Sheffield Wednesday take on Middlesbrough at Hillsborough in Tuesday’s big Sky Bet Championship clash.
This match could see Tony Pulis’ Owls climb out of the relegation zone with a win if Derby lose at Birmingham earlier in the evening and Rotherham suffer defeat at home to Barnsley.
Middlesbrough meanwhile could go sixth with a win for at least a few hours, although it could become a minimum of 24 hours if Stoke lose to Nottingham Forest late on Tuesday evening.
Team News
Joost van Aken and Adam Reach are doubts for Sheffield Wednesday with respective groin and hamstring injuries suffered in Saturday’s draw at Blackburn.
Aden Flint (hamstring), Cameron Dawson, Massimo Luongo (both knee), Dominic Iorfa (Achilles) and Julian Borner (facial) are still absent.
Middlesbrough could have Marcus Browne in contention after the youngster recovered from a hamstring injury ahead of their postponed Boxing Day clash against Rotherham.
Ashley Fletcher remains absent as he continues to recover from a hamstring injury.
Stat Attack
- Sheffield Wednesday are unbeaten in three of their last five meetings against Middlesbrough (W2, D1, L2).
- Middlesbrough won each of their last four trips to Hillsborough (W4), winning their last three visits by 2-1 results whilst the other victory came by a 3-1 score line in August 2015.
- Tony Pulis’ Owls are unbeaten in nine of 15 previous meetings against Middlesbrough held in December across all competitions (W8, D1, L6).
- Sheffield Wednesday have scored first in each of their three home games so far this month.
- Boro are winless in their last six away trips this season (D3, L3).
Prediction
Sheffield Wednesday’s defence has been their biggest issue all season and if Reach is unavailable then that is a huge blow to their attacking creativity, although they did possess Tony Pulis who knows how Boro often play with not many changes to their core playing squad since he left in May 2019 which could benefit them tactically even though he was sacked late last night.
Middlesbrough’s form meanwhile has been rocky to say the least since returning from November’s international break with defeats in their last three away trips, although they do have a fitness advantage after their Boxing Day match was postponed but they need to hit the ground running to avoid questions of rustiness.
Either way, this should be a good game because Wednesday look there for the taking defensively but Boro’s away form has slipped lately so won’t be an easy task, yet they have developed good away form at Hillsborough which might be the difference.
Prediction: Sheffield Wednesday 1-2 Middlesbrough
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