GARY Megson will continue his search for a first home win since becoming Owls boss when Notts County visit Hillsborough on Saturday.
Megson suffered a 4-2 defeat against basement side Plymouth Argyle last weekend – his first full game in charge at S6 – but a midweek victory at Oldham Athletic will give Wednesday a boost ahead of the visit of Paul Ince’s side.
Wednesday will be aiming to complete a hat-trick of wins against the Magpies this term, having beat them 2-1 in the JP Trophy at home earlier this season, and also enjoying a 2-0 success at Meadow Lane.
Vital Quotes:
Owls boss Gary Megson told Wednesday World:
‘I think they’ve (Notts County) got some good individual players in there, they’ve played at a higher level.
‘I think their position in the league is probably distorted by the cup run they had, so they’ve got a few games in hand, as we have.
‘But they’ve got players in there who are capable of hurting you and they’re a decent side, but they’ve struggled a little bit for consistency, like we have.
‘I’m sure they’ll be looking forward, with some of the players they’ve got, coming to Hillsborough, and we’ve got to get over this, that it’s a boost to them, it should be a massive, massive advantage to us and that’s what we’ve got to get to quickly.’
Wednesday Team News:
The biggest doubt for Wednesday ahead of the visit of County is the fitness of striker Gary Madine.
Madine left the field in the 3-2 midweek win at Oldham early on due to a calf problem and is struggling to be fit for this Saturday’s game.
Clinton Morrison, who replaced Madine at Boundary Park, is the likely replacement should the former Carlisle man fail to make the starting eleven.
Midfielder Giles Coke is also struggling to be ready. Coke missed the Oldham clash with a hamstring injury and the visit of County could come too early for his return.
Should he be fit though, he may not even make the starting eleven given the Owls’ performance and victory in Lancashire on Tuesday night.
The Owls have no other fresh injury or suspension concerns and are expected to stick with a similar starting eleven to the one that started the game with the Latics.
Player to watch: Clinton Morrison
Morrison isn’t the kind of player who’s happy to sit on the bench, and the experienced striker will be keen to impress should he get the nod to replace Gary Madine, who may not be fully fit, in the Wednesday attack.
Notts County Team News:
County will be looking for a return to winning ways following disappointing back-to-back defeats.
Paul Ince will give a late fitness test to experienced striker Lee Hughes, who has been suffering from a hip injury recently, before the trip to South Yorkshire.
Defender Krystian Pearce is struggling to be ready with a head injury, although on-loan Liverpool man Stephen Darby returned to action in midweek.
Striker Karl Hawley is also an injury doubt.
Player to watch: Lee Hughes
Should the experienced striker be passed fit for the clash he’ll be a key player for County. Hughes was also linked with a move to S6 in January and he’ll be keen to show Wednesdayites what they missed out, as well as helping to fire the Magpies to three points.
Match Facts & Stats
Head-To-Head:
Wednesday wins: 30
Notts County wins: 20
Draws: 17
Last Time Out:
Notts County 0-2 Wednesday
Meadow Lane, 02/10/10
Goals from Marcus Tudgay and Darren Potter, both in the second half, gave the Owls maximum points in the reverse league encounter between the two sides last October. Alan Judge saw red late on for County.
Form:
Wednesday: W-L-W-D-L
County: L-L-D-W-L
Next Fixtures:
v Peterborough United (H) – 15/03/11
