Preview: Sheffield Wednesday vs. Oxford United - prediction, team news, lineups

The Owls remain two points outside of the automatic promotion spots after back-to-back draws and are now unbeaten in England's third tier since the beginning of October, while their visitors have also not suffered a defeat in their last nine games in all competitions.

Match preview

Sheffield Wednesday come into Saturday's game hoping to finally break into the top two of the League One table, having consistently kept pace with the leaders throughout the campaign thus far but failed to climb any further in recent weeks as a result of consecutive draws.

Darren Moore's side strengthened their position in the fight for promotion with three straight victories over Burton Albion, Accrington Stanley and Shrewsbury Town, taking a league unbeaten run to seven matches and moving onto 40 points from 19 outings in England's third tier.

They were unable to make that four on the bounce away at Derby County at the beginning of December though, eventually leaving with a relatively pleasing point following a goalless stalemate, before travelling to Exeter City last weekend with the aim of making an instant return to winning ways and ramping up the pressure on Plymouth Argyle and Ipswich Town in the top two.

That did not go to plan, as Jake Caprice put their hosts ahead early in the second half, and the Owls looked set to fall to just a fourth defeat of the season in League One, only to salvage a point deep into injury time courtesy of Callum Paterson's leveller.

While they failed to take advantage of Plymouth's continued lack of form, Moore's side do now find themselves just two points behind the second-placed Pilgrims, and they will now look to put another triumph on the board with the chance of climbing into the automatic promotion spots at the weekend.

That will be no easy task, though, as the visitors are also unbeaten in seven games in League One, having bounced back from a tough start to the campaign in which they only picked up 14 points from the opening 13 outings.

The U's would start to climb towards the middle of the table with a win away at Bolton Wanderers and draws against Portsmouth, Fleetwood Town and Shrewsbury Town, before making it six league wins for the campaign with a 4-0 thrashing of Port Vale in mid-November.

Following a first-round win over Woking and another League One draw against Forest Green Rovers, Karl Robinson's side would then triumph in the FA Cup second round at home to Exeter City in late November, eventually winning 4-1 thanks to a Billy Bodin brace and goals from Matt Taylor and Cameron Brannagan to book an exciting tie at home to Arsenal in the new year.

Aiming to continue building momentum after that confidence-boosting progression, the U's returned to third-tier action with a trip to Accrington Stanley at the beginning of the month, eventually being held to a 1-1 draw as Ethan Hamilton drew their hosts level late on after James Henry's opener.

Now having not played in two weeks since that share of the points, Oxford will aim to keep climbing up the table and improve on their current position in 16th place, with a slim chance of moving into the top half this weekend if they are able to take an impressive scalp at Hillsborough and other results go their way.

Sheffield Wednesday League One form:

D

W

W

W

D

D

Sheffield Wednesday form (all competitions):

L

W

W

W

D

D

Oxford United League One form:

W

D

D

W

D

D

Oxford United form (all competitions):

D

W

W

D

W

D

Team News

Sheffield Wednesday will remain without Ben Heneghan and George Byers due to injury issues, while they will also likely face the absence of talismanic captain Barry Bannan, who was forced off in the first half of their Exeter contest.

Tyreeq Bakinson could come into the midfield in his and Byers's absence, unless Moore opts to deploy another attacking player given the depth in his squad, with Callum Paterson vying to start after his equaliser, as are Lee Gregory and Mallik Wilks, while Michael Smith and Josh Windass have both been key men up front throughout the season thus far.

Cardiff City loanee Mark McGuinness could again be joined by Reece James and Liam Palmer in a back three in front of David Stockdale, with Marvin Johnson and Dominic Iorfa set to continue in wing-back roles.

Oxford United's attack will again be spearheaded by experienced forward Matt Taylor, while winger Billy Bodin will be pushing to come back in from the outset, having notched up six goals and three assists in all competitions so far this term.

Cameron Brannagan is another key source of goals, with the midfielder boasting nine thus far including six in 19 League One appearances this season, while Marcus Browne should add another creative spark going forward and will likely complete the front three..

Sheffield Wednesday possible starting lineup:

Stockdale; Palmer, McGuinness, James; Iorfa, Dele-Bashiru, Vaulks, Johnson; Windass; Smith, Gregory

Oxford United possible starting lineup:

Eastwood; Anderson, Moore, Findlay, Brown; Bate, Brannagan, McGuane; Bodin, Taylor, Browne

We say: Sheffield Wednesday 2-1 Oxford United

Sheffield Wednesday have not been at their best in recent weeks and have several injuries to deal with, while their visitors are rested and hard to beat, setting Saturday's game up to be an intriguing encounter.

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