It has been a superb month for Sheffield Wednesday so far. They have won all four of their games throughout February as they look to secure a play-off position in the Championship for the second year running.
The Owls come up against mid-table Brentford on Tuesday night who have been struggling in the league of late. They will be looking to achieve their first win of the month at Hillsborough.
How they've fared so far
Sheffield Wednesday fans will be becoming increasingly optimistic about what can be achieved this season under Carlos Carvahal. The Owls were unlucky not to make the Premier League last season as they lost 1-0 in an agonising defeat to Hull City.
They did have a relatively slow start to this season as they got over their play-off defeat but are now firmly in the swing of things at a crucial period in the season. This has seen them win their last four games against Birmingham and Blackburn Rovers at home and Wigan and Nottingham Forest away.
Their latest win came in a 2-1 win against Nottingham Forest at The City Ground on Saturday afternoon. It was a very impressive performance all-round with Kieron Westwood and Fernando Forestieri the stand-out performers. Almen Abdi also scored a superb volley on a rare start and will be hoping that will be enough to see him retain a place in the starting line-up.
The January additions to the Wednesday squad have certainly made a difference in the form of Jordan Rhodes, Sam Winnall and more. These additions have pushed the Owls up to sixth in the table and they are currently seven points ahead of Norwich in seventh.
As for Brentford, they have been struggling of late and find themselves languishing in the lower reaches of the Championship. They have failed to win any of their games so far in February with their last win coming on Deadline Day when they beat Aston Villa 3-0 at Griffin Park.
Dean Smith was always going to struggle to live up to the heights reached by Mark Warburton at Brentford not so long ago when they managed to get themselves into the play-offs. However, realistically establishing themselves in the Championship is a good achievement for a club of their size.
Despite their poor form, Brentford have still been scoring a considerable amount of goals and will test Wednesday's defence on Tuesday night. Their main attacking threat comes through Jota and Lasse Vibe who is stepping up to the plate since the sale of Scott Hogan to Aston Villa for a hefty fee.
The main issue for Smith to address is Brentford's leaky defence. The Bees have conceded 11 goals in their previous three away games. However, this did include a 4-0 defeat away to Premier League leaders Chelsea in the FA Cup. The likes of Forestieri will fancy their chances of adding to their goal tally on Tuesday night.
Last time they met
Sheffield Wednesday last played Brentford in an eventful 1-1 draw at Griffin Park in August. Lasse Vibe had given the hosts the lead before an equaliser late on from Sam Hutchinson to give the Owls a share of the points. The game also saw both Vibe sent off for the home side and David Jones was also dismissed for Wednesday.
Wednesday have got the better of Brentford in recent times and in the 2015/16 season they managed to beat the Bees 2-1 away at Griffin Park in September before also beating them 4-0 at Hillsborough the following February.
Team news
Wednesday manager Carlos Carvahal has confirmed that full-back Morgan Fox is nearing a return after missing the recent clash against Nottingham Forest through injury. However, it is unlikely he will be fit enough to face the Bees tomorrow evening.
Tom Lees has also missed the last couple of games for Wednesday but there is yet to be any indication to when he may return. Gary Hooper has also stepped up his recovery from injury and could feature in the squad for Tuesday night's game.
As for Brentford, their defence could be boosted by the possible inclusion of summer signing Rico Henry. The former Walsall man is yet to play for his new club due to having a dislocated shoulder. Smith will be hoping Henry can help sort out their defensive issues.
However, the Bees will still be missing some other key players through injury. The likes of Philipp Hofmann, Alan McCormack and Alan Judge all still remain out through injury and will not be making the trip up to Sheffield.
