MX23RW : Monday, December 23 08:12:10| >> :120:49020:49020:
[monks data]
Sheffield Wednesday logo
Championship
Aug 16, 2014 at 3pm UK
 
Derby logo

0-0

FT

Preview: Sheffield Wednesday vs. Derby County

Sports Mole looks ahead to Saturday's Championship clash between Sheffield Wednesday and Derby, who both won their opening matches of the season.

Sheffield Wednesday will be hoping to improve their already impressive start to the season this weekend when they host Derby County at Hillsborough on Saturday.

The Owls produced something of a surprise result in their opening match of the campaign last weekend, beating Brighton & Hove Albion 1-0 at the Amex Stadium in what was Sami Hyypia's first game in charge of the Seagulls.

Things don't get any easier for Stuart Gray's side as they take on a Derby side tipped for automatic promotion next, but he will have taken huge confidence from how his side have started the 2014-15 campaign.

Wednesday made it two wins from two on Tuesday with a commanding victory over Notts County in the League Cup, keeping a second clean sheet in the process.

For a team that made such a poor start last season, amassing a decent number of points in the early stages this time around could enable them to push on and challenge for a top-half finish.

Gray has moved to add further firepower to his front line as well, signing Stevie May from St Johnstone, and the new boy could feature this weekend having missed the Notts County clash.

One player who will not be involved is Dejan Kelhar, however, after the new signing was ruled out for most of the season with a knee injury.

Derby have also made a promising start to the season as they look to get over the heartbreak of having missed out on promotion to the Premier League in the dying stages of the playoff final last term.

They were forced to wait for the winner against newly-promoted Rotherham United in their opening match of the campaign, but it duly arrived with eight minutes remaining courtesy of Jeff Hendrick.

It may not have been the most convincing of victories for a team that is expected to be challenging at the top of the table, but an early three points on the board will certainly please manager Steve McClaren.

The boss wasn't happy with his side in midweek, however, despite progressing into the second round of the League Cup with a 2-0 win over Carlisle United.

The Rams squandered a number of good chances throughout the match before finally sealing the victory in the 93rd minute through Chris Martin.

George Thorne remains absent with a knee injury this weekend, while Jamie Ward and Leon Best are both pushing for starts, but McClaren could opt to name an unchanged side.

Recent form

Sheff Weds: WDLDWW

Derby: WLWWWW

Possible starting lineups

Sheff Weds: Westwood; Palmer, Lees, Loovens, Mattock; Maguire, Coke, Hutchinson, Maghoma; Lee; May

Derby: Grant; Christie, Keogh, Buxton, Forsyth; Bryson, Hughes, Hendrick; Dawkins, Martin, Russell

Sports Mole says: 1-2


ID:171157: cacheID:171157:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:6294:
Written by
Barney Corkhill
No Data Analysis info

Previews by email

Click here to get Sports Mole's daily email of previews and predictions for every major game!


Restore Data
Share this article now:
Jeff Hendrick of Derby in action during the Sky Bet Championship Playoff Final match between Derby County and Queens Park Rangers at Wembley Stadium on May 24, 2014
Read Next:
Derby battle through against Carlisle
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Sheffield UnitedSheff Utd22155232112148
2Leeds UnitedLeeds22136341152645
3Burnley2212822891944
4Sunderland22127334181643
5Blackburn RoversBlackburn2111462518737
6Middlesbrough22105738281035
7West Bromwich AlbionWest Brom22811326161035
8Watford2110473028234
9Sheffield WednesdaySheff Weds229582830-232
10Millwall217772118328
11Swansea CitySwansea227692424027
12Bristol City226972628-227
13Norwich CityNorwich226883734326
14Queens Park RangersQPR2251072328-525
15Luton TownLuton2274112538-1325
16Derby CountyDerby2266102728-124
17Coventry CityCoventry2266102834-624
18Preston North EndPreston2241172229-723
19Stoke CityStoke2257102330-722
20Portsmouth204882535-1020
21Hull City2247112131-1019
22Cardiff CityCardiff2146111934-1518
23Oxford UnitedOxford Utd2146112137-1618
24Plymouth ArgylePlymouth2146112245-2318


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!