Preview: Sheffield Wednesday vs Birmingham City - prediction, team news, lineups

With a chance to climb into the top half of the Championship table, Birmingham City will travel to Hillsborough to take on Sheffield Wednesday on Tuesday.

The hosts suffered a third straight league defeat at the weekend to remain rooted to the foot of the division on -7 points, while their visitors earned a point and sit within three of 12th spot.

Match preview

Sheffield Wednesday return to action at Hillsborough on Tuesday aiming to end a 20-game winless run in the Championship.

In a dismal campaign marred by entering administration in October, a small squad lacking senior players and financial issues causing deductions totalling 18 points, the Owls sit at the bottom of the division on -7, having only won one and drawn eight of their 26 outings.

Indeed, Henrik Pedersen's side have failed to overcome the odds at either end of the pitch, conceding a league-high tally of 52 goals and only scoring a league-low 18, having picked up just seven points since their solitary win in September.

After a pair of 3-0 losses and a 2-0 FA Cup defeat to Brentford to begin 2026, the South Yorkshire outfit hosted Portsmouth on Saturday and again came up short, losing 1-0 as Adrian Segecic scored the only goal in the 65th minute.

Now 30 points behind 23rd spot and 35 adrift of safety, and having failed to score in their last five matches, Sheffield Wednesday will hope for a home victory to lift spirits at Hillsborough on Tuesday whilst hoping for an improvement in their financial position and an exit from administration.

The visitors, meanwhile, head to Hillsborough aiming to continue an upturn in form and kickstart a climb up the Championship table.

After winning promotion and the League One title last time around, Birmingham City enjoyed a pleasing start to life back in the Championship, but a seven-game winless run between early December and New Year's Day left them on 31 points from 25 outings.

The Blues would end that rut with a 3-2 home triumph over league leaders Coventry City thanks to Marvin Ducksch's brace and a Lewis Koumas goal, before beating Cambridge United by the same scoreline in the FA Cup third round with Kai Wagner, Kyogo Furuhashi and Ducksch on the scoresheet.

A trip to Swansea City then followed at the weekend, and after Zan Vipotnik's opener, Chris Davies's side left with a point thanks to Patrick Roberts's leveller, albeit extending a run to eight league away matches without a win.

Now sitting 14th and trailing 12th-placed Derby County by three points, but with only Tuesday's hosts possessing a worse away record this season, Birmingham City will hope to prevail on the road for just a third time this term and begin chipping away at their eight-point gap to the top six.

Sheffield Wednesday Championship form:

LDDLLL

Sheffield Wednesday form (all competitions):

DDLLLL

Birmingham City Championship form:

LDDLWD

Birmingham City form (all competitions):

DDLWWD

Team News

Sheffield Wednesday's small squad remains badly hit by injuries, with Di'Shon Bernard, Dominic Iorfa, Liam Cooper, Max Lowe and Ernie Weaver all ruled out, leaving them particularly thin at the back.

Elsewhere, Nathaniel Chalobah, Olaf Kobacki, George Brown and Ike Ugbo remain confined to the treatment room, while Murphy Cooper has arrived on loan following a long-term injury to first-choice goalkeeper Pierce Charles in their FA Cup loss to Brentford.

Jarvis Thornton may again join key senior players Barry Bannan and Svante Ingelsson in midfield, while Charlie McNeill, Bailey Cadamarteri and Jamal Lowe will battle for attacking spots.

Birmingham City are also without several players, particularly at the back, with Ethan Laird and Lee Buchanan sidelined, Jack Robinson having also missed the weekend's game, and Bright Osayi-Samuel unlikely to return in time from the Africa Cup of Nations with Nigeria.

Given those absences, Tomoki Iwata should again fill in at right-back, leaving Tommy Doyle and Paik Seung-Ho to continue their midfield partnership.

Marvin Ducksch will continue to lead the line, having scored three goals in the last three games, while Jay Stansfield will hope to return to the attack from the outset after Kyogo Furuhashi was preferred behind the front man at the weekend.

Sheffield Wednesday possible starting lineup:

Cooper; Valery, Otegbayo, Palmer; Fusire, Thornton, Bannan, Ingelsson, Alao; Cadamarteri, McNeill

Birmingham City possible starting lineup:

Beadle; Iwata, Neumann, Klarer, Wagner; Paik, Doyle; Roberts, Stansfield, Koumas; Ducksch

We say: Sheffield Wednesday 0-2 Birmingham City

Birmingham City's recent form has been far from convincing, but with signs of improvement in recent weeks and plenty of quality throughout their ranks, we back the Blues to get over the line against a threadbare Owls team.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.