Another Championship manager faces a former club on Saturday afternoon when Steve Bruce’s Sheffield Wednesday take on his old club Aston Villa at Hillsborough with a precious three points at stake for both clubs.
Sheffield Wednesday have been transformed after the arrival of manager Steve Bruce who has had success at this level with Sheffield United, Hull City and Birmingham City to name but a few, as well as guiding Aston Villa to last season’s Championship Play-Off final where the west midlands club were within 90 minutes of a place in the Premier League.
Football is harsh though and Villa were well beaten by Fulham, but Sheffield Wednesday are now benefitting from Bruce’s expertise as The Owls have put together a solid 12-match unbeaten run in the second tier under his watch.
Recent wins against Bolton Wanderers and Blackburn Rovers have helped maintain Wednesday’s outside claims for a top six finish and with just four points separating these two teams on Saturday, this match could be pivotal in deciding the play-off pack.
Forwards Fletcher (10 goals) and Joao (9 goals) look the most likely for Sheffield Wednesday in this one.
Aston Villa themselves are on an impressive roll of form as the west midlands club have picked up five wins on the trot as they are heading home with a wet sail and look the team to beat in the Championship at the moment.
Dean Smith’s side have been stuttering and lurching all season, showing glimpses of their potential without really putting together any meaningful winning run - until now. Recent wins over Derby County, Birmingham City, Nottingham Forest, Middlesbrough and Blackburn Rovers have lifted The Villains into 6th place and they’ll be desperate to hang onto this last remaining play-off spot.
The visitors seem to be at least heading in the right direction under former Brentford boss Dean Smith, and this is is no small part due to the influential influence of midfielders Grealish and McGinn who have really come to the fore in recent weeks and have run the show in the middle of the park.
Striker Abraham (22 goals) continues to bang them in up front, but the creativity of Grealish and McGinn shouldn’t be underestimated, and they look set to hit the back of the net again this Saturday against their former boss, Steve Bruce and his Sheffield Wednesday outfit.
Both teams to score here looks extremely likely.