Sheffield Wednesday will welcome Norwich City to Hillsborough on Tuesday for a game with major consequences at both ends of the Championship table in the final run-in.
The hosts moved within a point of safety with a crucial return to winning ways at the weekend, while their visitors maintained a lead over the chasing pack in the playoff race with a three-point haul of their own.
Match preview
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Sheffield Wednesday will return to Hillsborough on Tuesday with renewed hope in their fight for Championship survival this season, having picked up a vital three-point haul at the weekend after finding themselves in a concerning position in the run-in.
Indeed, the Owls have remained in the bottom three for almost the entirety of the campaign thus far, after winning promotion from League One last term, but they were able to move within touching distance of safety with an impressive run under the management of Danny Rohl, collecting 31 points from a span of 18 matches between early December and early March.
That run culminated in an eye-catching streak of four consecutive victories for the South Yorkshire outfit, but they were unable to make that count and escape the drop zone, as they then went on to endure a four-match winless streak, initially suffering defeats to Leeds United and Ipswich Town prior to the international break, before meetings with Swansea City and Middlesbrough in the Easter Weekend ended in a 1-1 draw and a 2-0 defeat respectively.
Then quickly running out of games to bridge the three-point gap to safety, Rohl's men most recently travelled to take on a resurgent 17th-placed Queens Park Rangers on Saturday, and they were able to bounce back to winning ways in the capital, eventually prevailing in a 2-0 triumph as Djeidi Gassama broke the deadlock on the hour mark and Anthony Musaba added a second in injury time.
Now only sitting a point adrift of safety with five games left to play thanks to that result at the weekend, Sheffield Wednesday will certainly have a degree of optimism in their camp and will bid to finally escape the drop zone with a second straight win on their return to South Yorkshire.
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That will be no easy task, though, as the visitors travel in fine form with the aim of strengthening their position in the top six in the final run-in.
Following an underwhelming first half to the season, Norwich City have moved into pole position in the playoff race thanks to a major improvement in 2024, having now picked up 32 points from their last 15 attempts since mid-January, winning 10 of those while only suffering three defeats, leaving them on 67 points from 41 games, four ahead of seventh-placed Coventry City who have a game in hand.
That streak and standing in England's second tier is heavily attributed to their home form, though, with David Wagner's side earning 47 of those points at Carrow Road while only amassing 20 in 20 games on the road so far, winning just five times on their travels and falling to 10 losses.
Indeed, the Canaries' last away trip did end in defeat on Easter Monday, as Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Stephy Mavididi and Jamie Vardy fired Leicester City to a 3-1 victory at the King Power Stadium, but Wagner's men were crucially able to bounce back on Saturday, hosting promotion-chasing Ipswich Town in an East Anglian Derby and triumphing in a 1-0 win to stretch their 15-year unbeaten streak over their rivals, as Marcelino Nunez netted the only goal of the game in the first half.
Now with renewed confidence from that derby win, but with little room for error in the playoff race given Coventry can narrow the gap to a single point should they win their game in hand, Norwich will visit Hillsborough with the aim of strengthening their position in the top six with a second straight victory and a fifth in a six-match span.
Team News
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Sheffield Wednesday have been boosted by several returns recently, with Josh Windass and Callum Paterson back in contention after injury layoffs, although Momo Diaby and Juan Delgado will remain sidelined while winger Ian Poveda was forced off in the first half of their trip to QPR and also faces a spell in the treatment room.
In his expected absence, Djeidi Gassama and Anthony Musaba will fight to come in on the wings, having both scored off the bench at Loftus Road, while Windass will hope to again feature with Ike Ugbo continuing to lead the line.
Elsewhere, Will Vaulks will fight to return in midfield after Liam Palmer was preferred alongside captain Barry Bannan on Saturday, while Dominic Iorfa, Bambo Diaby, Michael Ihiekwe and Akin Famewo are bound to line up in an unaltered back four.
Norwich may travel to Hillsborough with an unchanged starting XI from their East Anglian Derby win on Saturday, with star winger Jonathan Rowe remaining sidelined by injury alongside Grant Hanley, Dimitrios Giannoulis, Jacob Sorensen and Onel Hernandez.
In their 4-2-3-1 shape, Joshua Sargent will continue to lead the line, having netted 14 goals in 21 Championship appearances so far this term, while Ashley Barnes will operate in support alongside Gabriel Sara and Borja Sainz.
Behind them, Saturday's scorer Marcelino Nunez will continue at the base of the midfield alongside Kenny McLean, despite competition from Liam Gibbs, while Shane Duffy and Ben Gibson are bound to partner up at the heart of the back four again after their clean sheet against Ipswich.
Sheffield Wednesday possible starting lineup:
Beadle; Iorfa, Diaby, Ihiekwe, Famewo; Bannan, Vaulks; Gassama, Windass, Musaba; Ugbo
Norwich City possible starting lineup:
Gunn; Stacey, Duffy, Gibson, McCallum; Nunez, McLean; Sara, Barnes, Sainz; Sargent
We say: Sheffield Wednesday 1-2 Norwich City
Both with confidence from recent wins and needing three points in their different battles, we anticipate an intriguing encounter on Saturday.
Sheffield Wednesday are certainly able to compete with the Championship's leading sides under Danny Rohl, but the visitors boast the superior quality throughout their squad and should have what it takes to prevail in South Yorkshire.
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Sam Varley
