Sheffield Wednesday host Blackburn Rovers as they look to end a horrible year on a high note after a decent Boxing Day result.
Sheffield Wednesday entered their Boxing Day clash with Hull City rooted to the bottom of the Championship table and staring relegation to League One in the face. Two points deductions following administration and financial breaches left SWFC a daunting 30 points adrift of safety.
Even without those deductions, the Owls’ threadbare squad would have mustered just nine points. Their sole victory of the campaign came away at Portsmouth back in September.
Image courtesy of: ANDREW BOYERS/REUTERS.
Sheffield Wednesday managed to secure a very impressive point against 4th place Hull City. SWFC drew 2-2 with the Tigers, with Bailey Cadamarteri and Svante Ingelsson scoring the goals.
Blackburn Rovers brought an end to their five-game winless run with a 2-0 victory over Millwall at Ewood Park last weekend. In-form forwards Andri Gudjohnsen and Yuki Ohashi were on target as Rovers cruised past a struggling Millwall side.
Andri Gudjohnsen’s stats for Blackburn Rovers
It was also a memorable afternoon for the club’s academy, with Matty Litherland and Nathan Dlamini both making their first-team debuts. Tom Atcheson made his Championship bow too, while George Pratt completed another full 90 minutes.
Rovers backed up that result with a good point away at Middlesbrough on Boxing Day. The 0-0 draw also made it back-to-back clean sheets for Valerian Ismael’s side.
Here, a handful of our writers make their predictions for the game…
Charlie Hodgson
“Sheffield Wednesday were very impressive last time out. Hull City are a very decent side, and they managed to keep them at bay.
“Blackburn Rovers are also having a decent time of things at the moment. Given their poor season, their last two results have been very positive and the performances were there to match.
Image courtesy of: JASON CAIRNDUFF/REUTERS.
“This could be a very interesting game at Hillsborough. I do think Rovers will get the three points, but SWFC will give them a very good game.”
Prediction: Sheffield Wednesday 1-2 Blackburn Rovers
James Ray
“Sheffield Wednesday will be pleased to have given their fans some festive cheer with a battling point against Hull City. They capitalised on a poor Tigers defence to claim a rare point.
“Doing the same against Blackburn Rovers will be a tough ask though. The visitors are missing some key players but they have a good away record and kept a strong Middlesbrough side at bay on Boxing Day.
“I think it could be too much to ask of SWFC to produce another big effort to get a result here. I’ll go for a narrow Rovers triumph.”
Prediction: Sheffield Wednesday 0-1 Blackburn Rovers