Preview: Cheltenham Town vs. Sheffield Wednesday - prediction, team news, lineups

The visitors are currently second in the table, three points behind leaders Plymouth Argyle, while Cheltenham occupy 18th, just four points above the relegation zone ahead of the mid-week matches.

Match preview

Cheltenham are on a run of four straight losses in League One, with their last success in England's second tier coming away to Shrewsbury Town at the end of December.

Indeed, it has been a difficult start to 2023, losing to Bristol Rovers, Morecambe, Derby County and Plymouth Argyle, conceding seven goals in their last two defeats.

The disappointing run of form has left them in 18th position in the League One table on 28 points, just four points ahead of the relegation zone, which will be a concern ahead of their clash with Wednesday.

Cheltenham will end January with back-to-back home fixtures against Wednesday and Port Vale before opening February away to Bolton Wanderers.

Wade Elliott's side finished 15th in League One last season, with the Gloucestershire outfit securing a spot in the third tier by finishing as League Two champions in 2020-21.

Wednesday, as mentioned, have won each of their last five League One matches, including a 1-0 victory over Fleetwood Town at Hillsborough on Saturday afternoon.

Marvin Johnson scored the only goal of the contest in the first period, and the result stretched the team's unbeaten run in the league to 15 matches, with their last loss coming at the start of October.

Plymouth were the last side to overcome the Owls, and the former are currently at the top of the table, three points ahead of Darren Moore's side, who have a game in hand on the leaders.

The South Yorkshire outfit finished fourth in League One last season, which saw them qualify for the playoffs, but they lost to Sunderland in the semi-finals, meaning that they remained at this level.

Wednesday will fancy their chances of making a strong push for the top two this season, and they are seven points ahead of third-placed Ipswich Town at this stage of proceedings.

The Owls have the best away record in League One this season, picking up 27 points from 13 matches, while Cheltenham have collected just 16 points from their 12 games at home.

Cheltenham Town League One form:

L

W

L

L

L

L

Cheltenham Town form (all competitions):

W

L

L

W

L

L

Sheffield Wednesday League One form:

D

W

W

W

W

W

Sheffield Wednesday form (all competitions):

W

W

W

W

W

W

Team News

Cheltenham boss Elliott is expected to make a couple of changes to the side that took to the field for the first whistle against Plymouth on Saturday afternoon.

Christian Norton and Benjamin Williams could come into the XI, but there will not be wholesale alterations, as there were certainly positives from the clash with the division leaders.

Alfie May is the team's leading goalscorer in the league this season with nine, and the 29-year-old will again feature in the final third of the field.

As for Wednesday, head coach Moore could name an unchanged side from the one that took to the field against Fleetwood on Saturday afternoon.

Lee Gregory was on the scoresheet last time out and will again feature in the final third of the field, while there will be another start for Joshua Windass, who has seven league goals this term.

Barry Bannan is again likely to be absent for the visitors, though, while George Byers and Reece James remain injury doubts for the promotion candidates.

Cheltenham Town possible starting lineup:

Southwood; Long, Taylor, Raglan; Broom, Norton, Perry, Williams; Olayinka, May, Goodwin

Sheffield Wednesday possible starting lineup:

Dawson; Palmer, Iorfa, Famewo; Hunt, Adeniran, Vaulks, Johnson; Gregory, Windass, Smith

We say: Cheltenham Town 0-1 Sheffield Wednesday

Wednesday are on a roll at the moment, and it is extremely difficult to back against them here. Cheltenham are certainly capable of making it a tricky encounter, and we are expecting it to be close in terms of the scoreline, but the visitors should have enough quality to claim an important three points.

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