By Daniel Wood
Huddersfield Town travels to Sheffield Wednesday in the SkyBet Championship on Tuesday 14th July at the Hillsborough Stadium.
The Terriers will be looking to bounce back after a 2-0 loss at home to relegation rivals, Luton Town. Before the loss in the last game, Huddersfield were on a streak of three games without conceding a goal and they will be desperate to return to that.
With that being said, they are now winless in their last three games after losing to Luton and drawing the two games 0-0.
Town currently sits 20th in the Championship, two points above the bottom three with just three games left to play.
Sheffield Wednesday
Last time out for Wednesday saw them defeat QPR 3-0 away from home. This ended a run of three defeats on the bounce for the Sheffield side who, having been around the top six in the first half of the season, currently sit in a mediocre 14th place in the division.
Wednesday are now mathematically safe from relegation and too far behind the top six to amount to any promotion challenge. This means that Wednesday have nothing to play for regarding anything of significance.
Sheffield Wednesday’s home record leaves much to be desired. They currently have the 20th worst home record in the division this season having picked up only seven wins from 21 games at Hillsborough. They have had six draws and eight defeats in that time.
Their manager Garry Monk most notably guided Swansea City to Premier League survival in 2014, as interim player-manager in his first managerial role. Monk’s Swansea also reached the Round of 32 in the Europa League before being knocked out by Napoli.
On top of this, he guided Swansea to their largest ever top-flight points tally and a strong 8th place finish. His side was also just the third side in Premier League history to have won home and away against Arsenal and Manchester United in the same season.
Monk left Swansea, his most successful role to date, after his side picked up only one win in 11 Premier League matches.
Ones to Watch
Tom Lees
The defender has been at the Owls since 2014. He is known for his strong presence in the air amongst many other defensive qualities. The 29-year old has made over 200 appearances for the club. He has made 24 appearances in the SkyBet Championship this season.
Jacob Murphy
The 25-year old winger, who is on loan from Newcastle United, has been a regular feature for the Owls this season. He has made 36 appearances for the club this season and has scored seven times, as well as providing three assists. Following the departure of Steven Fletcher last month, Murphy is the clubs highest active goal scorer this campaign.
Barry Bannan
The Scotland international, who has previously played for Aston Villa and Crystal Palace, is a creative focal point in the Owl’s midfield. He has missed only two out of 43 games for Wednesday in the Championship, meaning he has played the most for the team this season. During this time he has made a team-high eight assists.
TEAM NEWS – Huddersfield Town
Tommy Elphick is still out with a long-term knee injury.
TEAM NEWS – Sheffield Wednesday
Nothing to report.
PREDICTION
Huddersfield Town leads the head to head record against Sheffield Wednesday. Town has won on 25 occasions, there have been 13 draws and Wednesday have won 21 times. The sides first encounter was in 1926.
In the reverse fixture this season, Wednesday were 2-0 winners at the John Smith’s Stadium. In fact, in a 90-minute game, the Terriers have not beaten Wednesday since November 2013, and the Terriers only win since then came via penalties in the 2017 Championship play-off semi-final.
The Owls come into this game with more momentum than Town, having won their last game 3-0. Meanwhile, the Terriers lost 2-0 to Luton Town.
Huddersfield Town has more to play for than Sheffield Wednesday, which could spur them on to get something out of this game. However, the pressure might be too much for the Terriers to get anything from this game. Not to mention, Town has not scored in any of the last three games.
Therefore, I predict: