Wednesday will be out to avoid a third defeat on the spin and keep their heads above the Championship relegation zone when they visit Nottingham Forest on Saturday.
Dave Jones’s men have suffered back-to-back defeats, against Blackpool and Middlesbrough, and will face a tough task of picking up points against a well-drilled Forest side with aspirations of promotion this term.
Sean O’Driscoll’s men have stuttered over their last three games, however, and will be keen to amends for a 4-1 home defeat at the hands of Millwall earlier this month.
Nottingham Forest Team News:
The midweek international friendly matches may have been a nuisance for Forest going into this weekend’s Championship clash.
Striker Simon Cox returns from international duty with Republic of Ireland, featuring in their 1-0 home loss to Greece, with a foot injury and is a doubt for the match.
Reds midfielder Adlene Guedioura was also in action for Algeria and, although not suffering an injury, could return jet-lagged and not in 100 per cent peak form.
Forest could be boosted by the return of Daniel Ayala, however, after he missed his side’s last four games through a hamstring injury, Dan Harding could be missing for the same injury, however.
There will be no Marcus Tudgay in the Forest squad, with the former Owls striker completing a loan move to Barnsley this week.
Player to watch: Billy Sharp
Sharp will be eager to score against Wednesday more than any other club this season, being a big Sheffield United fan. Sharp has bagged three goals from ten starts so far this season.
Wednesday Team News:
There’s mixed news on the injury front for Wednesday ahead of the short trip down the M1.
Striker Chris O’Grady, linked with a loan move to Barnsley this week, won’t be featuring after sustaining a foot injury. The Owls’ top scorer was reportedly ready for a switch to Oakwell but his injury set-back put paid to that, for the time being at least.
On a more positive front, midfielder Chris Lines could feature in the first-team squad for the first time this season. The Owls’ midfield maestro has missed all of the season so far through injury but has returned to training and Vital understands his performances have done enough to warrant a place on the substitutes’ bench at Forest.
Defender Reda Johnson remains out with a foot injury but Wednesday have no other new injury or suspension concerns.
Owls boss Dave Jones could tinker with his starting eleven, however, after seeing his side go down to back-to-back defeats.
Player to watch: Gary Madine
With O’Grady sidelined and Dave Jones yet to bring in a new loan signing to bolster his attack, the pressure will be on Gary Madine, himself linked with a move to Swindon Town on loan last week, to get the goals for Wednesday. He did so at Middlesbrough last week and he’ll be out for more of the same at The City Ground.
Match Facts & Stats
Form:
Forest: D-D-L-W-D
Wednesday: L-L-W-W-L
Head-to-Head:
Forest wins: 49
Wednesday: 55
Draws: 26
Last Time Out:
Forest 2-1 Wednesday
The City Ground, 27/01/2009
Deter Blackstock’s brace of goals proved enough to give Forest the points the last time the sides met. Blackstock struck his first from the penalty spot but Luke Varney hit a second-half levelled for Wednesday. It wasn’t enough, with Blackstock doubling his tally minutes later to give the hosts all the points.
Next Fixtures:
v Leicester City (H) – 24/11/12
v Watford (H) – 27/11/12
