Sheffield Wednesday travel to Adams Park on Saturday afternoon hoping to end a disappointing week on a high against Wycombe Wanderers.

The Owls suffered an embarrassing defeat to South Yorkshire rivals Rotherham United on Wednesday evening, meaning that they remain four points away from positive points after being handed a negative 12-point deduction at the beginning of the campaign.

The pressure on Garry Monk and his side will intensify should they fail to get a result at Championship new boys Wycombe, who picked up their first point of the campaign in a 1-1 draw with Watford.

Gareth Ainsworth will be hoping that his side can take advantage of Wednesday’s situation by recording their first Championship victory. Wycombe have only scored three league goals this term, conceding the joint-worst number of goals shipped with 16. The Chairboys are four points from safety.

Team news

Wycombe have no fresh injury concerns and could welcome Dominic Gape, Ryan Tafazolli and Jason McCarthy back into the side.

On the other hand, Wednesday have had a nightmare in terms of availability in the centre-back position. Chey Dunkley has been a long-term absentee, suffering a double leg break in February with his previous club Wigan Athletic. Aden Flint was forced off on Wednesday night with a hamstring injury before Tom Lees was dismissed against Rotherham after returning from injury, joining Joost van Aken on the suspension list.

However, Dominic Iorfa is in contention to return to the back three after missing the last five fixtures. Midfielder Izzy Brown could also return for Wednesday, whilst Massimo Luongo is still out injured.

Predicted lineups

Wycombe Wanderers (4-2-3-1):

Allsop; Grimmer, Stewart, Knight, Jacobson; Thompson, Adenrian; Kaskett, Horgan, Wheeler; Akinfenwa.

Sheffield Wednesday (3-5-2):

Wildsmith; Palmer, Iorfa, Borner; Harris, Brown, Pelupessy, Bannan, Penney; Windass, Paterson.

Form guide

The Chairboys began life in the Championship woefully, registering seven-straight defeats at the hands of Rotherham, Blackburn Rovers, Swansea City, Luton Town, Millwall, Reading and Norwich City before picking up their first point of the season thanks to Anthony Stewart’s equaliser against Watford.

Sheffield Wednesday started the season brightly, shaving four points off their negative tally with a 2-0 victory over Cardiff City and a goalless draw against Watford from their opening two fixtures. However, their form since then has been poor, picking up just four points from a possible 18. Wednesday also come into this game after three-successive defeats.

Ones to watch

Wycombe Wanderers – Joe Jacobson

Joe Jacobson is a very important player for the Chairboys, contributing to 11 goals and three assists last season from left-back - his ability to score directly from a corner being a dangerous attribute. Jacobson is also useful defensively, making 2.9 tackles per game, as well as an average of 2.3 interceptions per game. His job on Saturday will be to nullify the threat of former Wycombe winger Kadeem Harris.

Sheffield Wednesday – Joe Wildsmith

This could be a big opportunity for goalkeeper Joe Wildsmith should he get the nod over Cameron Dawson after he endured a terrible first-half performance against Rotherham on Wednesday night.

Wildsmith will need to take this chance, proving why he was previously highly rated before a cruciate ligament injury saw him out for a prolonged period in 2018 and 2019. Before his long-term injury, Wildsmith made an average of 3.5 saves per game. 

Last time they met

The last time these two sides met at Adams Park, Sheffield Wednesday came away with a 2-1 victory.

Jose Semedo opened the scoring, benefitting from Ryan Lowe’s effort which struck the post to fire home his first Owls goal.

A 15-year-old Jordan Ibe then levelled proceedings with an excellent solo run from deep, taking on several players before rifling the ball past Stephen Bywater.

Lowe then headed home the eventual winner on 35 minutes, notching his first goal on his first start for Wednesday.

Current Wycombe boss Ainsworth also saw red as a player in the second period for the Chairboys.

What the managers have said

Ainsworth has insisted that his side will not go down if they continue to produce the performance they delivered against Watford, admitting that he believes they can build on this result.

“We’re here to fight and compete, not here to make the numbers up. Wycombe are different but we’re here to stay in the Championship,” he said.

“If we keep playing like that, there will be no chance we’re going down.

“I think it’s been coming. I think we’ve been worthy of a point at least in the last three games, and today I thought we might have got three. When the opposition ‘keeper gets man of the match, I think that says everything about the game.  

“Everyone keeps saying whether we’re not getting the decisions because we’re a smaller club, but I think it’s just not going our way at the moment.

“I hope people have watched the game tonight and thought Wycombe’s not going to be an easy game. We want teams to come here and have it tough.”

Owls boss Monk has stated that his side are determined to put a bad week behind them by ending it on a high against Wycombe.

"I said it after the Rotherham game it’s been a disappointing week for us and none of us are happy about that,” said Monk to the official Sheffield Wednesday website.

“And no one is more unhappy than me because I know how hard we’ve worked.

“We’ve got a chance to put it right on Saturday and finish on a higher note; that’s where our focus has been since the Rotherham game.

“Up to the Birmingham game we were saying it was a positive start, but now after a week, it’s gone the other way.

“If we can get it right at the weekend and put together a good run before the international break, we can look at a positive start again.”

Where to watch

The only way to view this clash live on Saturday 31 October is by purchasing an 'iFollow' match pass on either of the club’s website.

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