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Preview: Sheffield Wednesday vs. Brighton & Hove Albion

Sports Mole previews Tuesday night's Championship match between Sheffield Wednesday and Brighton & Hove Albion.

Sheffield Wednesday can stretch their unbeaten league run to eight games if they overcome Championship leaders Brighton & Hove Albion at Hillsborough on Tuesday night.

The Seagulls find themselves in an unlikely position at the top of the table having gone all season unbeaten so far.


Sheffield Wednesday

Carlos Carvalhal the manager of Sheffield Wednesday looks on during the Capital One Cup fourth round match between Sheffield Wednesday and Arsenal at Hillsborough Stadium on October 27, 2015 in Sheffield, England.© Getty Images

Carlos Carvalhal's side seem to still be on cloud nine after knocking Arsenal out of the Capital One Cup in the fourth round last week.

The team continued their fine form to seal a 1-0 victory over Nottingham Forest at the weekend thanks to a goal from Fernando Forestieri.

After upsetting Arsenal in a 3-0 win at Hillsborough, the Owls will be full of confidence that they can cause a similar problem to the leaders of the Championship on Tuesday night.

It was a difficult start to the season for Wednesday as they went six games without a win after their opening-day victory over Bristol City.

They have since recovered from that spell to go seven games unbeaten, including two draws and five victories, the last two of which have come back to back in the league.

The wins have taken the club to eighth in the table, just one point off the playoff places, but they have only managed to keep four clean sheets in 14 games.

Recent form: WWDDWW
Recent form (all competitions): WDDWWW


Brighton & Hove Albion

Manager Chris Hughton of Brighton looks on during the Sky Bet Championship match between Brighton & Hove Albion and Norwich City at Amex Stadium on April 3, 2015© Getty Images

At the start of the season, not many would have tipped Brighton to be early contenders for Premier League promotion considering that they finished just six points above relegation in the 2014-15 campaign.

However, Chris Hughton has managed to guide the team to a two-point lead at the top of the standings following eight wins, six draws and not a single league defeat.

Brighton, who have netted 19 goals so far this season, are just above newly-relegated Hull City and Burnley, and there are just six points separating the top six.

Like last season, it is a competitive campaign, and while the Seagulls are unbeaten so far, they have only managed to win twice in their last seven fixtures.

Last Saturday, Jamie Murphy looked to have sealed all three points for Brighton at the Madejski Stadium, but Reading's Matej Vydra netted around 10 minutes from time to seal a 1-1 draw.

Brighton may be flying high at the top of the table, but goals have not been largely forthcoming as the team have only managed to score more than twice on one occasion this season, and that was in a 3-2 win over Ipswich Town.

Recent form: DDWWDD


Team News

Fernando Forestieri of Sheffield Wednesday is tackled by Lawrie Wilson of Bolton during the Sky Bet Championship match between Bolton Wanderers and Sheffield Wednesday at Reebok Stadium on September 15, 2015© Getty Images

Sheffield Wednesday came out of last weekend's match against Forest unscathed, meaning that goalscorer Forestieri is likely to keep his place alongside Barry Bannan and Ross Wallace.

Gary Hooper made his debut at the weekend after coming on as a substitute, but the forward could remain on the bench on Tuesday night as he blends into the team.

Atdhe Nuhiu is likely to the lead the line for the Owls as they attempt to upset the leaders and snatch a third win in a row.

For Brighton, Gaetan Bong remains a long-term casualty as he is not expected to return to action until the New Year due to a thigh injury.

Hughton is likely to keep with the attacking trio of Murphy, Tomer Hemed and Sam Baldock, while Uwe Hunemeier and Lewis Dunk are expected to marshall the defence.

Sheffield Wednesday possible starting lineup:
Westwood; Hunt, Loovens, Lees, Pudil; Lee, Semedo; Wallace, Bannan, Forestieri; Nuhiu

Brighton & Hove Albion possible starting lineup:
Stockdale; Bruno, Huenemeier, Dunk, Rosenior; Kayal, Stephens, Crofts; Murphy, Hemed, Baldock


Head To Head

In the 14 times that these two sides have gone head to head since the turn of the century, Sheffield Wednesday have come out on top six times, compared to Brighton's three wins.

On five occasions, nothing has been able to separate the two teams, but the Owls just edge ahead in goals as they have scored 14 and the Seagulls have nabbed 13.

Wednesday have taken the most out of their meetings having earned 23 points so far, while Brighton have just claimed 14 against the Owls.

This match last season ended in a goalless draw at Hillsborough.


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We say: Sheffield Wednesday 1-1 Brighton & Hove Albion

Brighton may still be unbeaten at this stage of the season, but they are meeting a team that have not suffered a defeat in their last eight league games and 10 overall in all competitions. Being at home has worked well for Wednesday of late given that they have won four of their last five at Hillsborough. However, the Seagulls to provide stern competition and could end up sharing the spoils with their opponents.



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Uwe Hunemeier of Brighton during the Sky Bet Championship match between Ipswich Town and Brighton and Hove Albion at Portman Road stadium on August 29, 2015
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