Sheffield Wednesday will again look to break into the top two of the League One table on Saturday, when they travel to Pride Park to take on Derby County.
After three straight wins in the third tier, the Owls now sit just a single point outside of the automatic promotion spots, while their hosts also find themselves unbeaten in their last five league matches.
Match preview
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Following their relegation from the Championship last season, Derby County set out to rebuild on and off the pitch this term and push to climb back into England's second tier, and they have experienced a relatively steady start, collecting eight victories and 29 points from their opening 18 league outings.
Paul Warne was brought in to replace Liam Rosenior and lead the side from late September, and after a slow start to life at Pride Park, he is starting to see improvement from his new side, with the Rams now unbeaten in five matches in the third tier, firstly putting up draws with Exeter City and Morecambe either side of a 4-2 beating of Bristol Rovers.
The Derbyshire outfit would then return to winning ways away at MK Dons, as Haydon Roberts, James Collins and Nathaniel Mendez-Laing all got on the scoresheet in a 3-1 victory, before they made it back-to-back triumphs with a 5-0 thrashing of Torquay United in their FA Cup first-round replay and earned a creditable point from a goalless draw away at Portsmouth in their latest League One outing.
Warne's side now come into Saturday's game on the back of another FA Cup win last weekend, as they travelled to Newport County and booked their place in the third round with a 2-1 triumph thanks to David McGoldrick's 88th-minute winner, after Louie Sibley had drawn them level early in the second half.
Now turning their attention back to their fight to get into the playoff places, having cut the gap to sixth place to a single point, the Rams will look to take an impressive scalp at the weekend against one of the league's dominant sides and put a ninth three-point haul of the season on the board.
That will be no easy task, though, as Sheffield Wednesday arrive in formidable form, with their only defeat in the last 11 games in all competitions coming in a penalty shootout in the EFL Cup away at Premier League outfit Southampton.
In that spell, Darren Moore's side have put a seven-game unbeaten run together in England's third tier, including three straight three-point hauls heading into Saturday's trip, having firstly returned to winning ways with a 4-2 beating of Burton Albion.
Following an FA Cup triumph over Morecambe and that narrow defeat to Southampton, after a 1-1 draw away from home in normal time, the Owls put three more points on the board with a 1-0 win away at Accrington Stanley, and they won by the same scoreline in their last league game at home to Shrewsbury Town in mid-November, as Mark McGuinness netted the only goal of the game in the first half.
They also come into the game following FA Cup action last weekend, with Moore's men also advancing to the third round and booking a tie with Newcastle United thanks to a 2-1 beating of Mansfield Town on home turf, with Michael Smith hitting a brace in the final 15 minutes to turn the game on its head and send his side through.
Having now set their sights on League One's top two sides Plymouth Argyle and Ipswich Town, with the latter only a single point ahead thanks to the Owls' eye-catching form, Sheffield Wednesday will go in search of a fourth straight win in the third tier on Saturday to stand a chance of climbing into the automatic promotion spots if the Tractor Boys slip up in their contest.
Team News
Derby County come into Saturday's game with several injury concerns to contend with, as Curtis Davies and James Chester are sidelined with Tom Barkhuizen a doubt, although winger Nathaniel Mendez-Laing should be fit to start against the side he left in the summer, as will goalkeeper Joe Wildsmith, who spent eight years with the Owls.
Elsewhere, former Sheffield United man David McGoldrick has been a key man in attack since his summer arrival, hitting six goals in all competitions thus far, and he should start up front alongside either James Collins or Blades loanee Will Osula.
In the absence of Davies and Chester, Eiran Cashin should again line up in a back three alongside Craig Forsyth and Jake Rooney, while Korey Smith and Conor Hourihane offer quality and experience in midfield with the likes of Louie Sibley, Liam Thompson and Max Bird fighting to join them.
Sheffield Wednesday set up in Darren Moore's preferred 3-5-2 shape in their league triumph over Shrewsbury Town, and, in the continued absence of centre-back Ben Heneghan, Michael Ihiekwe, Mark McGuinness and Reece James could again line up as a back three with Dominic Iorfa and Nottingham Forest loanee Alex Mighten operating as wing-backs.
Talismanic midfielder Barry Bannan will captain the side, with the likes of Tyreeq Bakinson, Will Vaulks and Fisayo Dele-Bashiru fighting to join him in the engine room, while competition is also rife in the attacking areas.
Michael Smith is likely to start in the front two, having impressed since joining in the summer from Rotherham United, while Josh Windass is another danger man, with either him or Lee Gregory leading the race to start ahead of the likes of Mallik Wilks and Callum Paterson.
Derby County possible starting lineup:
Wildsmith; Rooney, Cashin, Forsyth; Mendez-Laing, Smith, Hourihane, Bird, Sibley; McGoldrick, Collins
Sheffield Wednesday possible starting lineup:
Stockdale; Ihiekwe, McGuinness, James; Iorfa, Bannan, Dele-Bashiru, Vaulks, Mighten; Smith, Windass
We say: Derby County 1-2 Sheffield Wednesday
Derby County look to be improving under Paul Warne and they do possess quality, but we see the visitors being slightly too strong and extending their dominant run of form with a narrow away win at the weekend.
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Top tip
Sam Varley
