MX23RW : Tuesday, January 14 22:20:29| >> :600:313346:313346:
[monks data]
Sheffield Wednesday logo
Championship
Aug 16, 2014 at 3pm UK
 
Derby logo

0-0

FT

Preview: Sheffield Wednesday vs. Derby County

Sports Mole looks ahead to Saturday's Championship clash between Sheffield Wednesday and Derby, who both won their opening matches of the season.

Sheffield Wednesday will be hoping to improve their already impressive start to the season this weekend when they host Derby County at Hillsborough on Saturday.

The Owls produced something of a surprise result in their opening match of the campaign last weekend, beating Brighton & Hove Albion 1-0 at the Amex Stadium in what was Sami Hyypia's first game in charge of the Seagulls.

Things don't get any easier for Stuart Gray's side as they take on a Derby side tipped for automatic promotion next, but he will have taken huge confidence from how his side have started the 2014-15 campaign.

Wednesday made it two wins from two on Tuesday with a commanding victory over Notts County in the League Cup, keeping a second clean sheet in the process.

For a team that made such a poor start last season, amassing a decent number of points in the early stages this time around could enable them to push on and challenge for a top-half finish.

Gray has moved to add further firepower to his front line as well, signing Stevie May from St Johnstone, and the new boy could feature this weekend having missed the Notts County clash.

One player who will not be involved is Dejan Kelhar, however, after the new signing was ruled out for most of the season with a knee injury.

Derby have also made a promising start to the season as they look to get over the heartbreak of having missed out on promotion to the Premier League in the dying stages of the playoff final last term.

They were forced to wait for the winner against newly-promoted Rotherham United in their opening match of the campaign, but it duly arrived with eight minutes remaining courtesy of Jeff Hendrick.

It may not have been the most convincing of victories for a team that is expected to be challenging at the top of the table, but an early three points on the board will certainly please manager Steve McClaren.

The boss wasn't happy with his side in midweek, however, despite progressing into the second round of the League Cup with a 2-0 win over Carlisle United.

The Rams squandered a number of good chances throughout the match before finally sealing the victory in the 93rd minute through Chris Martin.

George Thorne remains absent with a knee injury this weekend, while Jamie Ward and Leon Best are both pushing for starts, but McClaren could opt to name an unchanged side.

Recent form

Sheff Weds: WDLDWW

Derby: WLWWWW

Possible starting lineups

Sheff Weds: Westwood; Palmer, Lees, Loovens, Mattock; Maguire, Coke, Hutchinson, Maghoma; Lee; May

Derby: Grant; Christie, Keogh, Buxton, Forsyth; Bryson, Hughes, Hendrick; Dawkins, Martin, Russell

Sports Mole says: 1-2


ID:171157: cacheID:171157:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:6294:
Written by
Barney Corkhill
No Data Analysis info

Previews by email

Click here to get Sports Mole's daily email of previews and predictions for every major game!


Restore Data
Share this article now:
Jeff Hendrick of Derby in action during the Sky Bet Championship Playoff Final match between Derby County and Queens Park Rangers at Wembley Stadium on May 24, 2014
Read Next:
Derby battle through against Carlisle
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
FT
Vikings
9-27
Rams
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Leeds UnitedLeeds26158348192953
2Burnley26141023192252
3Sheffield UnitedSheff Utd26166436171952
4Sunderland26148439221750
5Middlesbrough26118743321141
6West Bromwich AlbionWest Brom26913432211140
7Blackburn RoversBlackburn2511682823539
8Watford26115103637-138
9Bristol City2691073330337
10Sheffield WednesdaySheff Weds2610793840-237
11Norwich CityNorwich269984337636
12Swansea CitySwansea2697103030034
13Queens Park RangersQPR2671182934-532
14Millwall257992423130
15Preston North EndPreston2661282834-630
16Coventry CityCoventry2678113437-329
17Oxford UnitedOxford Utd2678112941-1229
18Derby CountyDerby2676133135-427
19Stoke CityStoke2669112432-827
20Luton TownLuton2674152744-1725
21Cardiff CityCardiff2659122641-1524
22Portsmouth2458113041-1123
23Hull City2658132536-1123
24Plymouth ArgylePlymouth2649132554-2921


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!