A key battle in the fight for top-six spots in the Championship table will take place at the Hawthorns on Saturday, as West Bromwich Albion welcome Sheffield Wednesday.
The hosts currently occupy the final playoff place but only lead seventh-placed Middlesbrough on goal difference and their 10th-placed visitors by two points.
Match preview
© Imago
West Bromwich Albion return to the Hawthorns Stadium on Saturday aiming to strengthen their standing in the Championship's top six following a disappointing setback last weekend.
When Carlos Corberan departed the Baggies before Christmas, they sat in the top six on 35 points from 22 outings, but the Midlands outfit have since added just nine more points to that tally in nine further attempts, firstly producing one victory, three draws and two defeats in a six-game spell under the temporary stewardship of Chris Brunt.
Tony Mowbray then returned to the Hawthorns, where he previously led between 2006 and 2009, and oversaw a losing start away at Middlesbrough, before the Baggies ended a four-match winless streak by thrashing Portsmouth 5-1 thanks to Grady Diangana's brace and goals from Alex Mowatt, Jed Wallace and John Swift.
A trip to basement side Plymouth Argyle then followed at the weekend, and despite taking a lead through Jayson Molumby in the 74th minute, they left Home Park empty-handed as Ryan Hardie quickly levelled from the spot before scoring the decisive goal two minutes from time.
With their lead over the chasing the pack in the playoff race having been eroded during their recent slump, now only sitting ahead of Middlesbrough on goal difference, three sides by two points and three sides by three points, West Bromwich Albion will be keen to put a stronger run together and strengthen their top-six claim starting at the weekend.
© Imago
Their visitors, meanwhile, head to the Hawthorns aiming to leapfrog the hosts and boost their own playoff hopes at the weekend.
With 16 games of the season remaining, Sheffield Wednesday find themselves within touching distance of the top six thanks to a much-improved campaign under Danny Rohl, having picked up 42 points from their 30 outings with only four sides topping their tally of 43 goals at this stage.
That is in no small part down to the Owls' impressive away record, with only four teams having managed more than their 20 points on the road, three of which have played two more than their 14 away games, having most recently visited Queens Park Rangers and ended a three-match winless run with a 2-0 victory thanks to second-half goals from Michael Smith and Callum Paterson.
Strugglers Luton Town then visited Hillsborough last weekend, and despite a dominant display, Rohl's men were only able to share the points as Smith drew them level with a penalty on the hour mark after Alfie Doughty's first-half opener for the visitors.
Now sitting 10th in England's second tier, but only trailing Norwich City and Bristol City by a single point and Saturday's hosts in the top six by two, Sheffield Wednesday will aim to record a seventh away league win of the campaign to move even closer to the playoff spots.
Team News
© Imago
West Bromwich Albion head into the weekend without defender Semi Ajayi, and attackers Daryl Dike and Josh Maja, who sits third the Championship scoring charts with 12 league goals so far this term, as they all contend with ongoing injuries.
The Baggies lost first-choice goalkeeper Alex Palmer to Ipswich Town on deadline day, and Josh Griffiths, who has since been recalled from a loan with Bristol Rovers, will take his place between the sticks behind the back four of Darnell Furlong, Mason Holgate, Torbjorn Heggem and Callum Styles.
After arriving on loan from Southampton, Adam Armstrong, who has notched up 92 goals and assists in his last three Championship campaigns, could earn a debut up front, with the likes of Jed Wallace, Mikey Johnston, Tom Fellows, Karlan Grant and Grady Diangana also competing for attacking spots in their 4-4-2 setup.
Danny Rohl should field a similar Sheffield Wednesday starting XI to last week's draw against Luton on Saturday, with defenders Dominic Iorfa and Akin Famewo and attacker Anthony Musaba remaining sidelined by injuries.
Michael Smith should come in to lead the line from the outset, though, having come off the bench to level that game with his seventh league goal of the season.
Stuart Armstrong, who earned a debut off the bench against Luton, could also come in from the start to join key men Barry Bannan and Shea Charles in the midfield, leaving Djeidi Gassama and Josh Windass to support Smith in attack.
West Bromwich Albion possible starting lineup:
Griffiths; Furlong, Holgate, Heggem, Styles; Fellows, Mowatt, Molumby, Diangana; Armstrong, Wallace
Sheffield Wednesday possible starting lineup:
Beadle; Valery, Ihiekwe, Bernard, Lowe; Armstrong, Bannan, Charles; Gassama, Smith, Windass
We say: West Bromwich Albion 1-1 Sheffield Wednesday
Yet to truly get going since Carlos Corberan's departure in December, West Bromwich Albion should find it tough against a competitive Sheffield Wednesday side who have impressed on the road this term, and we anticipate a share of the spoils in this important battle as a result.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Sam Varley
