Preview: Shrewsbury Town vs. Sheffield Wednesday - prediction, team news, lineups

Sheffield Wednesday will be looking to bounce back from their humiliating defeat in midweek when they visit Shrewsbury Town at the New Meadow in League One action on Sunday.

The hosts have pulled away from the relegation places in recent weeks, whilst the visitors' playoff hopes took a huge dent when they were hammered on Thursday evening.

Match preview

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Victories over Cheltenham Town and Fleetwood Town, followed by a goalless draw against Accrington Stanley on Wednesday, mean it is seven points from the last nine available for Steve Cotterill's side ahead of Sunday's clash with Sheffield Wednesday.

Despite being on the back foot for large parts against another playoff-chasing side in the form of Stanley, Salop defended stubbornly and deserved their hard-fought point.

That draw leaves Shrewsbury in 16th place heading into the New Year, with a gap of six points now being opened up between themselves and Morecambe in the relegation places as a result of their recent upturn in form.

One win from their opening eight leagues this campaign had left Shrewsbury with a mountain to climb in the opening weeks, but if another positive result could be picked up on Sunday, Cotterill's side could be set for a comfortable finish come May.

The League One outfit will also be keen to maintain the momentum ahead of their memorable trip to Anfield to face Liverpool in the FA Cup third round the following weekend.

As for the visitors, their 12-game unbeaten run in the league came to a crashing end on Thursday evening, as Darren Moore's side were thrashed 5-0 at the Stadium of Light against the new league leaders Sunderland.

Although only five wins had been recorded during that spell, which is evidence to the fact that the Owls were still performing far from their best, few could have seen a disastrous result of that magnitude arriving in midweek.

With just three days between games though, Moore will have to pick his side up to go again and bounce back on Sunday against a side that frustrated them in a 1-1 draw at Hillsborough back in September.

Frustration has been the most common feeling for Wednesday and their supporters for much of this season, as their expected promotion push continues to falter and break down on every occasion it seems to begin gaining momentum.

As a result, Sunday's visitors head to Shrewsbury in eighth place, with five points between themselves and Wycombe Wanderers in the final playoff spot as things stand.

Despite automatic promotion being the aim before a ball was kicked back in August, unless Moore can find the solution to his side's consistency issues soon, even promotion via the playoffs seems highly doubtful.

Team News

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Shrewsbury are likely to be without Aaron Pierre and Khanya Leshabela again on Sunday, with the duo missing out in midweek due to testing positive for COVID-19.

The cases have been contained as thing stand though, with no further positive results being recorded at the time of writing.

Eighteen-year-old Tom Bloxham will serve the final game of the his three-match suspension, meaning Ryan Bowman and Daniel Udoh should continue up front, with the latter scoring three and assisting one in his last three appearances.

As for the visitors, Josh Windass is expected to miss out once more after he was ruled out of the heavy loss to Sunderland due to a minor strain.

Sam Hutchinson is nearing a return from a three-month absence, but despite returning to training recently, he should remain unavailable for the trip to Shrewsbury.

Lewis Wing's availability remains to be seen, as he looks set to be recalled by parent club Middlesbrough following a COVID-19 outbreak in their camp.

The fitness of Cheyenne Dunkley is also in question, as the central defender was replaced midway through the first half against Sunderland due to injury, whilst Massimo Luongo will serve the third and final game of his three-game ban for a recent red card.

Shrewsbury Town possible starting lineup:

Marosi; Pennington, Ebanks-Landell, Nurse; Bennett, Vela, Davis, Leahy, Ogbeta; Bowman, Udoh

Sheffield Wednesday possible starting lineup:

Peacock-Farrell; Palmer, Brennan, Johnson; Hunt, Adeniran, Bannan, Dele-Bashiru, Shodipo; Gregory, Paterson

We say: Shrewsbury Town 1-1 Sheffield Wednesday

Although the visitors would be expected to win this clash despite their hammering in midweek, we are predicting a tight encounter on Sunday.

As a result, a draw seems a likely outcome considering the form of Shrewsbury heading into this clash, and they are sure to frustrate Wednesday once more, whilst making it uncomfortable for them after their setback on Thursday.