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

The Championship's bottom two sides will square off at Hillsborough on Wednesday, as Sheffield Wednesday welcome Norwich City.

After entering administration and being served a 12-point deduction, the hosts sit at the foot of the division, 13 points behind their visitors who themselves are four points adrift of safety.

Match preview

Sheffield Wednesday return to action on Wednesday in search of just a second victory of the season and a first since entering administration in October.

In what promised to be a tough campaign under the new management of Henrik Pedersen, the South Yorkshire outfit have indeed found it difficult, winning just one and losing eight of their first 13 outings, and their survival hopes would take a major hit in late October as they entered administration and were served an immediate 12-point deduction.

That has provided cause for optimism for the Owls and their fans, following long periods of instability and off-field issues caused by the former ownership, and they managed a confidence-boosting draw in impressive fashion at the weekend.

On the back of a 2-1 home defeat to Oxford United in their first game following administration, Pedersen's men visited West Bromwich Albion on Saturday and shared the points in a goalless stalemate, marking a second clean sheet of the season for the second tier's leakiest defence at this stage.

Continuing to fight valiantly with a small squad, but now sitting on -5 points, 17 adrift of safety, Sheffield Wednesday will aim to lift spirits with a victory in midweek in front of a home crowd full of optimism for life under new ownership.

Their visitors, meanwhile, arrive in South Yorkshire in the worst vein of form in the Championship, having dropped into the bottom two alongside the hosts with a poor run.

Following the summer appointment of Liam Manning, Norwich City set their sights on a playoff battle this season, and they managed two victories and seven points from their first five outings.

The Canaries have since added just one more point to that tally in eight further attempts, though, including six straight defeats heading into Wednesday's trip since the beginning of October.

Those games have seen the Norfolk outfit score just two goals and concede 10, having most recently hosted Hull City on Saturday and succumbed to a 2-0 loss at Carrow Road as Joe Gelhardt and Darko Gyabi netted second-half goals for the visitors.

With pressure growing rapidly on Manning and the club hierarchy on the back of a sixth straight defeat, with only one side having suffered more than their nine league losses in 13 matches, Norwich City will now be desperate to get back to winning ways on the road against the Championship's basement side and narrow their gap to safety.

Sheffield Wednesday Championship form:

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Norwich City Championship form:

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Team News

Sheffield Wednesday remain badly hit by injuries in their already uphill battle in the Championship, with Pierce Charles, Di'Shon Bernard, Ernie Weaver, Nathaniel Chalobah, Olaf Kobacki and George Brown all remaining confined to the treatment room.

They may be unchanged from Saturday's creditable draw against West Brom, with Liam Palmer, Dominic Iorfa and Max Lowe bound to line up in an unaltered back three in front of Ethan Horvath, who arrived on an emergency loan following the injury to Charles in August.

The only senior competition comes in attack, with Bailey Cadamarteri and Charlie McNeill hoping to displace Ike Ugbo and Jamal Lowe, while Yan Valery should again join Svante Ingelsson and captain Barry Bannan in the engine room.

Norwich City continue to deal with a long injury list of their own, with Ben Chrisene, Jose Cordoba, Lucien Mahovo, Amadou Diallo and Ante Crnac still sidelined, while Jack Stacey could also be ruled out again after missing the Hull City game at the weekend.

Shane Duffy was able to return from his own layoff and make his first appearance of the season on Saturday, though, and he may again join Harry Darling and Ruairi McConville at the back despite competition from Jakov Medic.

Further up the pitch, Mirko Topic and Jacob Wright will both hope to displace Pelle Mattsson and join Kenny McLean in the engine room, while Mathias Kvistgaarden and Amankwah Forson will compete for starts in attack on their own recoveries from injuries.

Sheffield Wednesday possible starting lineup:

Horvath; Palmer, Iorfa, M Lowe; Fusire, Valery, Bannan, Ingelsson, Amass; J Lowe, Cadamarteri

Norwich City possible starting lineup:

Kovacevic; Duffy, Darling, McConville; Fisher, Wright, McLean, Schlupp; Makama, Sargent, Schwartau

We say: Sheffield Wednesday 2-1 Norwich City

Sheffield Wednesday are certainly battling bravely in spite of their tough circumstances and limited squad this season under Pedersen, particularly since their administration.

While they meet a Norwich City squad which boasts far more quality, we would not be surprised to see the Owls come out on top at a rejuvenated Hillsborough with the visitors stuck in a major rut.

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