Sheffield Wednesday will welcome Queens Park Rangers to Hillsborough on Saturday for a crucial contest at the bottom end of the Championship table.
The hosts recently climbed off the foot of the division but head into the contest on the back of a midweek defeat, while their visitors also find themselves in the drop zone, seven points better off and one adrift of safety.
Match preview
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Sheffield Wednesday will set out to return to winning ways at Hillsborough on Saturday, having given their Championship survival hopes a boost in recent weeks after a dismal start to the season.
Following their promotion from League One last time around, the Owls remained rooted to the foot of the division until after the November international break, as a defeat to Birmingham City on their return to action left them on just six points from their first 17 outings having managed a single victory.
Danny Rohl's side did then improve their fortunes in impressive fashion, though, firstly taking a creditable point at home to league leaders Leicester City as Jeff Hendrick tied the game at a goal apiece in injury time, before they built on that with a second triumph of the season at home to Blackburn Rovers, eventually prevailing in a 3-1 win as Bailey Cadamarteri, Marvin Johnson and Josh Windass got on the scoresheet.
The Owls then travelled to take on Stoke City last weekend, and as the game looked set to end goalless thanks to Cameron Dawson's penalty save, they would make it back-to-back wins to climb off the foot of the division, as Anthony Musaba netted the decisive goal in injury time, only to see their upturn in form cut short in a 3-1 defeat away at Norwich City last time out on Wednesday.
Cadamarteri drew them level at Carrow Road after Borja Sainz's opener, but goals from Ashley Barnes and Jon Rowe put the game out of sight, and with confidence still to take from their recent results, having leapfrogged Rotherham United and moved within eight points of safety, Sheffield Wednesday will aim to bounce back on Saturday against a relegation rivals and make it three games unbeaten at Hillsborough with a victory.
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Queens Park Rangers, meanwhile, will travel to South Yorkshire aiming to further strengthen their own survival bid, having improved under new management in recent weeks.
Marti Cifuentes took over at Loftus Road at the end of October with the London side stuck on just eight points from their first 14 league outings and on the back of six straight defeats, but they have since added 12 points to the tally in seven further attempts, despite only heading into the November break on the back of consecutive draws before losing away at Norwich City on their return to action.
The Hoops now head into the weekend in the midst of a four-match unbeaten streak in England's second tier, beginning with a 4-2 triumph at home to Stoke City thanks to Lyndon Dykes's brace, a Ben Pearson own goal and Chris Willock's late finish, before triumphing 2-0 in a trip to Preston North End as Paul Smyth and Willock got on the scoresheet in the second half.
Hull City would then visit Loftus Road last weekend, and Cifuentes's side made it three straight league wins, defeating the playoff-chasing Tigers 2-0 as Willock continued his scoring run before Ilias Chair added a second, and they may now head into Saturday's trip with a slight feeling of disappointment, having failed to extend the run to four victories on Wednesday at home to Plymouth Argyle.
That contest ended goalless, despite the visitors playing with 10 men from the 25th minute, and while that result did keep QPR in the relegation zone, they do now only trail Huddersfield Town and Millwall by a single point, and with renewed confidence and a degree of momentum back on their side, they will aim to jump out of the bottom three at the weekend with a fourth win in a five-match span.
Team News
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Sheffield Wednesday will likely remain without defender Dominic Iorfa, midfielder Momo Diaby and attacker Mallik Wilks through injury at the weekend, while key man Josh Windass also missed their trip to Norwich with a muscle issue and may not return in time to feature at Hillsborough at the weekend.
Instead, Anthony Musaba and Callum Paterson should keep their places either side of a lone striker in a 4-3-3 shape, with 18-year-old Bailey Cadamarteri again set to get the nod to lead the line having scored two goals in their last three league games.
Rohl is bound to deploy an unchanged midfield trio of Will Vaulks, Barry Bannan and George Byers, while Di'Shon Bernard will fight to return in the middle of the defence after Michael Ihiekwe came in to join Bambo Diaby last time out.
Queens Park Rangers could again be missing former Owls defender Morgan Fox and midfielder Jack Colback, with the experienced duo set to remain in the treatment room, while Cifuentes will also be unable to call on Ziyad Larkeche, who saw his midweek substitute appearance cut short by an injury concern.
He should avoid making many changes from the starting XI that was fielded against Plymouth, although Sinclair Armstrong will push to replace Lyndon Dykes up front, while Ilias Chair and Chris Willock will continue to play key roles in a supporting trio, having both enjoyed improvement under the new boss, netting two and three goals respectively in the last seven Championship games.
Elsewhere, Sam Field and Andre Dozzell should continue in the engine room in their 4-2-3-1 shape, while Steve Cook and Jimmy Dunne are bound to partner up at the heart of the back four.
Sheffield Wednesday possible starting lineup:
Dawson; Valentin, Diaby, Ihiekwe, Famewo; Byers, Vaulks, Bannan; Paterson, Cadamarteri, Musaba
Queens Park Rangers possible starting lineup:
Begovic; Kakay, Cook, Dunne, Paal; Field, Dozzell; Smyth, Chair, Willock; Dykes
We say: Sheffield Wednesday 1-1 Queens Park Rangers
Both teams are certainly playing with a degree of confidence back in their game, and both desperate not to lose in a true six-pointer, even at this early stage of the campaign, we anticipate them sharing the points at Hillsborough.
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Top tip
Sam Varley
