Preview: Lincoln City vs. Sheffield Wednesday - prediction, team news, lineups

The Owls sit just a point behind second-placed Ipswich Town after back-to-back wins, while their hosts find themselves 14th after a victory of their own last time out.

Match preview

After a relatively slow start to the League One season produced seven points from seven games, Lincoln City appear to have found a stronger run of form in the last month, picking up 10 points from their last five outings.

The Imps first put up consecutive wins in impressive fashion over Derby County and Bristol Rovers, with the former being a 2-0 beating of the promotion-chasers and the latter being a 6-3 triumph in a dramatic affair, before their momentum was halted by a defeat to Bolton Wanderers and a draw with Charlton Athletic.

Hoping to return to winning ways in England's third tier, Mark Kennedy's side faced the unenviable task of a trip to second-placed Ipswich Town last weekend, and they took a first-half lead through Ben House before withstanding constant pressure to see out an unlikely 1-0 victory.

They now head into another difficult test on Saturday on the back of a cup victory in midweek, as they stayed atop their EFL Trophy group with a 2-0 triumph over Newcastle United Under-21s thanks to goals from Daniel Mandroiu and Freddie Draper.

Now sitting 14th in League One, just two points outside of the top 10 with games in hand on most sides around them, the Imps will look to take another impressive scalp at the weekend to continue their climb.

Sheffield Wednesday, meanwhile, will head into the game looking to move into the automatic promotion places, having quickly established themselves in the leading pack in the first 14 games of the season.

In that time, Darren Moore's side have amassed 29 points, putting nine wins on the board and only losing three times, with just league leaders Plymouth Argyle topping their tally of 27 league goals while only Bolton Wanderers have conceded fewer than the 12 goals that they have shipped.

A strong run of form from the Owls was briefly halted by a narrow defeat away at Plymouth, with the hosts snatching all three points through Sam Cosgrove in the 90th minute, but they were not derailed, quickly bouncing back with a 3-0 beating of Cheltenham Town at Hillsborough as Josh Windass, Barry Bannan and Fisayo Dele-Bashiru all getting on the scoresheet.

In their most recent league outing, Moore's men travelled to take on Cambridge United last weekend and would see out another victory and clean sheet, with a Lee Gregory brace sealing three more points in a 2-0 away triumph.

Now also on the back of an EFL Trophy victory, having beaten Leicester City Under-21s 2-0 on Tuesday, courtesy of goals from Callum Paterson and Will Trueman, the Owls will turn their attention fully back to their promotion push and look to leapfrog Ipswich with a 10th league win of the campaign at the weekend.

Lincoln City League One form:

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Lincoln City form (all competitions):

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Sheffield Wednesday League One form:

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Sheffield Wednesday form (all competitions):

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Team News

Lincoln City should deploy an unchanged starting XI from the team that won 1-0 away at Ipswich last weekend, with Ben House bound to again lead the line after hitting his fourth league goal of the season in that win.

He will be supported by Sunderland loanee Jack Diamond, who has also hit the net four times in just six appearances in the third tier this term from the left wing.

At the other end of the pitch, the back three of Paudie O'Connor, Adam Jackson and Regan Poole should remain unaltered in front of goalkeeper Carl Rushworth.

The Owls boast an abundance of quality all over the pitch, and Darren Moore has recently preferred a back four setup to maximise his attacking options, with summer arrivals Ben Heneghan and Michael Ihiekwe set to partner up in the middle of the defence.

Barry Bannan is bound to star in midfield with the likes of Will Vaulks, Tyreeq Bakinson and Fisayo Dele-Bashiru fighting to play alongside the Scotsman, while Nottingham Forest loanee Alex Mighten will aim to keep his place in the starting XI in an attacking support role.

Lee Gregory should again lead the line after his brace away at Cambridge, while Josh Windass remains a star man in their front line and should also feature from the outset with Michael Smith also hoping for a starting berth.

Lincoln City possible starting lineup:

Rushworth; O'Connor, Jackson, Poole; Eyoma, Virtue, Sanders, Roughan; Mandroiu, House, Diamond

Sheffield Wednesday possible starting lineup:

Stockdale; Palmer, Ihiekwe, Heneghan, Johnson; Bannan, Bakinson, Vaulks; Windass; Gregory, Smith

We say: Lincoln City 1-2 Sheffield Wednesday

While the hosts are much-improved in recent weeks, Darren Moore's side have excelled at both ends of the pitch throughout the season, and we see them being too strong even away from home.

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