Both aiming to build on positive midweek results, Sheffield Wednesday and Blackburn Rovers will square off at Hillsborough on Saturday.
The hosts earned a creditable point at home to leaders Leicester City on Wednesday but remain at the foot of the Championship table, while their visitors only trail the playoff places by two points after back-to-back wins.
Match preview
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Despite arguably making tangible improvements on the pitch in recent months, Sheffield Wednesday have certainly experienced a dismal start to the Championship campaign following their promotion from League One last time around, both before and since the appointment of Danny Rohl, as they currently find themselves rooted to the foot of the division with just seven points on the board from their opening 18 outings.
In those 18 games, the Owls have managed just seven points, courtesy of a single victory alongside 13 defeats, while conceding 30 goals and only scoring nine goals - six fewer than the division's next weakest attacking record.
After Rohl took over from Xisco Munoz at Hillsborough in mid-October and initially oversaw back-to-back away defeats to Watford and Plymouth Argyle, the South Yorkshire outfit were then able to pick up that solitary win at the 14th time of asking at home to fellow strugglers Rotherham United, but they did not manage to build a run on the back of that result, then going on to suffer 1-0, 4-0 and 2-1 defeats to Bristol City, Millwall and Birmingham City.
Having quickly been cut further adrift at the bottom of the table, the Owls set out to arrest another losing run on Wednesday when they faced a difficult test at home to runaway leaders Leicester City on Wednesday, and after looking set to fall to a fourth straight loss as the visitors led 1-0 throughout through Abdul Fatawu, the hosts were at least able to come away with an impressive point as Jeff Hendrick forced a share of the spoils with a 93rd-minute leveller.
While results elsewhere in midweek largely did not go their way, now leaving them 12 points adrift of safety after 19 matches, Sheffield Wednesday can at least take a degree of confidence from that improved display and result in midweek, and they will now hope to build on that with a second triumph of the campaign at Hillsborough in their bid to improve their standing in the fight for survival.
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That will be no easy task, though, as Blackburn Rovers travel to South Yorkshire in search of a third straight league win since the return to action from the international break.
With their sights again set on the playoffs this season, after just missing out on the final day last time around, Jon Dahl Tomasson's side certainly experienced a mixed start, collecting 32 points from their first 16 games as they managed seven victories while suffering eight defeats in that time, including four straight losses across late September and early October immediately followed by three consecutive wins before they headed into the November break on the back of an agonising 2-1 defeat to rivals Preston North End.
The Rovers have succeeded in bouncing back from that disappointment on their return to action, though, as they travelled to Stoke City and dished out a 3-0 beating last weekend, with Scott Wharton opening the scoring inside five minutes and Andrew Moran and Sammie Szmodics adding goals late on, before they made it back-to-back triumphs at home to Birmingham on Wednesday.
A Szmodics brace and a James Hill goal had Tomasson's men 3-0 up on the hour mark in that game, and while Siriki Dembele made it close with a double for the visitors, the Lancashire outfit stood strong before Harry Leonard wrapped up a 4-2 victory with a goal in injury time.
Thanks to their pair of wins since the break, Blackburn Rovers have climbed back up to seventh spot in England's second tier, and now sitting just two points behind Hull City in the final playoff place, they will be desperate to make it three on the bounce at the weekend to stand a chance of moving into the top six.
Team News
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Following their impressive display in midweek, Danny Rohl is unlikely to make many changes to his Sheffield Wednesday starting XI at the weekend, although Jeff Hendrick does have a claim to come into the midfield from the start after his goal off the bench to earn them a point, with Momo Diaby and John Buckley also fighting to start in the centre after George Byers and Will Vaulks were preferred alongside captain Barry Bannan.
Attacker Josh Windass will return to contention in attack after serving a suspension last time out, and even with Michael Smith, Mallik Wilks and Lee Gregory expected to remain out of action, there is still competition in attack with Windass, Ashley Fletcher, Anthony Musaba and Djeidi Gassama all fighting to come in after youngster Bailey Cadamarteri was handed a first Championship start last time out.
Elsewhere, Rohl switched to a back four shape on Wednesday, and that should remain unchanged at the weekend with Dominic Iorfa, Bambo Diaby, Di'Shon Bernard and Akin Famewo all set to keep their places, while Cameron Dawson will continue to get the nod over Devis Vasquez between the sticks.
Blackburn are also unlikely to make many changes from midweek, and Jon Dahl Tomasson continues to deal with an unenviable injury list, as goalkeeper Aynsley Pears remains confined to the treatment room alongside Scott Wharton, Joe Rankin-Costello, Ryan Hedges and Sam Gallagher.
In the absence of Hyam and Wharton, James Hill and Hayden Carter will continue to partner up at the heart of the back four, while midfielder Lewis Travis should again deputise at right back with Sondre Tronstad and Adam Wharton lining up in the engine room.
Going forward, their key man is certainly Sammie Szmodics, who took his tally to a league-high 13 Championship goals for the season with his brace against Birmingham, having also scored in the previous triumph over Stoke, and he will operate in the middle of a supporting trio likely behind makeshift lone forward Tyrhys Dolan, while Harry Leonard will hope to earn a starting spot on the wing after his goal off the bench on Wednesday, with Arnor Sigurdsson and Dilan Markanday also fighting to come into the attack.
Sheffield Wednesday possible starting lineup:
Dawson; Iorfa, Diaby, Bernard, Famewo; Vaulks; Paterson, Byers, Bannan, Musaba; Windass
Blackburn Rovers possible starting lineup:
Wahlstet; Travis, Hill, Carter, Pickering; Tronstad, A Wharton; Sigurdsson, Szmodics, Pickering; Dolan
We say: Sheffield Wednesday 1-3 Blackburn Rovers
Sheffield Wednesday can certainly take some confidence from their midweek draw with the league leaders and will hope to turn that into a victory when they host Blackburn at Hillsborough at the weekend, but the visitors are in fine fettle, particularly going forward, and we can only envisage Tomasson's side making it three straight Championship wins.
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Top tip
Sam Varley
