Good morning! Thank you very much for joining Sports Mole for today's Yorkshire derby between Sheffield Wednesday and Leeds United at Hillsborough. Yorkshire derbies are always very emotionally-charged affairs, and this one is among the most bitter, so we should be in for an interesting match in the Steel City.

We'll start by looking at our hosts, who have improved recently despite still being without a permanent manager. Stuart Gray will again be in caretaker charge of the Owls for today's game, and he will be looking to continue the form that has seen them lost just once in their last six matches in all competitions.

However, while they have made themselves a hard team to beat, Wednesday have also had trouble winning matches so far this season. They have only picked up maximum points in one of their last five games and no side in the Championship have drawn more games than them this season (10). Regular points are good in a relegation battle, but if they want to drag themselves out of danger then they need to start winning more games. Only bottom-placed Barnsley have won fewer this season.

Gray has dragged Wednesday out of the bottom three, however, and the Owls now sit 20th in the Championship table - a position you'd have to think they'd take at the end of the season. They remain just one point clear of the relegation zone and could find themselves back in the dropzone by the end of the day should other results go against them later this afternoon.

Wednesday's main problem so far this season has been scoring goals. Only Charlton have scored fewer than the Owls' 25 outside the bottom three this season, an average of just over one goal per game. At the other end of the pitch things aren't so bad considering their position, with one of the best defensive records in the bottom 10, but in order to improve their win rate they simply have to start finding the net with more regularity.

At home, Wednesday have a somewhat inconsistent record, but they have proved that they are capable of winning games in front of their own fans. In their last six outings at Hillsborough, they have won three and lost three, which is a much higher win percentage than they have managed away from home, so they will be relying on their home form to keep them up this season.

They come up against a Leeds side who will be short of confidence at the moment after a torrid festive period that has seen them slip down the table to eighth. They are without a win in their last five matches in all competitions and have been beaten in each of their last three. They haven't lost four games in a row since September, and Brian McDermott will be desperate to ensure that that record remains.

Despite such poor recent form, Leeds are still just one point off the playoff places and would leapfrog Ipswich into sixth with a win today. It is very tight in the race for the final playoff place at the moment, with six teams within three points of it, so Leeds' poor form can't go on for too much longer if they are to stay in the mix.

Leeds' certainly have the ability to launch a playoff charge this season, as they showed in the first half of the campaign. Only five teams have scored more goals than Brian McDermott's men in the division, while no side outside the top four have won more games than them this season. That being said, their goalscoring form seems to have deserted them in recent weeks, with the Whites managing just three goals in their last five games.

Defensively, they do need to improve if they are to remain among the candidates for promotion this season. Only Derby have conceded more goals than Leeds in the top eight of the league this season, while only two teams have done so in the top 11. They also need to find a way to pick up points from losing positions as no side in the top 15 of the table has lost more games than McDermott's men.

Away from home, things aren't much better for Leeds. They have won just two of their last 11 matches on their travels, losing eight of those games. The most recent of those away defeats was, of course, against Rochdale in the FA Cup last Saturday, a result that drew huge criticism from the Leeds faithful after the game. The visitors will need to find a way to bounce back from that defeat today, otherwise the fans could quickly turn on their team.

They do have a good record against Wednesday in recent times, however. They are unbeaten in their last three meetings, last losing to their Yorkshire rivals in March 2007 when Wednesday won 3-2. Their form at Hillsborough is even better, with just one defeat in their last seven trips here. That 1-0 win for Wednesday in September 2005 was their one and only success against Leeds at Hillsborough since 1995.

Of course, the last meeting here drew some unsavoury scenes as one Leeds 'fan' ran onto the pitch and attacked Wednesday keeper Chris Kirkland. He was banned from all football for six years, and a high police presence is expected for this game to prevent a repeat of the incident.

