Stoke City and Sheffield Wednesday have the chance to edge closer to silverware when they go head to head in the quarter-finals of the Capital One Cup on Tuesday.
The Potters head into the match as favourites as they will be hosting at the Britannia Stadium, but the Owls have already dislodged Premier League opposition - beating Newcastle United and Arsenal on their way to this stage of the competition.
Stoke City
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In the last 10 years, Stoke City have reached the quarter-final stage of the League Cup twice, but they have not managed to go beyond that.
In the 2008-09 season, they suffered a 1-0 defeat to Derby County on home turf, and five seasons later, were knocked out by a 2-0 result at the hands of Manchester United at the Britannia.
In the last three competitions, Stoke have not progressed further than the fourth round, but they have an opportunity of nabbing a place in the final four as they face Championship opposition on Tuesday night.
Mark Hughes's side avoided fellow Premier League sides Manchester City, Liverpool, Everton and Southampton, but they cannot afford to underestimate Sheffield Wednesday as the Owls showed their intent by knocking out Arsenal in the fourth round.
On their route to the quarter-finals, Stoke have beaten Luton Town, Fulham and English champions Chelsea, but they needed penalties in two of those games to seal victory.
It was an 8-7 win from the shootout that put Stoke into the next phase of the competition against Luton, while they overcame Chelsea 5-4 on penalties after drawing 1-1 in normal time.
The Potters may be a favourite of the bookies to reach the semi-finals, but they head into this contest on the back of a 2-0 defeat to Sunderland in the Premier League.
It was a disappointing Saturday afternoon for Hughes and his players as they also had to play the majority of the second half with 10 men as captain Ryan Shawcross was sent off for a second bookable offence in the 47th minute.
The goals came inside the final 10 minutes of the match at the Stadium of Light, resulting in Stoke's four-game unbeaten run coming to an end, so Hughes will be even more determined to get the right result against the Owls on Tuesday evening.
They will be boosted by playing in front of a home crowd as the team have won their last two games at the Britannia.
Recent form: WWW
Recent form (all competitions): LWDWWL
Sheffield Wednesday
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Carlos Carvalhal has reinvigorated Sheffield Wednesday since taking over as coach in the summer as the club are currently eighth in the Championship table, making themselves genuine playoff contenders after 18 games.
The Owls have suffered just four defeats in the league so far this season, and they have the chance of reaching the semi-finals of the Capital One Cup as long as they cause another upset to Premier League opposition.
Carvalhal's side seem to be relishing their underdog tag as they managed to oust Newcastle 1-0 and Premier League title contenders Arsenal in an emphatic 3-0 triumph.
Prior to those results, Sheffield Wednesday overcame Mansfield Town and Oxford United, scoring five goals across both games, eventually leading them to the quarter-final stage.
In their last 14 games in all competitions, the Owls have suffered defeat just once, but their away form needs improving as they have only claimed victory in one of their last four trips on the road.
The Britannia is known as a difficult ground to go to, and Carvalhal knows that from personal experience as he lost 2-1 to the Potters in a Europa League clash while in charge of Besiktas in the 2011-12 campaign.
However, Carvalhal has also experienced that winning feeling over Stoke as his Turkish side managed to seal a 3-1 triumph in the reverse fixture in Istanbul during the group stage of the European competition.
Recent form: WWWW
Recent form (all competitions): WWDLWD
Team News
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Stoke City will be without their skipper on Tuesday night as Shawcross was given a red card in Saturday's defeat to Sunderland, therefore resulting in an automatic ban.
It may be a blow for the Potters, but they were without the defender for just under three months at the start of the season due to a back injury that required surgery.
Goalkeeper Shay Given and Marc Muniesa are also unavailable for Stoke due to knee and hamstring injuries respectively, and even though a clash against Manchester City is coming up at the weekend, Hughes could name a relatively strong side to take on the Owls.
Philipp Wollscheid and Marc Wilson could potentially partner up at the back, while Steve Sidwell and Geoff Cameron could be picked to line the midfield.
Peter Crouch, who has been linked with a move away from the Britannia, could be given a rare start up front, with Peter Odemwingie and Ibrahim Afellay providing support from the flanks.
For Sheffield Wednesday, Carvalhal has already confirmed that young goalkeeper Joe Wildsmith will play, while Portuguese forward Lucas Joao could feature following his goalscoring efforts at the weekend.
Sam Hutchinson will also be available for the Owls after serving a suspension.
Stoke City possible starting lineup:
Butland; Bardsley, Wollscheid, Wilson, Pieters; Sidwell, Cameron; Odemwingie, Ireland, Afellay; Crouch
Sheffield Wednesday possible starting lineup:
Wildsmith; Palmer, Lees, Loovens, Pudil; Sougou, Lee, Semedo, Helan; Forestieri, Nuhiu
Head To Head
These two sides have not played one another in a competitive setting since the 2007-08 season when both clubs were in the Championship.
In the last three times that these sides have gone head to head at the Britannia, Stoke have failed to win any of them, losing two.
Overall, Sheffield Wednesday edge ahead of Stoke in the match statistics having won 37 compared to the Potters' 32, while 21 of their meetings have ended in a draw.
The last match between the two sides, which was on March 29, 2008, ended in a 1-1 draw.
We say: Stoke City 2-1 Sheffield Wednesday
Stoke may have the advantage of being at home and being situated in a league above Sheffield Wednesday, but the Owls have proven in this competition that they can defeat Premier League opposition. With a place in the semi-finals at stake, both sides will be taking this clash seriously and it could turn out to be a tight contest. The Owls have the capability of getting a goal in this contest, but Stoke should have enough to see the game out and book themselves a place in the final four.
Danielle Joynson
