Preview: Blackburn Rovers vs Sheffield Wednesday - prediction, team news, lineups

Two of the Championship table's bottom three will do battle at Ewood Park on Tuesday, as Blackburn Rovers welcome Sheffield Wednesday in a rearranged contest after their meeting in December was cut short due to a waterlogged pitch.

The visitors are rooted to the foot of the division after points deductions and a long winless run, while their hosts have dropped into 22nd spot in their own rut and sit three points adrift of safety.

Match preview

Blackburn Rovers return to Championship action on Tuesday in search of a much-needed return to winning ways in their survival bid.

Valerien Ismael's side sat on 19 points after their first 15 outings in England's second tier in mid-November, but they have since added just one more notch to their wins tally and put 10 more points on the board in 14 further outings.

After leading Sheffield Wednesday 1-0 in early December before the postponement of the game for a waterlogged pitch, Rovers' only victory since November came at home to Millwall before Christmas, with a winless run now stood at eight Championship matches and nine in all competitions.

Ismael's men also head into Tuesday having lost three of their last four matches in the Championship, only interrupted by a 1-1 draw at home to Watford after 3-0 and 3-1 losses to Ipswich Town and Swansea City, before hosting Hull City on Saturday and again falling short as Lewis Koumas scored the only goal of the game for the visitors nine minutes from time.

Having now dropped to 22nd spot due to their poor run in recent months, sitting three points adrift of safety and with only the visiting basement side having scored fewer than their 26 goals, Blackburn Rovers will hope to make the most of their game in hand and move level with 21st-placed West Bromwich Albion in their bid to avoid the drop this season.

Their opponents, meanwhile, make the trip across to Lancashire aiming to end a winless run that has ticked into its fifth month in what has been a season to forget.

Sheffield Wednesday were always set to be up against it in the Championship this term, losing large parts of their squad over the summer and entering administration in October due to financial mismanagement, leaving Henrik Pedersen's small squad fighting against deductions totalling 18 points.

They have been unable to overcome that thus far, earning just 11 points from their 29 games to still sit on -7, having won just one of those, scored a league-low tally of 18 goals and conceded a league-high 57.

Since their only league win of the season in mid-September, the Owls have drawn seven and lost 16 of their last 23 second-tier matches, most recently losing their last seven outings in all competitions without scoring, having hosted Wrexham last time out and fallen just short as Sam Smith scored the only goal for the visitors on the hour mark.

Remain rooted to the foot of the table, 34 points behind 23rd spot and 39 adrift of safety, with hopes to get through the remainder of the season and approach an exit from their administration and transition to new ownership, Sheffield Wednesday will at least aim to end their long rut and taste victory on Tuesday.

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Team News

Blackburn Rovers will remain without Scott Wharton, Sidnei Tavares, Ryan Hedges, Matty Litherland and Augustus Kargbo on Tuesday due to ongoing injuries.

Andri Gudjohnsen, who lead the squad with seven league goals this term, will hope to return to the attack from the outset, after Yuki Ohashi led the line with support from Ryoya Morishita, Todd Cantwell and Mathias Jorgensen at the weekend.

Moussa Baradji and Adam Forshaw will compete to join mainstay Sondre Tronstad in the engine room.

Sheffield Wednesday's thin squad remains badly hit by injuries, with goalkeeper Pierce Charles, defenders Dominic Iorfa, Di'Shon Bernard, Ernie Weaver and Max Lowe, midfielder Nathaniel Chalobah and attackers George Brown and Ike Ugbo still ruled out.

They have been able to add a reinforcement on the left-hand side with the loan signing of Crystal Palace defender Tayo Adaramola, though, and he should make his debut at wing-back with Liam Palmer, Gabriel Otegbayo and Liam Cooper continuing in a back three.

Palmer is the Owls' new club captain after the January departure of star man Barry Bannan, and Svante Ingelsson and Jaden Heskey will continue in the midfield void left by him.

Blackburn Rovers possible starting lineup:

Toth; Alebiosu, O'Riordan, McLoughlin, Cashin; Baradji, Tronstad; Morishita, Cantwell, Jorgensen; Gudjohnsen

Sheffield Wednesday possible starting lineup:

Cooper; Palmer, Otegbayo, Cooper; Valery, Heskey, Ingelsson, Adaramola; Cadamarteri, Yates, McNeill

We say: Blackburn Rovers 2-1 Sheffield Wednesday

Sheffield Wednesday's starting XI may look a little more competitive than it has in recent months with several crucial additions on loan, and they head to a Blackburn Rovers side also low on confidence.

The Owls are still facing a distinct lack of depth, though, and could again fall short over a 90-minute as has been the case in their recent outings, with a victory a clear requirement for the hosts in their survival bid.

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