PREDICTION: We're nearing kickoff at Hillsborough, which means that it is time for my match prediction! This is a tough one to call as the form team are the side much lower down in the table. Leeds will be desperate to respond to the defeat to Rochdale, but they are low on form and low on confidence, so it won't be easy for them. Wednesday are draw specialists, and I see this match going that way again. I'll go for 1-1.

SHEFF WEDS STARTING XI: Kirkland; Palmer, Johnson, Semedo, Llera, Loovens, Maguire, Lee, Nuhiu, Wickham, Maghoma

SHEFF WEDS SUBS: Johnson, McCabe, Helan, Mattock, Lavery, Martinez, McPhail

LEEDS STARTING XI: Kenny; Peltier, Pugh, Pearce, Zaliukas, Lees, Mowatt, Austin, McCormack, Stewart, Kebe

LEEDS SUBS: Varney, Warnock, Brown, Smith, Byram, Poleon, Cairns

So Leeds name both Stewart and Kebe in their starting lineup, handed debuts to both new signings. There is a lot of buzz about the duo around the club, as the fans are hopeful that they can help them push on for a playoff charge.

KICKOFF: Wednesday get us underway at Hillsborough for this Yorkshire derby. Both sides are in need of a win for different reasons, so we should have a good game on our hands this afternoon.

Peltier flies into a couple of challenges on first Maghoma and then Semedo early on. He went into the second with two feet, but Lee Probert doesn't take any action as he got all of the ball. As expected, a feisty start to this derby match.

Maghoma is still down after that challenge. It looks like he took a knock to the side of his head, so the medical personnel are rightly taking their time to treat him. He should be fine to continue, though.

CHANCE! Maghoma is back on and immediately involved again as he is released through the middle. He races through on goal and only has the keeper to beat, but stumbles along and finally loses his footing and falls over before he can't get a shot away. That would have been a clear chance had he been able to stay up.

A cross is swung into the middle and Nuhiu gets up well to beat his man in the air. He can't direct his header on target, however, and Kenny is glad to see it fly harmlessly wide of his goal.

Leeds have a free kick in a good position to cross after Johnson came right through the back of Kebe with a robust aerial challenge. What can Mowatt make of this?

Nothing. He swings it into the middle but it has too much curl on it for his teammates and flies comfortably into the arms of Kirkland.

Kebe has his first chance to run at Johnson, but he turns it down, instead choosing to cross early with no support in the box. That is a strange decision from the winger, who certainly has the pace and quality to cause Johnson problems today.

Wednesday have been the better team in these opening exchanges, but neither side have managed to create a better chance than the one that fell to Maghoma early on. Even that didn't result in a shot as the striker lost his balance.

YELLOW CARD! Llera tries to shepherd the ball out of play but McCormack shows great persistence in keeping it in and skipping around the Spanish defender. Llera knows that he needs to stop the striker so pulls him back cynically and is rightly booked by the ref.

Kebe has his first shot on goal, but it was a really difficult chance and it isn't too surprising to see the ball end up high and wide of the mark. Leeds are starting to settle into this one now.

Really good goalkeeping from Kirkland as he comes a long way to make an important sliding challenge on Kebe, who was racing through on goal. Llera had given the ball away and found himself in a straight race with the winger, but he was helped out by his keeper.

CLOSE! Wednesday make a quick break from a corner and Maghoma and Wickham are leading the charge. Wickham's first touch just forces him a bit wider than he would have liked, but his effort is still good and skims a yard or so past the far post.

That is truly awful defending from Leeds. They clear an initial free kick only as far as the edge of the box, and they rush out in unkempt fashion that leaves a number of Wednesday players in an onside position. The ball is clipped over to Johnson, who has all the time in the world to chest it down and knock it beyond Kenny from close range. How on earth was he afforded so much time in such a dangerous position there?! Poor defending.

You have to say that Wednesday just about deserve their lead here. They have been the better team so far as Leeds struggle to find a foothold in the game. They certainly haven't come out all guns blazing after their FA Cup exit to Rochdale last weekend.

