In a replay of Saturday's Championship contest, Sheffield Wednesday and Coventry City will again do battle at Hillsborough on Friday with an FA Cup round-of-16 place on the line.
The visitors picked up a 2-1 win in South Yorkshire to complete a league double over their hosts, with both sides now battling for a place in the final 16 of the FA Cup.
Match preview
© Reuters
Sheffield Wednesday will return to FA Cup action on Friday with the aim of advancing to the round of 16 for the first time since the 2019-20 season, after advancing through the third round in emphatic fashion early this year.
The Owls were drawn at home to fellow Championship outfit Cardiff City in their first game of this year's competition, and they dished out a 4-0 beating to advance, as Josh Windass, Liam Palmer and Mallik Wilks got on the scoresheet alongside a Romaine Sawyers own goal.
That triumph made it three wins on the bounce for Danny Rohl's side, who had moved closer to safety in the Championship with back-to-back triumphs over Preston North End and Hull City around the turn of the year, but they have since seen their momentum halted in the fight for survival with back-to-back league defeats heading into Friday's contest.
The South Yorkshire outfit firstly travelled to promotion-chasing Southampton and suffered a 4-0 beating, with Che Adams, Adam Armstrong, Ryan Fraser and Sekou Mara helping themselves to goals, before most recently hosting Coventry City on Saturday and seeking to avenge a 2-0 Boxing Day defeat, only to fall to another loss with Josh Windass's goal only enough to pull the score back to 2-1.
With their deficit to 21st-placed Huddersfield Town now stretched back to five points with 18 league games to go, Sheffield Wednesday will turn their focus to the FA Cup on Friday and bid to advance and rebuild a degree of momentum before returning to their league pursuits against Watford on Wednesday.
© Reuters
Their visitors, meanwhile, will travel to Hillsborough for the second time in a week in search of a third win over Friday's hosts this season, with their sights set on the FA Cup round of 16 having not surpassed this stage in the last five attempts.
Coventry City also entered this year's iteration of the FA Cup in the third round and advanced in similarly dominant fashion to the Owls, hosting third-tier Oxford United and dishing out a 6-2 beating as Joel Latibeaudiere, Ben Sheaf, Kasey Palmer and Callum O'Hare all found the net before Matt Godden added a late brace.
That result came in the midst of an impressive league run for Mark Robins's side, who have quickly scaled the Championship table with a nine-match unbeaten streak producing six victories including two triumphs over Friday's opponents, firstly prevailing in a 2-0 win at home on Boxing Day thanks to Tatsuhiro Sakamoto's brace.
Then following the cup win and a 3-1 beating of league leaders Leicester City, thanks to Callum O'Hare's brace and a Milan van Ewijk goal, the Sky Blues most recently travelled to South Yorkshire for the reverse fixture on Saturday and held on for a 2-1 victory, having initially gone two goals ahead through a Ben Sheaf double.
Now sitting sixth in the Championship thanks to their climb, and having gone unbeaten for 10 matches and picked up four straight wins in all competitions, Coventry City will set out to again get the better of Sheffield Wednesday on Friday and further add to a promising season with a victory to advance in the FA Cup.
Team News
© Reuters
Danny Rohl deployed a strong Sheffield Wednesday starting XI for their FA Cup third-round tie against Cardiff City, but given the busy league schedule and increasingly intense fight for survival, he may opt to make more rotations on Friday, with Callum Paterson and Dominic Iorfa remaining sidelined by injuries.
Ike Ugbo, who arrived on loan from Troyes early in January, should earn a first start for the Owls up front in a 4-2-3-1 setup, while star man Josh Windass may be afforded a rest, with Mallik Wilks likely to come into the supporting trio.
George Byers and Momo Diaby could also come in from the start in the engine room, allowing captain Barry Bannan to sit out, while Bambo Diaby may join Di'Shon Bernard at the heart of the back four with Cameron Dawson also vying to return between the sticks after saving two penalties in the previous round, having since been displaced by Brighton & Hove Albion loanee James Beadle.
Coventry City could also make several changes for Friday's game in the midst of a busy run of Championship fixtures, and Ellis Simms should come in to lead the line from the start in their own 4-2-3-1 setup, with Matt Godden likely to sit out and Haji Wright confined to the treatment room.
Elsewhere, Fabio Tavares is in line to come into the trio behind the lone striker, while Jamie Allen and Victor Torp should come into the midfield from the outset, affording rests for key men Callum O'Hare and Ben Sheaf.
Changes could also be made at the back with Joel Latibeaudiere and Jay Dasilva set to earn opportunities on the right and left-hand sides respectively, while veteran Kyle McFadzean should be handed a start after seeing appearances limited this term.
Sheffield Wednesday possible starting lineup:
Dawson; Palmer, Bernard, Diaby, Famewo; Byers, Diaby; Gassama, Wilks, Musaba; Ugbo
Coventry City possible starting lineup:
Wilson; Latibeaudiere, McFadzean, Kitching, Dasilva; Allen, Torp; Tavares, Eccles, Sakamoto; Wright
We say: Sheffield Wednesday 1-2 Coventry City
We expect both sides to rotate heavily for the clash at Hillsborough, and given the visitors have more quality and depth throughout their squad, we back them to make it back-to-back wins in South Yorkshire and advance on Friday.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
