Sheffield Wednesday will set out to continue their climb towards safety at the bottom end of the Championship table on Saturday, when they welcome Cardiff City to Hillsborough.
The hosts have climbed to within six points of 21st place with an improved run in recent weeks, while their visitors have dropped to 12th spot as a result of a tricky patch.
Match preview
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After enduring a dismal start to the Championship season, initially under Xisco Munoz and at the beginning of Danny Rohl's reign, Sheffield Wednesday now find themselves in the midst of a vastly improved run in their bid to avoid relegation this term.
Indeed, following a defeat away at Birmingham City on their return from the November international break, the Owls sat at the foot of England's second tier with just six points on the board from their opening 17 outings, but they appear to have turned a corner since, adding 10 more points to that tally in the last five attempts.
Across those five games, they have suffered just one defeat, firstly taking a creditable point from a 1-1 draw with Leicester City before scoring their second and third wins of the season at home to Blackburn Rovers and away at Stoke City, with Anthony Musaba netting the only goal in injury time in the latter.
A trip to Norwich City then ended in a 3-1 defeat, but they would crucially bounce back in somewhat of a relegation six-pointer at home to 22nd-placed Queens Park Rangers last Saturday, despite trailing by a goal to nil heading into the final five minutes, as Baily Cadamarteri levelled the scores before Musaba completed the dramatic turnaround with another late goal.
Now with plenty of renewed confidence back on their side and a degree of momentum, the South Yorkshire outfit have quickly reduced what was an unenviable deficit to safety to just six points, and they will aim to make it back-to-back wins at the weekend with the chance to further boost their growing survival hopes under Rohl if the festive period goes their way.
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In their way stand a Cardiff City side in somewhat of a contrasting trajectory, as they travel to Yorkshire in the midst of a tough run of form after enjoying a strong start to the campaign.
Under the new management of Erol Bulut following a 21st-placed finish last time around, the Welsh outfit began in much more impressive fashion in the second tier, establishing themselves in the playoff fight as they earned 27 points from their first 17 outings, winning eight of those while only suffering six defeats.
Since picking up a 2-1 win away at Preston North End, the Bluebirds have been unable to continue their impressive form, though, as they have now fallen to four further losses in the last five matches, firstly falling short in tough contests against West Bromwich Albion and Southampton before arresting the slump with a 1-0 victory over Millwall.
Birmingham were the next visitors to South Wales, and Bulut's team came away empty-handed as Juninho Bacuna netted the only goal of the game, before they most recently travelled to take on Hull City on Saturday and succumbed to a 3-0 beating as Aaron Connolly opened the scoring in the 32nd minute before Scott Twine and Ozan Tufan added second-half goals for the hosts.
As a result of their dip in form, Cardiff City have quickly dropped to 12th spot in the Championship, and now trailing the top six by six points while only leading 13th-placed Middlesbrough and 14th-placed Bristol City on goal difference and by a point respectively, they will be keen to bounce back and correct their form starting with an away win on Saturday to ensure they climb back up the division as opposed to falling further.
Team News
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Danny Rohl should only make minimal changes to his Sheffield Wednesday side from their home win over QPR last time out, with defender Dominic Iorfa remaining sidelined by injury alongside midfielder Momo Diaby and attackers Josh Windass and Mallik Wilks, while John Buckley also saw his substitute appearance cut short at the weekend and is unlikely to be deemed fit at Hillsborough.
George Byers is in line for a return in midfield, though, after also only featuring off the bench against QPR, and he could rejoin Barry Bannan and Will Vaulks in the engine room, while Bambo Diaby and Di'Shon Bernard should again partner up in the middle of a back four.
Bailey Cadamarteri will again get the nod to lead the line over Michael Smith, with the 18-year-old having netted three goals in the Owls' last four games, while Anthony Musaba is also in scoring form and will look to cause problems on the wing.
Cardiff City continue to deal with several injuries of their own, as key midfielders Joe Ralls and Aaron Ramsey remain sidelined alongside winger Callum O'Dowda, while Ryan Wintle also missed their trip to Hull City and may not be deemed fit in time to feature on Saturday.
Those losses leave the Bluebirds with limited options in midfield, and Ebou Adams should again get the nod over Romaine Sawyers to join Emmanouil Siopis in the middle of their 4-2-3-1 shape, while Mark McGuinness and Dimitrios Goutas are mainstays at the heart of the defence.
Bulut has plenty more options in attack, with Kion Etete hoping to displace Ike Ugbo and lead the line, while Josh Bowler, Ollie Tanner and Callum Robinson are also fighting to come in from the start after Karlan Grant, Rubin Colwill and Yakou Meite were preferred in a supporting trio last time out.
Sheffield Wednesday possible starting lineup:
Dawson; Valentin, Diaby, Bernard, Famewo; Byers, Vaulks, Bannan; Paterson, Cadamarteri, Musaba
Cardiff City possible starting lineup:
Alnwick; Ng, Goutas, McGuinness, Collins; Adams, Siopis; Bowler, Robinson, Grant; Ugbo
We say: Sheffield Wednesday 2-1 Cardiff City
Sheffield Wednesday are quickly gaining momentum in their bid to defy all odds and climb out of the bottom three, and we back Danny Rohl's men to continue their impressive run with home advantage against a Cardiff side who are slipping down the Championship table.
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Top tip
Sam Varley
