Sheffield Wednesday welcome Sheffield United to Hillsborough on Sunday for the second iteration of the Steel City derby this season.
The visitors picked up a 1-0 victory over their rivals in the reverse fixture in November and boast a slender lead over the chasing pack in the top two of the Championship table.
Match preview
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Sheffield Wednesday head back to Hillsborough on Sunday aiming to further narrow their gap to the Championship playoff places with a first victory over their city rivals since 2012.
The Owls have enjoyed a much-improved first full season under the management of Danny Rohl thus far, remaining in the top-six race having earned 51 points from their 37 games thus far, winning 14 and losing 14 of those.
Their home form has been a cause for concern, though, with only one side recording fewer than the 22 points they have managed on home turf, having not prevailed at Hillsborough since a New Year's Day triumph over Derby County.
Rohl's men looked to have all but dropped out of the playoff fight following three straight defeats in late February, but they have since bounced back with consecutive victories heading into the derby, firstly triumphing away at Plymouth Argyle before coming from 2-0 down to win 3-2 away at Norwich City on Tuesday thanks to second-half goals from Michael Ihiekwe, Josh Windass and Djeidi Gassama.
With momentum back on their side, and having moved up to 11th spot and within five points of the top six, Sheffield Wednesday will aim to avenge their earlier defeat to the visitors and take another step towards the playoff spots with another three-point haul at the weekend.
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Sheffield United, meanwhile, make the short trip across the city aiming to complete the first league double recorded by either side since they won on both occasions in the 2005-06 Championship season.
Tyrese Campbell netted the only goal in the reverse fixture at Bramall Lane in one of the Blades' 24 league wins so far this season, and they have sat in the top two since mid-January as a result, now sitting on 77 points having overcome a two-point deduction.
The success of Chris Wilder's side is in no small part down to their fine away record, with no other side in England's second tier managing more than their 37 points in 18 games on the road thus far, including five straight away wins heading into Sunday's test, most recently triumphing away at Queens Park Rangers to bounce back from a 2-1 defeat to leaders Leeds United.
A home victory over Preston North End followed last weekend thanks to a Campbell goal, before he again had them 1-0 up over Bristol City on Tuesday, only for Mark Sykes to force a share of the spoils at Bramall Lane with a 90th-minute equaliser.
Now trailing Leeds by two points and leading third-placed Burnley by the same margin with nine games remaining, Sheffield United will aim to get back to winning ways and strengthen their automatic promotion bid with just a second victory at Hillsborough since that double in 2006.
Team News
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Danny Rohl may opt to field an unchanged Sheffield Wednesday starting XI from their comeback win over Norwich City in midweek, with defenders Akin Famewo and Di'Shon Bernard remaining sidelined by injuries alongside midfielder Stuart Armstrong and winger Anthony Musaba.
In the absence of those centre-backs, Max Lowe, who joined the Owls from Sheffield United in the summer, should continue to deputise alongside Michael Ihiekwe, while Dominic Iorfa will compete to start on the right-hand side having returned from his own layoff in recent weeks.
Svante Ingelsson should again join key men Shea Charles and Barry Bannan in midfield, while Callum Paterson will hope to continue leading the line with support from Josh Windass and Djeidi Gassama, both of whom got on the scoresheet at Carrow Road leaving the former on 11 league goals for the season.
Sheffield United continue to contend with several injury issues of their own heading into the Steel City Derby, with right-backs Alfie Gilchrist and Harry Clarke likely remaining confined to the treatment room alongside Oliver Arblaster, Rhys Norrington-Davies and Tom Davies.
Key midfielder Vinicius Souza also missed the draw with Bristol City, meaning Hamza Choudhury and Sydie Peck could again partner up in the engine room with Femi Seriki lining up on the right-hand side of a back four in the absence of Clarke and Gilchrist.
Tyrese Campbell will lead the line with confidence, having scored in three consecutive games to move onto nine league goals for the season, while Gustavo Hamer should rejoin Callum O'Hare and Ben Brereton Diaz in support of the front man.
Sheffield Wednesday possible starting lineup:
Beadle; Iorfa, Ihiekwe, Lowe, Johnson; Bannan, Charles, Ingelsson; Windass, Paterson, Gassama
Sheffield United possible starting lineup:
Cooper; Seriki, Ahmedhodzic, Robinson, Burrows; Choudhury, Peck; Brereton Diaz, O'Hare, Hamer; Campbell
We say: Sheffield Wednesday 1-1 Sheffield United
In what promises to be a cagey affair between two sides hoping to improve their promotion bids in a Steel City Derby, we cannot quite pick a winner and instead anticipate a low-scoring draw at Hillsborough.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Sam Varley
