Two sides fighting at opposite ends of the Championship table will do battle at Hillsborough on Saturday, as Sheffield Wednesday welcome Preston North End.

The hosts remain rooted to the foot of the table on -4 points after their administration, while the visitors dropped to sixth spot with a midweek draw.

Match preview

Sheffield Wednesday head into the weekend in search of a second Championship victory of the season, having hit another slump in a campaign badly impacted by off-field issues and entering administration last month.

While that brought some optimism for the Owls, with the enforced exit of the club’s former ownership, the 12-point deduction leaves them at the foot of England’s second tier on -4 points after 17 games, having suffered 12 defeats and only managed one victory – an away win over Portsmouth in September.

The South Yorkshire outfit have struggled at both ends of the pitch in their uphill task with a thin and young squad, having scored a league-low tally of 12 goals and conceded a league-high 33.

Following a 3-1 loss to Southampton, Henrik Pedersen‘s side returned to action in a Steel City Derby last Sunday and suffered a 3-0 beating to rivals Sheffield United, before most recently visiting Millwall on Wednesday and again coming away empty-handed as Femi Azeez netted the only goal 19 minutes from time.

Left wounded by their winless run and a tough schedule with limited resources due to embargoes, Sheffield Wednesday will hope to raise spirits and move closer to positive points with a victory at Hillsborough, with the end of administration and a change in ownership nearing.

© Imago / Pro Sports Images

Their visitors, meanwhile, make the trip across to Yorkshire in search of a return to winning ways of their own in their fight at the top end of the division.

Following a 20th-placed finish last time around, Preston North End have enjoyed a strong start to the 2025-26 Championship campaign, earning 27 points from their first 17 outings to sit sixth, having won seven and lost four of those.

Paul Heckingbottom‘s men recorded three straight victories across late October and early November and went into the November break on the back of a 1-1 away draw with Millwall, but they have failed to bounce back to winning ways and solidify a top-six spot since.

On their return last weekend, the Lilywhites hosted rivals Blackburn Rovers and lost 2-1, despite levelling the game through Alfie Devine late in the first half, before they visited Watford on Tuesday and shared the points in a 1-1 draw having gone ahead thanks to Daniel Jebbison‘s goal and been pegged back by Mamadou Doumbia.

Still sitting sixth, but only leading seventh and eighth spots by a single point while trailing second-placed Stoke City by three, Preston North End can quickly improve their standing in the playoff spots with a rebound victory at Hillsborough on Saturday.

Sheffield Wednesday Championship form:

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Preston North End Championship form:

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Team News

© Imago / News Images

Sheffield Wednesday continue to deal with a long injury list alongside their ongoing issues with a thin squad, as Pierce Charles, Di’Shon Bernard, Nathaniel Chalobah, Ernie Weaver and George Brown remain sidelined.

They will be without another senior player as Dominic Iorfa is suspended after reaching five league yellow cards in midweek, meaning Liam Palmer will return to join Liam Cooper and Max Lowe in a back three.

Barry Bannan, Svante Ingelsson and Yan Valery should all continue in midfield despite their gruelling schedule with little back-up, while Jamal Lowe will hope to return to the attack from the start.

Preston North End should remain without Robbie Brady, Lewis Gibson, Ali McCann, Brad Potts, Andrija Vukcevic and Harrison Armstrong due to injuries.

Ben Whiteman will return to contention in midfield after serving a suspension last time out, though, and he could rejoin Stefan Teitur Thordarson and Alfie Devine in the centre of their 3-5-2 setup.

In the absence of Milutin Osmajic, who continues to serve a suspension, Lewis Dobbin should continue in attack alongside Daniel Jebbison, who netted his third league goal of the season last time out, despite competition from former Owls forward Michael Smith.

Sheffield Wednesday possible starting lineup:

Horvath; Palmer, Cooper, M Lowe; Fusire, Valery, Bannan, Ingelsson, Amass; J Lowe, McNeill

Preston North End possible starting lineup:

Iversen; Storey, Lindsay, Hughes; Offah, Thordarson, Whiteman, Devine, Small; Dobbin, Jebbison

 

 

We say: Sheffield Wednesday 0-2 Preston North End
 

Sheffield Wednesday fought hard to stay in the game at Millwall on Wednesday, but we see the tough schedule, after a 3-0 Steel City Derby defeat, taking a further toll on a thin Owls squad.

We see Preston North End taking a good chance to return to winning ways and strengthen their top-six standing at Hillsborough on Saturday.

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