On the back of their eye-catching FA Cup triumph over Newcastle United last weekend, Sheffield Wednesday will return to League One action with a trip to take on Wycombe Wanderers on Saturday.
The Owls were finally able to break into the top two of the League One table with a thrashing of Cambridge United at the beginning of the year, while their hosts sit seventh with just a two-point gap to the playoff places.
Match preview
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Wycombe Wanderers head into the weekend's contest hoping to move into the top six of the League One table, having gained crucial ground in the playoff race in recent weeks after sitting on 25 points from their opening 19 matches.
Gareth Ainsworth's side have now added 13 more points to their tally in six further outings since the beginning of December and have won three of their last four games in England's third tier, firstly doing Saturday's opponents a favour with a 1-0 beating of high-flying Ipswich Town.
The Chairboys then made it back-to-back triumphs and four games unbeaten with a 2-1 victory over fellow playoff-chasers Bristol Rovers on Boxing Day, before suffering a narrow 1-0 defeat away at league leaders Plymouth Argyle.
That result was certainly not a major cause for concern, and Wycombe would bounce back instantly after the turn of the year in their most recent outing, comfortably beating Peterborough United 3-0 away from home as Lewis Wing hit a brace alongside a Ryan Tafazolli goal.
Now well rested, having not been involved in last weekend's FA Cup action following their earlier exit, and having moved within two points of sixth-placed Barnsley and three points of Derby County in the top four, they will aim to keep building momentum with what would be another impressive victory at the weekend.
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That will certainly be no easy task, though, as only three teams have managed to take all three points against Sheffield Wednesday in the Owls' 25 League One games so far this season.
Their unbeaten run now stands at 13 games in England's third tier, dating back to a loss of their own away at Plymouth Argyle in early October, and the South Yorkshire outfit have managed to triumph in each of their last three league games as they kept within touching distance of the Pilgrims and Ipswich Town at the top of the division.
They would firstly bounce back from a run of draws with 2-1 and 2-0 triumphs over Fleetwood Town and Port Vale respectively after Christmas, leaving them only behind Ipswich on goal difference before the Owls welcomed Cambridge United to Hillsborough in the new year and finally jumped into the automatic promotion spots as they dished out a 5-0 thrashing courtesy of a Josh Windass hat-trick and a brace from Michael Smith.
Darren Moore's men were then involved in FA Cup action last weekend, having navigated their way through the first two rounds to book a tricky tie at home to Premier League high-flyers Newcastle United, and after taking a surprise 2-0 lead through a Windass brace and seeing their advantage cut to one goal, Sheffield Wednesday would stand strong to see out the 2-1 victory on home turf and dump the Magpies out of the competition against the odds.
Now with the additional confidence boost from that result and a two-point lead over Ipswich in third spot, the Owls will look to further strengthen their position in the top two in their bid to return to the Championship this term.
Team News
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With the Wycombe Wanderers squad having had a break from competitive action since New Year's Day, Gareth Ainsworth should have no trouble in deploying an unchanged starting XI from their impressive display at Peterborough, with Lewis Wing again bound to feature after netting a brace from midfield.
Experienced forward Sam Vokes should again spearhead the attack with support from Gareth McCleary and Anis Mehmeti, who has shone so far this season with eight goals and three assists in 25 League One appearances.
David Wheeler and Jordan Obita will offer further width in wing-back roles, while the back three of Joe Jacobsen, Ryan Tafazolli and Jack Grimmer will go in search of a second straight clean sheet.
Sheffield Wednesday should also be all but unchanged from their display last weekend, and Josh Windass will again star up front having netted five goals in the last two matches.
He will join Michael Smith, who took his tally to seven league goals for the season with his brace against Cambridge, while Will Vaulks, Fisayo Dele-Bashiru and George Byers should again line up in midfield in the continued absence of star man and captain Barry Bannan.
The Owls may, however, be without centre-back Mark McGuinness, who looks set to return to parent club Cardiff City after impressing in his loan spell at Hillsborough, and in his expected absence Liam Palmer could move into the back three alongside Dominic Iorfa and Reece James, with Jack Hunt the most likely to take the wing-back role.
Wycombe Wanderers possible starting lineup:
Stryjek; Grimmer, Tafazolli, Jacobsen; Wheeler, Scowen, Wing, Obita; McCleary, Vokes, Mehmeti
Sheffield Wednesday possible starting lineup:
Dawson; Palmer, Iorfa, James; Hunt, Vaulks, Byers, Dele-Bashiru, Johnson; Windass, Smith
We say: Wycombe Wanderers 1-2 Sheffield Wednesday
Sheffield Wednesday feel like somewhat of an unstoppable force at present and will have even more confidence on the back of last weekend's performance and result at Hillsborough.
While Saturday will certainly be a tricky test away at one of the league's other form sides, we back the Owls to come through the challenge and return home with three more points.
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Top tip
Sam Varley
