarabioyo, Bell; Travis, Johnson; Gallagher, Holtby, Downing; Armstrong
We say: Team Sheffield Wednesday 2-1 Blackburn Rovers
At home, a Wednesday side riding the crest of the momentum they have gained from their previous two wins should have too much for this ailing Blackburn outfit.
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 win with a probability of 44.88%. A win for had a probability of 29.3% and a draw had a probability of 25.8%.
The most likely scoreline for a win was 1-0 with a probability of 10.73%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (9.08%) and 2-0 (7.94%). The likeliest win was 0-1 (8.3%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.27%).
