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Preview: Sheffield Wednesday vs. Burton Albion - prediction, team news, lineups

sportsmole.co.uk, 18 September 2022, 17:03
Sheffield Wednesday will be looking for their first win in this season's EFL Trophy when they host Burton Albion on Tuesday.

The visitors, meanwhile, defeated Leicester City Under-21s in their opening match.

Match preview

Having lost 3-1 away to League Two outfit Bradford City three weeks ago, Sheff Wed will be determined to bounce back with a win against Burton this week.

Having missed out on promotion to the Championship by losing to Sunderland after extra-time in the play-off semi-final's last season, the Owls look capable of claiming an automatic promotion spot under Darren Moore this time around.

With 17 points from nine matches, Sheff Wed currently occupy fourth position in the table, having impressively come back from two goals down at home against league leaders Ipswich Town at the weekend.

While the EFL Trophy is likely to be considerably low in terms of Moore's pecking order of priorities, reaching the final does provide fans with a day out at Wembley, so the former Derby County defender will not want to fall at the group stage hurdle.

Burton, on the other hand, have endured a wretched start to the season, losing seven of their opening eight league games before finally picking up their first win against Exeter City at the weekend.

Dino Maamria has replaced Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink in the dugout and, after a disappointing 2-0 defeat at home to Portsmouth in his first game in charge, the 48-year-old bounced back with a solid away win on Saturday.

However, with the Brewers still four points away from safety, there is plenty for the former Oldham Athletic boss to work on.

Like their forthcoming opponents, the EFL Trophy is not likely to matter too much in terms of defining Burton's season, but they are in a decent position to qualify from Group H after beating Leicester U21s 4-2 in Hasselbaink's penultimate game in charge of the club.

Sheffield Wednesday EFL Trophy form:

Sheffield Wednesday form (all competitions):

Burton Albion EFL Trophy form:

Burton Albion form (all competitions):

Team News

Moore made 10 changes for the defeat to Bradford, with only Dominic Iorfa retaining his place from the previous match against Forest Green.

With an important league match against Wycombe Wanderers at the weekend, the 48-year-old is likely to make several alterations once again, with Cameron Dawson, Mark McGuinness, Will Vaulks and Callum Paterson all hoping for important match fitness.

Burton, meanwhile, will travel without the suspended Quevin Castro after his red card in the previous matchday, while Mustapha Carayol is sidelined with a knee injury.

Like his counterpart, Maamria is expected to make several changes given their perilous position in League One, but Ciaran Gilligan could retain his place in midfield.

Sheffield Wednesday possible starting lineup:

Dawson; Agbontohoma, Iorfa, James; J. Hunt, A. Hunt, Vaulks, Mighten, Brown; Gregory, Paterson

Burton Albion possible starting lineup:

Sinisalo; Brayford, Hughes, Oshilaja; Hamer, Butcher, Gilligan, Taylor, Borthwick-Jackson; Adeboyejo, Ahadme

We say: Sheffield Wednesday 2-0 Burton Albion

Given Sheff Wed's superior form and resources, we can only envisage the hosts winning at Hillsborough on Tuesday.

Moore has far more quality options to call upon in a competition which generally features significant rotation, while the visitors are likely to have the weekend in mind given that they are bottom of League One.

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