Plymouthvs.Sheff Weds

Following a midweek defeat, the hosts remain 23rd in the Championship table and six points adrift of safety, while their visitors have fallen to 13th spot following three straight losses.

Match preview

Plymouth Argyle head into the weekend aiming to boost their Championship survival hopes, having failed to gain ground in recent weeks.

Miron Muslic took charge at Home Park in January and is yet to inspire a major improvement in their league fortunes, with the Pilgrims picking up just 15 points from their first 16 second-tier outings under the new boss to sit 23rd on 30 points from 35 games, albeit having progressed to the FA Cup round of 16 with memorable victories over Brentford and Liverpool in that time.

Following a defeat to Blackburn Rovers and 1-1 draws with fellow strugglers Luton Town and Cardiff City, the Pilgrims then travelled to take on Manchester City in their final-16 tie last weekend and led through Maksym Talovierov, only to eventually succumb to a 3-1 defeat following a Nico O'Reilly brace and a late Kevin De Bruyne goal.

Then aiming to build on that valiant display with their focus fully on the survival bid, Muslic's men returned to Championship action in a trip to then-21st-placed Hull City on Tuesday, but they left empty-handed as second-half goals from Joe Gelhardt and Abu Kamara condemned them to a 2-0 defeat.

Now sitting six points adrift of safety with 11 games remaining, and with their tally of 70 goals conceded being 13 more than any other side in the division, Plymouth Argyle are running out of time in their bid to escape the bottom three and will be desperate to narrow their gap to 21st spot with a return to winning ways on Saturday.

Their visitors, meanwhile, head south aiming to end a losing run which has seen them drop into the bottom half of England's second tier.

In what has been an improved first full season under the management of Danny Rohl after narrowly escaping relegation last time around, Sheffield Wednesday put themselves in the playoff race by earning 41 points from their first 29 outings, but they have since added just four more points to that tally in six further attempts.

Following the only victory in that time, a 1-0 triumph away at Swansea City in mid-February, the Owls have suffered three straight defeats heading into Saturday's trip, firstly losing 2-1 at home to fellow playoff-chasers Coventry City following Ellis Simms's injury time goal, before visiting third-placed Burnley and suffering a 4-0 beating.

Rohl's men then welcomed fourth-placed Sunderland to Hillsborough last Friday and again came away empty-handed, despite drawing level at a goal apiece through Callum Paterson early in the second half, as Eliezer Mayenda snatched all three points for the visitors with his second of the game 19 minutes from time.

Now sitting 13th, seven points and seven places behind the final playoff spot, Sheffield Wednesday will be desperate to end their slump and put a winning run together in the coming weeks, starting with what would be an eighth victory of the campaign on the road on Saturday.

Plymouth Argyle Championship form:

W

W

L

D

D

L

Plymouth Argyle form (all competitions):

W

L

D

D

L

L

Sheffield Wednesday Championship form:

D

L

W

L

L

L

Team News

Plymouth Argyle are set to remain without top scorer Ryan Hardie, who has missed their last four outings alongside defender Brendan Galloway and attacker Muhamed Tijani.

Miron Muslic may opt to make several changes to the side that lost 2-0 to Hull City in midweek, but January arrivals Nikola Katic and Maksym Talovierov are bound to again join Julio Pleguezuelo in a back three.

Malachi Boateng and Adam Randell, who is back in contention after an injury layoff, will push to come into the midfield after Darko Gyabi and Jordan Houghton partnered up on Tuesday, while Michael Obafemi and Callum Wright will compete to earn attacking spots.

Sheffield Wednesday's injury issues worsened in last week's defeat to Sunderland, as defender Max Lowe joined fellow defenders Di'Shon Bernard, Yan Valery and Akin Famewo, midfielder Stuart Armstrong and attackers Michael Smith and Anthony Musaba in the treatment room.

Callum Paterson was also forced off in that game after netting the equaliser, leaving an attacking spot open for either Ike Ugbo, Jamal Lowe or Toulouse loanee Ibrahim Cissoko, who spent the first half of the season with Saturday's hosts, to join Josh Windass and Djeidi Gassama in attack.

If Dominic Iorfa is not deemed fit to feature from the start following his own injury layoff, Liam Palmer will take Max Lowe's makeshift centre-back spot alongside Michael Ihiekwe in the middle of a back four.

Plymouth Argyle possible starting lineup:

Hazard; Talovierov, Katic, Pleguezuelo; Sorinola, Boateng, Gyabi, Ogbeta; Mumba, Bundu, Obafemi

Sheffield Wednesday possible starting lineup:

Beadle; Valentin, Ihiekwe, Palmer, Hatsuse; Charles, Bannan, Ingelsson; Cissoko, Windass, Gassama

We say: Plymouth Argyle 1-1 Sheffield Wednesday

Plymouth Argyle only have hopes of survival lingering thanks to their relatively creditable home record, while Sheffield Wednesday are stronger on the road than at Hillsborough.

Written by

Sam Varley

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