Sports Mole previews Saturday’s Championship clash between Sheffield Wednesday and Queens Park Rangers, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
Queens Park Rangers will travel to Hillsborough on Saturday to take on Sheffield Wednesday in search of a fourth consecutive Championship victory.
The visitors extended their run against Stoke City last weekend, while their hosts managed a first victory of the season in their own last outing.
Match preview
Sheffield Wednesday return to Hillsborough on Saturday aiming to make it back-to-back victories in the Championship, having put a first notch in their wins column last time out.
They looked set for a tricky season due to ongoing off-field issues and following a summer of widespread departures and only managed one point from their first five outings under the new management of Henrik Pedersen, courtesy of a comeback 2-2 draw away at Wrexham in their third outing.
Continuing to contend with a threadbare and inexperienced squad, the Owls went on to fall to 2-0 and 3-0 home defeats at the hands of Swansea City and Bristol City respectively either side of the September international break, but they would bounce back last time out.
A tough trip to Portsmouth awaited, but Pedersen’s side left with all three points from a 2-0 triumph, as Barry Bannan opened the scoring with a free kick and 19-year-old George Brown added a second in the 50th minute.
With plenty of optimism to take from that result on the road, Sheffield Wednesday will now bid to make it consecutive three-point hauls and climb out of the Championship relegation zone against the odds at this early stage.
They face a tough test, though, as the visitors arrive at Hillsborough in a run of three straight league victories.
Queens Park Rangers also underwent a managerial change over the summer, turning to Julien Stephan, and he was unable to inspire a fast start as the London outfit managed just one point from their first three outings.
That culminated in a 7-1 thrashing away at Coventry City in late August, but they appear to have kicked into gear since, recording back-to-back 3-1 wins over Charlton Athletic and Wrexham either side of the international break.
Stoke City then visited Loftus Road on Saturday, and the Hoops extended their winning streak as Harvey Vale netted the only goal of the game 15 minutes from time.
Having quickly climbed to ninth spot with their upturn in form and first three league wins under new management, Queens Park Rangers will bid to extend their run in South Yorkshire on Saturday and further establish themselves at the right end of the division in the coming weeks.
Sheffield Wednesday Championship form:
LLDLLW
Sheffield Wednesday form (all competitions):
DWLLLW
Queens Park Rangers Championship form:
DLLWWW
Queens Park Rangers form (all competitions):
LLLWWW
Team News
Sheffield Wednesday should be unchanged from last weekend’s memorable away win, with Di’Shon Bernard, Nathaniel Chalobah, Pierce Charles and Olaf Kobacki remaining sidelined, further harming their thin squad.
George Brown marked his Owls league debut in that game with the second goal and should again partner Bailey Cadamarteri up front despite competition from Ike Ugbo and Jamal Lowe.
Ernie Weaver also earned a first Championship start at Fratton Park and will keep his place in a back three alongside Max Lowe and Dominic Iorfa, while veteran Barry Bannan remains their talisman in midfield.
Queens Park Rangers could also be unchanged from last week’s win, with goalkeeper Joe Walsh, defender Jake Clarke-Salter and attackers Ilias Chair and Kwame Poku remaining confined to the treatment room.
Richard Kone will continue to lead the line, having netted three goals in five Championship appearances since his summer arrival, while Harvey Vale has impressed on the right-hand side since joining from Chelsea.
He should join Rumarn Burrell and Koki Saito again behind the lone front man, while Jonathan Varane and Nicolas Madsen will continue their partnership in the engine room.
Sheffield Wednesday possible starting lineup:
Horvath; Iorfa, Weaver, Lowe; Valery, Palmer, Bannan, Ingelsson, Amass; Cadamarteri, Brown
Queens Park Rangers possible starting lineup:
Nardi; Dunne, Morrison, Mbengue, Norrington-Davies; Varane, Madsen; Vale, Burrell, Saito; Kone
We say: Sheffield Wednesday 0-2 Queens Park Rangers
Sheffield Wednesday should take plenty of encouragement from last week’s victory, but their heavily limited squad will find it tough to build a run, especially against a Queens Park Rangers side who appear to have kicked into gear under their new manager.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
ID:582319:1false2false3false: from db desktop :LenBod:collect8366: 
No Data Analysis infoPreviews by emailClick here to get Sports Mole‘s daily email of previews and predictions for every major game!