Rotherham United and Sheffield Wednesday face off at the New York Stadium in the opening fixture of the Championship weekend on Friday night.
The Owls make the short trip on the back of an impressive recent run, but they may have one eye on their upcoming meeting with Arsenal in the League Cup.
Rotherham United
© Getty Images
With his first point on the board as Rotherham manager, Neil Redfearn must now prepare his players for their third game in the space of just six days.
Problems on the injury front since coming in, which now appear to be clearing up, have certainly not helped the former Leeds United chief since his appointment a fortnight ago.
A well-earned draw against an in-form Reading lifted the Millers a point closer to their overriding aim of survival, but they are still camped inside the bottom three with a quarter of the campaign now played.
Just when momentum of sorts had been built up at the tail end of last month, Steve Evans took the surprise decision to step down as manager, which paved the way for some fresh life at the top.
The bad news for United is that they meet two more sides in decent form over the next week or so when taking on Wednesday and Derby County, with a trip to face promotion-chasing Middlesbrough also to come before October is out.
Certainly not the nicest set of fixtures for Redfearn to settle back into life as a Championship boss, particularly when taking charge of a side with as poor a defensive record as Rotherham's.
No other team in the Championship has conceded more than the Millers' 22 goals to date, at an average of nearly two a game, while only Brentford can hold claim to keeping fewer shutouts.
United have beaten Cardiff City and held Reading in two of their last three home games, though, losing to Burnley in the other, which does offer some hope when Wednesday come calling on Friday night.
Recent form in Championship: LWWLLD
Sheffield Wednesday
© Getty Images
It may have been a slow start to life under Carlos Carvalhal for the Owls, winning one of their opening seven league games, but since then things have improved greatly on the results front.
Three wins on the bounce, culminating in a 3-1 victory over Preston North End, helped lift Wednesday into playoff contention.
Successive draws since then, at home to Hull City and away to Queens Park Rangers, have done little to dampen the mood around Hillsborough as Carvalhal's charges aim to maintain a push for the top six.
Four points off their target at this stage of the campaign is certainly good going under the Portuguese, particularly when factoring in an impressive League Cup run which takes them to Arsenal next week.
Before then, Wednesday make the short 30-minute journey south looking to stretch their unbeaten run to an eighth game in all competitions, knowing that victory will see them start the weekend just one point outside of the playoff zone.
Carvalhal also appears to have some options in attack now, too, after seeing Lucas Joao and Fernando Forestieri link up well in their first game together last week, while powerful forward Atdhe Nuhiu has also impressed and is thought to be in talks over a new deal.
With late summer arrivals Forestieri, Barry Bannan, Daniel Pudil and Michael Turner each now integrated into the system, the Owls look good value to maintain their hard-to-beat nature.
Their next challenge arrives at the New York Stadium, before attention can quickly switch to that mouthwatering cup clash against Arsenal four days later.
Recent form in Championship: DWWWDD
Recent form (all competitions): WWWWDD
Team News
© Getty Images
Joe Newell has not yet been available for Redfearn to select, but the midfielder has now returned to training and is in contention to play a part on Friday.
Joe Mattock and Danny Ward are also undergoing light fitness sessions after picking up knocks against Brentford recently, while Lee Frecklington is nearing a return to action.
Turner will miss the derby for the visitors, meanwhile, after failing to shake off a knee injury sustained against Hull last weekend.
Glenn Loovens and Tom Lees are therefore likely to remain in the heart of defence, but winger Modou Sougou is facing up to three months on the sidelines.
Rotherham United possible starting lineup:
Camp; Buxton, Collins, Rawson, Mattock; Green, Ward, Andreu, Smallwood; Derbyshire, Clarke-Harris
Sheffield Wednesday possible starting lineup:
Westwood; Hunt, Loovens, Lees, Pudil; Wallace, Lee, Hutchinson, Bannan, Forestieri; Joao
Head To Head
Rotherham have actually failed to beat Wednesday on home soil since 1976, which is a run of nine games without success.
The Millers have won only three of the last 17 encounters overall, in fact, losing 11 of those matches.
Wednesday prevailed 3-2 in last season's meeting at the New York Stadium, with four of those goals coming in the final five minutes of an extraordinary contest.
We say: Rotherham United 0-1 Sheffield Wednesday
It may be a local derby, and Rotherham will certainly be feeling the boost that a new manager brings, but Wednesday are on an impressive run at the moment which they will prolong this weekend with a narrow victory.
Daniel Lewis
