The final game of matchday 19 in the Championship comes from Hillsborough on Sunday lunchtime, as Sheffield Wednesday play host to promotion favourites Derby County.
A disappointing League Cup exit still fresh in the mind, the Owls will be desperate to get their own playoff charge back on track following a somewhat inconsistent run of form.
Sheffield Wednesday
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Carlos Carvalhal had no complaints following his side's 2-0 defeat at Stoke City in their midweek cup tie, admitting that the better team had won in the end.
Excitement had been building in the blue and white half of Sheffield following some promising results, particularly the 3-0 thrashing of Arsenal to set up that quarter-final meeting in the Potteries.
Attention can now be firmly fixed on the club's hopes of returning to the Premier League after a 15-year absence from the big time, and with over a third of the campaign gone Wednesday are well on track to achieving their target.
One win in their last four league outings has seen them miss out on the chance to claim a place in the top six, but the Owls have showed some great character to at least keep the points ticking over.
Two late goals in their last home outing against Huddersfield Town secured victory, for example, while Lucas Joao also struck six minutes from time at Blackburn Rovers to ensure that it remains just one defeat in 12.
Carvalhal has also helped turn Hillsborough into something of a fortress this term, with the current six-game unbeaten run on home soil their best such streak since August 2012 when promotion had just been secured from the third tier.
Wednesday now face off against a number of the sides around them in the table, starting with third-placed Derby before taking on the likes of Cardiff City, Birmingham City and Middlesbrough before the end of the month.
All the hallmarks of a sustained top-six challenge are certainly there, but the South Yorkshire outfit must now ensure that their League Cup hangover does not carry over into their league campaign, or else another mediocre finish could be in the pipeline.
Recent form in Championship: WWDLWD
Recent form (all competitions): WDLWDL
Derby County
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The slow start to life under Paul Clement has certainly become a thing of the past for Derby, who have recovered from a five-game winless run to kick off the season with just one loss in their 13 outings since.
Throw into the equation that 10 of those games ended in victory, and it came as very little surprise to see Derby top the Championship table for a short while last weekend.
Their most impressive triumph of the campaign to date last time out at Hull City, who are arguably their biggest challengers for top spot in the second tier, ensured that Clement's charges leapfrogged their opponents at the summit.
Middlesbrough and Brighton & Hove Albion have since moved back into the two vacant automatic promotion spots, yet ahead of this weekend's action it is County who many are backing to claim the title.
A disappointing slender defeat to arch-rivals Nottingham Forest aside, it has been a near-perfect set of results for the Rams since September, with this fine run being built on a solid foundation at the back.
Four clean sheets have been recorded in their last five outings, lifting them not only to the top of the current form guide but making sure that they also boast the best defensive and away records in the division.
Yet despite all this, it must be remembered that Derby are still not occupying a top-two berth, which was very much the target set for Clement when he was brought in from Real Madrid in the summer.
A tough run of fixtures has been navigated through in some style so far, with successive wins over Cardiff and Hull, but now the Rams must face off against Wednesday, Brighton and Middlesbrough over the next month.
Recent form in Championship: WWWLWW
Team News
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Tom Lees will miss the visit of Derby due to a hamstring injury picked up against Stoke, which saw him leave the Britannia Stadium on crutches.
Wednesday suffered further defensive problems on Tuesday night, too, as Glenn Loovens and Jack Hunt limped off to add to an injury list already bearing the names of Michael Turner and Vincent Sasso.
Darryl Lachman and Claude Dielna will both therefore be in contention on Sunday afternoon, but Hunt may yet return and Fernando Forestieri will certainly be available after missing out in midweek.
In terms of the visitors, they can call upon Bradley Johnson in the middle once more following his suspension at Hull, but two-goal Jacob Butterfield may have thrown a spanner in the works with his showing.
Jeff Hendrick was the man to replace Johnson at the KC Stadium, so he is likely to be the one to make way in a lineup that is not expected to change too much from the huge victory on Humberside.
Sheffield Wednesday possible starting lineup:
Westwood; Hunt, Lachman, Palmer, Pudil; Lee, Semedo; Wallace, Hooper, Forestieri; Nuhiu
Derby County possible starting lineup:
Carson; Christie, Keogh, Shackell, Warnock; Johnson, Thorne, Butterfield; Ince, Martin, Weimann
Head To Head
The Owls have failed to find the net in four of their last five home encounters with Derby.
County have gone 12 games unbeaten against their opponents, winning eight and drawing four during that run.
Last season's meeting at Hillsborough between these two sides finished in a disappointing goalless stalemate, but five goals were scored when Derby prevailed in the reverse meeting earlier this year.
We say: Sheffield Wednesday 1-2 Derby County
Wednesday look good value to challenge for the playoffs in Carvalhal's first season in charge, but they come up against the division's in-form side who have one eye on reclaiming their spot at the summit. A tight contest can be expected in South Yorkshire, though it will be the visitors who come out on top to strengthen their status as the Championship's best away side.
Daniel Lewis
