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Championship | Gameweek 45
May 1, 2021 at 12.30pm UK
Hillsborough Stadium
NF

Sheff Weds
0 - 0
Nott'm Forest


Palmer (41'), Paterson (61')
FT

Yates (47'), Knockaert (69')

Preview: Sheffield Wednesday vs. Nottingham Forest - prediction, team news, lineups

:Headline: Preview: Sheffield Wednesday vs. Nottingham Forest - prediction, team news, lineups:
Sports Mole previews Saturday's Championship clash between Sheffield Wednesday and Nottingham Forest, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
Sports Mole

Sheffield Wednesday will be relegated from the Championship if they lose to Nottingham Forest on Saturday afternoon.

The Owls are 23rd in the table and four points behind 21st-place Derby County, meaning they need to better the Rams' result against Swansea City to stay in the hunt for survival.


Match preview

Wednesday were beaten 3-1 by Middlesbrough last weekend, so were relieved to see that Derby also lost to Birmingham City to take the race for safety to the final two games.

The Owls travel to the Rams next weekend, which will make for a mouth-watering final day fixture if survival still hangs in the balance.

There was hope that Darren Moore may be able to return to the bench on Saturday after suffering from pneumonia and blood clots as a result of having had coronavirus, but the club have confirmed that the boss will still not be present at Hillsborough, meaning that Jamie Smith will continue to take the reins.

Wednesday have won just two of seven games in his absence, but their home record this season ranks just inside the top half of the Championship.

They have only lost one of their last five matches at Hillsborough, while only Watford, Norwich City and Swansea City have conceded fewer home goals in the Championship this season.

Relegation looked a real possibility for Forest too in the first half of the campaign, but Chris Hughton has steered the Reds away from danger, and they will have hopes of fighting at the right end of the Championship next year.

That said, Forest are threatening to end this season with a whimper, as they are winless in their last four matches and have picked up just two victories in their last 12.

Hughton said his team were "the better side" in a 1-1 draw against Stoke City last weekend, as Lewis Grabban cancelled out Rabbi Matondo's opener.

It leaves Forest 17th on 51 points – 19 fewer than they had at this point last season – and the Reds could still finish as high as 13th or as low as 20th.

Only three sides have netted fewer goals in the Championship this season than the Reds, who have scored no more than one goal in 15 of their last 16 matches. That said, only four clubs have conceded fewer.

The East Midlands outfit won 2-0 in this season's reverse fixture in December but have not picked up three points in their last five visits to Hillsborough.

Sheffield Wednesday Championship form:
  • W
  • L
  • L
  • D
  • W
  • L

Nottingham Forest Championship form:
  • W
  • W
  • D
  • L
  • D
  • D



Team News

Tom Lees was stretchered off in Sheffield Wednesday's defeat to Middlesbrough and it is likely he will miss the rest of the season.

Osaze Urhoghide is expected to take his place in the Owls' back three; fellow centre-backs Joost van Aken and Chey Dunkley are nearing full fitness after injury but are unlikely to be ready to start this game.

Wednesday have regularly rotated their attacking options this season, making it possible that Jordan Rhodes and Kadeem Harris could return to the starting lineup after dropping to the bench against Boro.

A knee problem forced Luke Freeman off in Forest's draw with Stoke, and although he may be back available this weekend, the most likely starter on the right wing is Anthony Knockaert.

Hughton trialled Filip Krovinovic out wide against the Potters, but he is expected to move back into the middle with teenager Alex Mighten coming back in on the left.

Grabban has scored in two successive games for the first time all season – he has not netted in three in a row since December 2018.

Sheffield Wednesday possible starting lineup:
Westwood; Hutchinson, Urhoghide, Borner; Palmer, Pelupessy, Bannan, Reach; Windass, Rhodes, Harris

Nottingham Forest possible starting lineup:
Samba; Christie, Worrall, McKenna, Ribeiro; Yates, Garner; Knockaert, Krovinovic, Mighten; Grabban


We say: Sheffield Wednesday 1-0 Nottingham Forest

This seems like a fairly ideal game for Wednesday. Forest look to already be on the metaphorical beach and struggle to score, so we expect the Owls and their usually tight defence to earn a vital win. As this game is the Saturday lunchtime kickoff, they will then watch on nervously as Derby travel to Swansea at 3pm.



Top tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting a double chance bet on a home win or an away win in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Home/Away:data




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Premier League Table
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Leeds UnitedLeeds38257670284282
2Leicester CityLeicester37264774334182
3Ipswich TownIpswich38249580493181
4Southampton36227773472673
5West Bromwich AlbionWest Brom381991059362366
6Norwich CityNorwich381871369541561
7Hull City371610115346758
8Coventry CityCoventry3715121059431657
9Preston North EndPreston37168134954-556
10Middlesbrough38166165352154
11Cardiff CityCardiff38165174351-853
12Sunderland38146184845348
13Watford381212145351248
14Bristol City38138174245-347
15Swansea CitySwansea381210164858-1046
16Millwall381110173650-1443
17Blackburn RoversBlackburn38119185164-1342
18Plymouth ArgylePlymouth381011175462-841
19Stoke CityStoke38118193553-1841
20Queens Park RangersQPR381010183650-1440
21Birmingham CityBirmingham38109194259-1739
22Huddersfield TownHuddersfield38815154261-1939
23Sheffield WednesdaySheff Weds38115223061-3138
24Rotherham UnitedRotherham38311243077-4720
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