Sheff Wedsvs.Watford

The hosts climbed up to 13th spot with an away victory last Friday, while their visitors moved level on points with sixth-placed Blackburn Rovers with a win of their own last time out.

Match preview

Sheffield Wednesday return to Championship action on Saturday aiming to climb further towards the playoff picture, having bounced back to winning ways last weekend and impressed in the EFL Cup on Tuesday.

After avoiding the drop late last season, the South Yorkshire outfit have shown encouraging signs in their first full campaign under the management of Danny Rohl thus far, currently sitting 13th having collected 15 points from their first 12 outings.

Returning to action from the October international break with three wins and four defeats on the board, they went on to fall short at home to promotion-chasing Burnley and play out a goalless stalemate with Swansea City, before visiting Portsmouth last Friday and making a return to winning ways, as Josh Windass tied them level at a goal apiece and Michael Smith netted the winner from distance 20 minutes from time.

A tough trip to top-flight Brentford then followed on Tuesday in the EFL Cup round of 16, and a rotated Owls squad impressed, taking their hosts to a penalty shootout as Djeidi Gassama forced a 1-1 draw with a second-half leveller, before eventually dropping out as Mark Flekken saved Liam Palmer's decisive penalty.

Still with plenty of encouragement to take from that draw in 90 minutes and their upturn in form since the beginning of October, Sheffield Wednesday will look to put another three-point haul on the board on Saturday to narrow the gap to their visitors to a single point.

They face a tricky test, though, with the away side fighting to move back into the top six with a second straight win of their own at the weekend.

Heading into their first full season under Tom Cleverley's management after a 15th-placed finish last term, Watford have enjoyed a pleasing start to the new term, currently sitting seventh having picked up 19 points from their first 12 matches.

Their struggles have come away from home, though, having suffered five straight defeats on the road since opening with a 3-2 victory at Millwall, most recently losing 3-0 and 2-1 losses away at Luton Town and Leeds United respectively after the international break.

The Hornets were able to bounce back last weekend, though, hosting sixth-placed Blackburn Rovers and picking up a sixth three-point haul of the campaign as Edo Kayembe netted the only goal of the game from the penalty spot 19 minutes from time.

That result saw Cleverley's men move level on points with Blackburn and one behind fifth-placed West Bromwich Albion, and they now head to Hillsborough aiming to correct their poor away form with a victory to move into the playoff spots.

Sheffield Wednesday Championship form:

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Sheffield Wednesday form (all competitions):

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Watford Championship form:

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Team News

Danny Rohl rotated his Sheffield Wednesday squad for Tuesday's trip to Brentford and should revert to a full-strength starting XI on Saturday, with defender Akin Famewo and winger Olaf Kobacki having joined Nathaniel Chalobah and Michael Ihiekwe in the engine room.

In Famewo's absence, Dominic Iorfa should line up in a back three with Di'Shon Bernard and Liam Palmer, while Southampton loanee Shea Charles and captain Barry Bannan will return from the start in the midfield.

Djeidi Gassama has a claim to keep his place in attack after levelling the scores against Brentford, while Josh Windass, Michael Smith, Anthony Musaba, Ike Ugbo and Jamal Lowe will also fight to start up top.

Watford remain without defender Angelo Ogbonna for the trip to Hillsborough, while Tom Dele-Bashiru is unlikely to return from his own injury setback in time to feature at the weekend.

Imran Louza will compete to come in from the start, but Tom Ince could again get the nod in the midfield alongside Moussa Sissoko and Edo Kayembe, who leads the Hornets' scoring charts with five goals in 11 Championship appearances so far this season.

Kwadwo Baah and Giorgi Chakvetadze should continue their strike partnership, while Ryan Andrews will hope to regain his spot on the right-hand side of their 3-5-2 setup.

Sheffield Wednesday possible starting lineup:

Beadle; Palmer, Bernard, Iorfa; Valentin, Charles, Bannan, Johnson; Windass, Smith, Gassama

Watford possible starting lineup:

Bachmann; Pollock, Sierralta, Porteous; Andrews, Ince, Kayembe, Sissoko, Larouci; Baah, Chakvetadze

We say: Sheffield Wednesday 2-1 Watford

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