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

Both aiming to bounce back from defeats last time out, Stoke City and Sheffield Wednesday will kick off the Easter Weekend with a clash at the Bet365 Stadium on Friday.

A dip in form has seen the hosts drop to 15th spot in the Championship table, while their visitors are already condemned to a 24th-placed finish and relegation on -6 points with seven games left to play.

Match preview

Stoke City head into the Easter Weekend aiming to make a return to winning ways and kickstart a strong end to their Championship season, having dropped into the bottom half in recent months.

The Potters enjoyed a pleasing first half to the season, as back-to-back victories to kick off 2026 left them in a strong spot in the playoff race on 40 points from 26 matches, but they have since added just 11 more points to that tally in 13 further attempts.

In those games, Mark Robins's side have suffered six more defeats alongside just two victories, the most recent of which came at home to Watford in mid-March thanks to Million Manhoef's brace and a Sam Gallagher goal.

Aiming to build on that result and climb back into the top half, they visited Preston North End last time out before the international break but fell short in a 3-1 defeat, despite leading early through Sorba Thomas, as Alfie Devine netted a brace and Milutin Osmajic scored in a turnaround for the hosts.

Now sitting 15th ahead of the final seven games, with no realistic playoff hopes or threat of a relegation fight, while trailing the top half by two points, Stoke City will bid to bounce back on Friday and move back into a stronger mid-table position.

Their visitors, meanwhile, head to Staffordshire with their fate firmly sealed in what has been a difficult season with relegation all but inevitable from the outset.

Facing financial concerns from the outset, and entering in administration in October leading to a total of 18 points in deductions, Sheffield Wednesday were always facing an uphill struggle with a limited squad, and they have been unable to overcome the issues, winning just one of their 39 matches and losing 29 to sit on -6 points with seven games remaining.

That solitary victory came in September, and the Owls have since undergone a 33-game winless run in the league, albeit they were at least able to end a 13-match losing streak in a 1-1 home draw with Watford in mid-March, in which they were denied three points by a late leveller.

A 2-0 home loss to Ipswich Town followed, before they visited Hull City last time out and led through Jamal Lowe, only to fall behind to a Matt Crooks finish and Dominic Iorfa own goal before Kyle Joseph wrapped up a 3-1 home win in the second half.

Now returning from the international break for the final seven games of the season, at least with a degree of optimism around prospective new ownership ahead of their time in League One, Sheffield Wednesday will hope to begin bowing out on a high on Friday and move closer to positive points with a win on the road.

Stoke City Championship form:

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Sheffield Wednesday Championship form:

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Team News

Stoke City remain without goalkeeper Viktor Johansson and Gavin Bazunu due to ongoing injuries, while Ben Wilmot, Aaron Cresswell, Lewis Baker and Robert Bozenik are also sidelined.

There remains plenty of competitions for attacking spots in Mark Robins's side, though, with Jesurun Rak-Sakyi, Sam Gallagher, Bae Jun-ho and Divin Mubama all hoping to earn starts after featuring off the bench in their last game before the international break.

Million Manhoef and Sorba Thomas are bound to keep their places on the wings, though, with the former boasting seven league goals so far this term and the latter having notched up 10 goals and nine assists in the Championship.

Sheffield Wednesday continue to contend with their own injury list, as Murphy Cooper, Liam Cooper, Ernie Weaver, Olaf Kobacki and George Brown are sidelined, while fitness concerns have limited Marvelous Nakamba's ability to feature since his February arrival.

Defender Di'Shon Bernard has returned to Owls training but is not yet fit to feature, having missed the entirety of the campaign thus far, meaning Iorfa, Gabriel Otegbayo and Liam Palmer should continue in a back three with Max Lowe also back in contention after a long-term injury.

Jamal Lowe and Jerry Yates should continue their attacking partnership, having scored a combined tally of seven Championship goals this term, while Charlie McNeill will also hope to return from the outset.

Stoke City possible starting lineup:

Simkin; Tchamadeu, Phillips, Gibson, Bocat; Pearson, Rigo; Manhoef, Bae, Thomas; Smit

Sheffield Wednesday possible starting lineup:

Charles; Iorfa, Otegbayo, Palmer; Fusire, Heskey, Ingelsson, Adaramola; McNeill; Lowe, Yates

We say: Stoke City 2-0 Sheffield Wednesday

Stoke City have certainly experienced a major dip in form and confidence since the turn of the year, but they still have plenty of quality and will see is as crucial that they get past an already-relegated Sheffield Wednesday side on home turf.

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