The Leeds debutants are yet to make a real impact on his game. Kebe has shown flashes of being the dangerous player that we know he can be, but not enough to unduly worry the Reading defence. Stewart, meanwhile, has barely featured at all.

Pugh goes flying into a tackle and, although he did win the ball, his studs were showing and Probert awards the free kick. This is right on the edge of shooting range for the hosts, can they get a second in quick succession?

It is a poor effort from Wickham, who sends the free kick a long way over the crossbar. That was a waste from the in-form attacker.

This is no new scenario for Leeds, so they won't be panicking too much. They have come from behind to either beat or draw with Sheffield Wednesday in each of their last three meetings.

However, Wednesday will be confident that they can hold out in this match given their improved defensive record recently. They have kept three clean sheets in their last five league games having not kept a single one in their first 18.

Maghoma gets the ball out on the left wing before cutting inside and sending a decent cross towards Wickham. It is a tricky chance for the attacker, who improvises well to flick a back header a couple of yards wide.

Kirkland is off his line quickly again to clear the danger as Llera was struggling to get back in time. Llera has looked dodgy at times this afternoon, so perhaps that is an avenue McDermott will want his side to exploit more often.

SAVE! Maguire finds himself in a bit of space around 25 yards from goal and he only has one thought on his mind, drilling a powerful low effort towards the near post. Kenny should never be beaten from that range, but the power on the shot means that he is unable to hold it, instead parrying it away from danger.

Wednesday have had 60% of the possession in this match so far, which will delight Stuart Gray. If you didn't know which team were fighting against relegation and which were chasing the playoffs, you'd guess Wednesday for the latter on the basis of this performance so far.

Wednesday put really good pressure on the ball to win it back in midfield before immediately going on the attack through Wickham. He carries the ball far and cuts into the area, but his eventual shot is scuffed and easy for Kenny to save.

Kenny is called into action again there as a short back-pass almost allows Wednesday through on goal. Kenny was alert enough to rush out and clear the danger, however.

YELLOW CARD! Loovens goes into the referee's book for a mis-timed tackle on McCormack, who just nicked the ball in front of the defender. Loovens actually came off worse from that tackle, but that doesn't prevent Probert brandishing the yellow card when he eventually gets to his feet.

That is a good example of Wednesday's improved defensive work. They hold a superb line from a free kick, tricking four or five Leeds players into making their runs too early and going offside. Stuart Gray deserves a lot of credit for what he has done with the Owls' defence.

Wednesday double their lead right on the stroke of half time! Lee finds himself in plenty of space on the left wing as he moves into the box before playing a lovely ball across the face of goal to the back post, where Nuhiu is waiting to tap in for his third goal of the season. That was very unselfish from Lee, but the Leeds defence was nowhere to be seen again.

There will be three minutes of added time at the end of this first half.

CHANCE! It could be game over at half time at Palmer has a great chance to make it 3-0 with the last action of the half. Lee was instrumental yet again as he slipped the ball through to Palmer, but his shot hit the side-netting when he probably should have scored.

Lee Probert brings an end to the first half, and what a first half it was for Sheffield Wednesday. They go into the break with a two-goal cushion over Yorkshire rivals Leeds having outplayed their opponents for most of the match so far. The home fans greeted the half-time whistle with huge cheers, making it clear that they approve of their side's performance so far today.

The goals came from Johnson and Nuhiu, and both took advantage of some poor defending from the visitors. The first saw Johnson left in acres of space inside the box as Leeds tried to rush out from a free kick, allowing him time to chest the ball down and knock it past Kenny. There was a little bit of luck with the finish as Pugh knocked the ball onto the shin of Johnson, which sent Kenny the wrong way.

The second goal came when Johnson intercepted a pass in his own half an launched a counter that eventually saw Lee left unmarked on the wing to advance into the box. He was then very unselfish in picking out a teammate in the area, passing to Nuhiu at the back post and giving the striker a simple finish.

