Sheffield Wednesday will be hoping to build on their maiden victory under Tony Pulis when they travel to Ewood Park to take on Blackburn Rovers on Boxing Day.

In contrast, the promotion-chasing hosts suffered a setback in their march to the Championship's top six as they lost 1-0 at Stoke City last time out.

Match preview

December has not been a month of festive joy for Blackburn Rovers, who have only managed to pick up two wins from their last six, a run which also includes three defeats from their last four.

Tony Mowbray's men succumbed to a seventh-minute Nick Powell header at Stoke last weekend as their bid for a playoff berth took another blow, with Rovers now dropping to 11th in the table following an underwhelming spell of form over the past few weeks.

In fairness, this weekend's hosts are having to deal with a ravaged squad at the minute due to injuries, but with only one win from their last five in the Championship, Blackburn are now five points adrift of the top six after 20 matches.

Nevertheless, Blackburn have turned up the heat when it matters most at home, where Mowbray's side have taken the spoils in four of their last five outings, and Bournemouth are the only side who can boast a better goal tally than Blackburn's 34 at present.

Mowbray's side could break back into the top half with a win on Boxing Day, but Blackburn would also have to hope that Bristol City and Cardiff City lose to Wycombe Wanderers and Brentford respectively.

Meanwhile, Pulis finally picked up his long-awaited first Wednesday victory at the ninth attempt over Coventry City, with Tom Lees netting the all-important winner in the second half at Hillsborough.

The mood in the Owls' camp will undoubtedly be much more positive following a first win since November 3, but Wednesday are still in the relegation zone and cannot climb above the dotted line no matter what happens on Boxing Day.

The Owls - who sit 23rd - are four points adrift of 21st-placed Rotherham United and 22nd-placed Derby County, and both teams have a game in hand over Wednesday, who are also level with basement side Wycombe Wanderers.

Furthermore, Pulis's side have not managed to triumph away from home since a 1-0 victory at Birmingham City back in October, with Wednesday losing six out of seven on the road since.

Blackburn scraped a narrow 2-1 victory when the sides met at Ewood Park last season, but Wednesday were thrashed 5-0 at home by this weekend's hosts at Hillsborough back in January.

Blackburn Rovers Championship form: WDLLWL

Sheffield Wednesday Championship form: DLLLLW

Team News

As mentioned, Blackburn have several players in the treatment room heading into the New Year, with the likes of Elliot Bennett, Joe Rankin-Costello, Scott Wharton and Corry Evans all sidelined.

On a more positive note for Mowbray, winger Ben Brereton is back in training and has an outside chance of being fit for Saturday, but a start still seems unlikely.

Daniel Ayala has not been ruled out of this game despite struggling with a foot injury, but the defender is considered much more of a doubt than Brereton.

As for Wednesday, the visitors are already without Dominic Iorfa for the long term, while Julian Borner is unlikely to make the cut either.

However, midfielder Barry Bannan took to Instagram to assure fans that he would be fit for this one after an injury scare against Coventry, and there is also optimism over Massimo Luongo's fitness.

Blackburn Rovers possible starting lineup:
Kaminski; Nyambe, Johnson, Lenihan, Douglas; Trybull, Rothwell, Holtby; Elliott, Armstrong, Gallagher

Sheffield Wednesday possible starting lineup:
Westwood; Palmer, Dunkley, Lees; Harris, Bannan, Luongo, Pelupessy, Reach; Paterson, Windass

We say: Blackburn Rovers 2-0 Sheffield Wednesday

Despite finally managing to lead his strugglers to a much-needed three points, Pulis is facing an uphill battle to make Sheffield Wednesday's trip to Blackburn count for something. The hosts have become renowned for their goalscoring capabilities - even with a plethora of injuries - and the Owls have only mustered five strikes on the road all season, so this should be a routine win for Mowbray's side.

Top betting tip

Previews by email