Sheffield Wednesday vs Bristol City preview: Championship clash live on Sky Sports Football
Watch live on Sky Sports Football from 11.30am on Sunday morning; kick-off is at midday
Friday 20 December 2019 14:01, UK
Sheffield Wednesday face Bristol City in the Sky Bet Championship on Sunday afternoon, live on Sky Sports Football.
Team news
Moses Odubajo returns to contention for Sheffield Wednesday against fellow Championship play-off hopefuls Bristol City. The defender has served a one-match ban for his red card in the draw at Derby. He is likely to go straight back into the starting line-up, despite the Owls keeping a clean sheet at Nottingham Forest last weekend.
With first-choice goalkeeper Keiren Westwood fit again after a shoulder injury, Wednesday boss Garry Monk must decide if he is also restored to the team, or whether Cameron Dawson keeps the gloves for a sixth successive game. Midfielder Sam Hutchinson will serve the second of a two-match ban while forward Fernando Forestieri (knee) will be assessed.
City are boosted by the return of Taylor Moore while fellow defender Tomas Kalas may also be back in contention. Moore missed the back-to-back home defeats to Millwall and Blackburn with a knee problem but he will be available for the trip to Hillsborough on Sunday.
The Robins had hoped to have Kalas back against Blackburn last weekend so another week of recovery might be enough for the club-record signing to overcome his tendonitis issues. Jay Dasilva has resumed training following a fractured tibia which has ruled him out since the opening weekend of the season and he could feature again around the turn of the year.
Recent form
Sheffield Wednesday have climbed into the Championship play-off picture in recent weeks, with three victories in their last four, including a 4-0 rout of Nottingham Forest last time out.
However, Bristol City's fortunes are heading in the opposite direction at present, with defeats to Blackburn and Millwall following up wins over Fulham and Huddersfield.
What the managers said...
Sheffield Wednesday boss Garry Monk: "I work with them [the players] every day and they work hard. They understand when they perform at a high level they can beat anyone in this league. We haven't lost any confidence and it was about delivering the performances at a high level and that's what we have been doing.
"It's important we use the recovery time right because the game is on Sunday, it's five games in 14 days but we've just shown what we can do in a three-game week and we need to be ready to do that again."
Bristol City boss Lee Johnson: TBC
Talking point: Sheff Wed launch claim against EFL
Sheffield Wednesday have issued a claim against the EFL for allegedly "acting unlawfully" by bringing a misconduct charge against the Championship club.
Wednesday are in dispute with the EFL over the sale of their Hillsborough stadium and face sanctions, including a possible points deduction. The club recently claimed the action was "unlawful", while the EFL insisted it has sufficient evidence to lay the charge.
Latest highlights
Opta stats
Sheffield Wednesday are unbeaten in their last four home league matches against Bristol City (W3 D1) since losing 3-2 in December 2012.
Bristol City have lost their last two league games against Sheffield Wednesday - they haven't lost three in a row since February 1971.
Live EFL
Sheffield Wednesday are unbeaten in five league games (W3 D2), since a 2-1 defeat to West Brom in November.
Bristol City have lost their last two league games - they haven't lost three in a row since November 2018 (4 games).
Sheffield Wednesday's Steven Fletcher has scored 12 goals in 21 Championship appearances this season - he's never scored more in a single campaign in English league football (12 in 2011/12 with Wolves).
Since the start of last season, Andreas Weimann has been directly involved in more Championship goals than any other Bristol City player (25 - 17 goals, 8 assists).
Prutton's prediction
All Sheffield Wednesday can do with this potential points deduction is keep on going into every game, trying to get the win and see what happens in the future. And they are making a decent fist of that right now.
Bristol City have slipped out of the top six after back-to-back defeats and Lee Johnson will be frustrated with their recent performances. This is a chance for them to bounce back, but I think they'll be beaten at Hillsborough.
David Prutton predicts: 2-1 (15/2 with Sky Bet)