It was almost 3-0 at the end of the half as Palmer had a good chance that he put just wide the post, and that would have capped off a fine first half for the hosts. They won't have played better than that too often this season, and if they can keep that form up fairly regularly for the remainder of the season then they should be safe.

Leeds, on the other hand, need something to change in the second half. They are yet to have a shot on target and have looked short of ideas in attack throughout. McCormack has been very isolated up front, so I wouldn't be surprised to see McDermott make a change at half time to give him more support. He certainly needs to do something if his side are to get anything out of this match.

LEEDS SUB: Leeds do indeed make a change and it is the expected one as Matt Smith comes on for Lees at the break. That should provide McCormack with more support in the second half.

KICKOFF: We're back underway at Hillsborough for this Yorkshire derby. Can Leeds get back into this match or will Wednesday hold out for the win?

Oh my word, Matt Smith gets a red card just one minute after coming on as a sub at half time! He tried to make his mark on Reda Johnson early, leading with his shoulder and catching the Wednesday man in the head with a naughty challenge. Probert took plenty of time to make his decision before eventually brandishing the red card, and he didn't really have much of a choice. Silly play from Smith.

That is surely game over now! Wednesday take immediate advantage of their extra man to extend their lead even further. Maghoma left the ball for Connor Wickham, who advanced to the edge of the area before drilling a low strike past Kenny at his near post. Kenny won't be happy about being beaten there, but it was a good, powerful finish from the former Ipswich man, who has now got eight goals in 10 games.

YELLOW CARD! Maguire goes into the book for a poor tackle on Peltier, raking his boot right down his Achilles. Wednesday just need to ensure that they keep 11 men on the field themselves here.

Wednesday have a real chance to push on for a big win today now. They don't look in any danger of losing their lead, and Leeds aren't playing well enough to be able to resist Wednesday's man advantage if the hosts decide to push on for more goals. This one could be a rout the way things are going, and that would be morale-boosting for Wednesday.

It is backs to the wall time for Brian McDermott's side at the moment. He has a decision to make here - does he try to restore some pride in this match or does he go into damage limitation mode?

The only threat to Wednesday at the moment seems to be if they were to get a man sent off. It has been quite a feisty encounter so far and, while a couple of players already on yellow cards, that will be a real concern for Gray as it would not only hand Leeds a boost in this game, but would also rob him of a player in future games due to suspension.

Poor play from Zaliukas as he plays a blind back-heel pass straight to Lee inside the Leeds box. He gives it across the edge of the area to Wickham, who can't keep his shot down as he blasts it over the crossbar.

The fans are greeting every pass with shouts of "Ole!" at the moment. They are certainly enjoying this, and who can blame them? They have won just four matches so far this season and now find themselves 3-0 up against a fierce Yorkshire rival.

The players are enjoying themselves too. The result will give them plenty of confidence going into their next few matches, but the performance has also been very good from the Owls today. It is hard to see why they are struggling so much this season on today's evidence.

Lovely footwork from Maghoma as he beats two men with some good skill before eventually being hauled down. Wednesday now have a free kick in a good shooting position.

SHEFF WEDS SUB: The hosts make their first change of the day as goalscorer Nuhiu makes way to be replaced by Caolan Lavery.

When things are going badly, things really go badly. Wednesday make it 4-0, but this latest goal has a huge slice of luck about it. Maguire went for goal from a free kick and the shot looked like being easy for Kenny, but it took a huge deflection off the wall, wrong-footing the keeper and going into the corner.

LEEDS SUB: Just before that goal, Leeds made their second change of the match as Kebe's unhappy debut ended early. He was replaced by Sam Byram.

Where do Leeds go from here? They were looking for a response from their dire performance against Rochdale last Saturday, but instead have conceded four times in a derby match. Things don't get any easier for them in the near future, either, as they face leaders Leicester next and then playoff-chasing Ipswich after that.

One of the biggest cheers of the day comes from the away end as the Leeds fans celebrate seeing their side finally have a shot on target. It was Austin who provided the effort, sending a low long-range strike into the arms of Kirkland, who had no trouble making the stop.

