Two sides, one looking perilously over their shoulder, the other staring relegation straight in the face. Tony Mowbray’s Birmingham City side travel to S6 to take on Danny Röhl’s Wednesday side with both managers in desperate need of three massive points.
Birmingham are in a slightly better position currently sitting in 19th. This is largely thanks to their early season form which included wins against West Brom and Leeds, before the train came off the rails and John Eustace was sacked.
Wayne Rooney’s chaotic tenure has come and gone, and Mowbray is the man tasked with fixing the leak - he’s picked up a win, a draw and a loss during his month-long tenure.
Truthfully, Danny Röhl has managed to breathe some life into Wednesday. They did not win until matchday 14 - Röhl’s third game in charge.
He’s picked up a further five since to give the Owls a chance at staying in the division. They sit in 23rd on 23 points, eight away from Huddersfield in 21st.
There’s plenty of games left, but plenty of work to do.
Sheffield Wednesday vs Birmingham Prediction
Wednesday, as you might expect, have struggled at both ends of the pitch. They lost 4-0 away at relegation rivals Huddersfield last time out to add insult to their 50 goals conceded this season already.
They are the lowest scorers in the division, having bagged just 22 and their recent form has also been poor: no wins in the last four, three losses, one goal scored and ten conceded.
Birmingham will be looking on in glee. Mowbray hasn’t had long to implement his ideas, but four points from the first nine available is not a woeful return by any means.
Jay Stansfield continues to be their go-to goal getter, while Jordan James, Juninho Bacuna and Siriki Dembele have all contributed well.
January signing, Alex Pritchard, has plenty of experience at this level as well as outstanding technical ability, and may well bring the much needed know-how to this side that will be vital to keeping them in the division for another year. It’s the Blues game to lose, really.
Sheffield Wednesday vs Birmingham Lineups
How are both teams expected to line up on Friday night? Here are the predicted lineups from WhoScored.com with all the relevant team news.
Sheffield Wednesday Predicted Lineup vs Birmingham
Beadle; Valentin, Bernard, Ihiekwe, Pedersen; Palmer, Bannan; Musaba, Poveda, Gassama; Cadamarteri
Birmingham Predicted Lineup vs Sheffield Wednesday
Etheridge; Laird, Bielik, Long, Buchanan; Dozzell, Sunjic; Bacuna, James, Dembele; Stansfield
Sheffield Wednesday vs Birmingham Team News
Danny Röhl could make two changes to the Wednesday side that faced Huddersfield last time out with Ian Poveda and Bailey Cadamarteri returning to the starting XI.
Marvin Johnson and Josh Windass have been absent from both of the home side's last two matches.
Expect Jordan James and Juninho Bacuna to return to the starting XI for Birmingham this weekend after the pair were named on the bench against West Brom.
Goalkeeper John Ruddy remains a doubt, so expect Neil Etheridge to retain his place in between the sticks.
Sheffield Wednesday vs Birmingham Odds
The bookies have this one tightly poised, giving little in the way of home advantage. Wednesday are 27/10 for victory on home soil, while Birmingham City come in at 2/1 for an away win on Ladbrokes. The draw pays a best price 12/5.
Sheffield Wednesday vs Birmingham Tips
If you’re looking for goalscorers, Sheffield Wednesday are not your team. However, there is one shining light amongst the Owls players that offers some excellent outside odds.
Youngster Bailey-Tye Cadamarteri, son of former Owl Danny, has been their primary source of goals of late, and is an outside bet at 6/1 on Ladbrokes to be the first goalscorer.
Given Wednesday’s lack of form, I expect Birmingham to dominate what will be a cagey affair. There are some decent odds in the Half-Time/Full-Time market; Birmingham/Birmingham can be backed at 9/2 with Draw/Birmingham at 13/2.
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