SHEFF WEDS SUB: Maghoma has had a good game today but he won't see the match out as he is withdrawn in favour of Jermaine Johnson for the last 15 minutes or so.

Johnson's first action sees him race to the byline on the right wing before sending a cross over towards the back post. Wickham latches on to it, but he is off balance when going for his shot and scuffs it harmlessly wide.

Wednesday are just knocking the ball about patiently and comfortably at the moment. Leeds, with their 10 men, can't get close the Owls and are being forced to chase shadows at the moment. The hosts are in complete control of this game, and I wouldn't be surprised to see them add to their lead even further as Leeds tire in the closing stages.

The hosts have not beaten Leeds by four goals since a 6-2 win in the Premier League back in 1995. One target they may have their eye on, however, is a five-goal winning margin, which is something they have never enjoyed over their Yorkshire rivals.

There is the fifth! It is more poor defending as Zaliukas rushes out to try to win it on the halfway line but completely misses it. That allows Lavery to race through and the man who was recalled early from his loan at Plymouth this week turns down the support of his teammates, inside finding the bottom corner with a tame but accurate effort that goes in off the post. These Wednesday fans will not forget today in a hurry!

SHEFF WEDS SUB: The hosts make their third and final change of the afternoon as Jeremy Helan replaces Maguire for the final 10 minutes or so.

This must be one of the worst weeks in Leeds' long history as a club. Their performance against Rochdale last Saturday was among the worst in recent memory from Brian McDermott's men, and then they followed that up with this defeat to their Yorkshire rivals.

Wednesday are still pushing for more goals here. Johnson turns Stewart inside out and there is a moment of personal humiliation for the debutant as he falls over having been taken inside and out by the Wednesday sub. The cross is punched away by Kenny, but that just about sums up the two sides' performances today.

CLOSE! It is so nearly six for Wednesday as Johnson flashes a fine half-volley just past the post. It was more good football from the hosts and Johnson was left unmarked in the area as he raced in with the shot. That would have been a very good goal.

Kirkland has not had much to do today, but he gets a knock late on as Byram goes flying into a challenge on the keeper. No free kick is given, but the Leeds sub certainly took out a lot of frustration on Kirkland with that tackle.

Leeds will have a minimum of four minutes before they are put out of their misery at the end of this match.

Llera stumbles and loses his balance in defence, allowing McCormack to get hold of the ball for just about the first time in this second half. He tries an ambitious effort from range with no-one else in support, but sends his shot well over the bar.

CHANCE! Very good defending from Pearce to prevent his side from falling even further behind. Johnson fed the ball out to Wickham, who showed good composure inside the box to cut inside his man before firing a powerful strike towards goal, only for Pearce to throw himself in the way of it.

This is quite unbelievable. Zaliukas gives the ball away yet again right on the edge of his own box, and Lavery does the rest as he curls the ball into the bottom corner. It is a lovely finish from the sub and the perfect end to a perfect day for the Owls.

Wow, that is one of the most surprising results you will see all season. Sheffield Wednesday hit Leeds fo six in a Yorkshire derby that will live long in the memory of both sets of supporters, but for very different reasons. It was a fabulous display from the Owls, but I can't recall a worse defensive showing than that displayed by Leeds this afternoon. They did have 10 men for pretty much the whole of the second half, but there is still no excuse for such a poor performance. Brian McDermott has plenty of work to do.

Right, that is all we have time for this afternoon! Thank you very much for joining Sports Mole for a remarkable Yorkshire derby that sees relegation-threatened Sheffield Wednesday thrash playoff chasing Leeds United 6-0 at Hillsborough. Be sure to stick around for our match report, which will be on site shortly, while I'm sure there will be some interesting reaction from both camps. There is plenty more live action to come today, including Ipswich vs. QPR in the Championship, coverage of which will be getting underway in about 15 minutes time. Goodbye!