Friday night action in the Championship sees Sheffield Wednesday take on Birmingham City at Hillsborough in a big clash in the bottom half of the table. Both sides have struggled this season and need a win to either get out of the relegation zone or put some more wiggle room between themselves and the drop zone.
Sheffield Wednesday currently sit 23rd in the Championship after 30 games. The Owls have six wins, five draws and 19 losses, leaving them on 23 points, already eight points away from safety.
In their last five games in all competitions, Sheffield Wednesday have two draws and three losses.
A goal from Ben Sheaf gave Coventry the 1 - 0 lead at halftime and a second goal from Sheaf doubled this lead early into the second half. Josh Windass did manage to get on the scoresheet for Wednesday, but Coventry held on for the 2 - 1 win. It was another meeting with Coventry for Wednesday, this time in the Fourth Round of the FA Cup. Victor Torp gave Coventry the lead at the stroke of halftime, but an 84th minute goal from Djeidi Gassama grabbed a 1 - 1 draw for Sheffield Wednesday and a replay.
Back in the Championship, it was another draw for Sheffield Wednesday, this time against Watford. The Owls had 60% of the possession and 19 shots with five on target but failed to score and had to settle for a 0 - 0 draw. The next time out against Huddersfield was a trip to forget for Wednesday. Goals from Matty Pearson and Sorba Thomas along with a brace from Josh Koroma gave Huddersfield the 4 - 0 win.
The last time out for Sheffield Wednesday is a replay in the Fourth Round of the FA Cup with Coventry. Kasey Palmer opened the scoring for Coventry in the third minute and Bailey Cadamarteri equalised before the ten minute mark. However, a brace from Callum O’Hare and a goal from Haji Wright gave Coventry the 4 - 1 win.
Birmingham sit just above Sheffield Wednesday in 19th in the Championship. In 29 games, The Blues have eight wins, eight draws and 18 losses which leaves them on 32 points, just four points above the relegation zone.
In their last five games in all competitions, Birmingham have two wins, one draw and two losses.
Harry Darling opened the scoring for Swansea early on but Siriki Dembele equalised for Birmingham just two minutes later. Swansea retook the lead in the second half through Jamal Lowe but a goal from Jordan James in the 95th minute grabbed a 2 - 2 draw for Birmingham. In the Third Round Replays of the FA Cup, Birmingham hosted Hull City. Jason Lokilo gave Hull the early lead, but second half goals from Jay Stansfield and Koji Miyoski gave Birmingham the 2 - 1 win.
Stansfield was on the scoresheet again for Birmingham, along with Juninho Bacuna in the 2 - 1 win over Stoke, with Jordan Thompson picking up a late consolation goal for Stoke. The Fourth Round of the FA Cup saw Birmingham take on Leicester. Jamie Vardy, Yunus Akgun and Dennis Praet all scored in the 3 - 0 win for Leicester.
The most recent outing for Birmingham was against West Brom. Andreas Weimann scored the only goal of the game in the 85th minute to give West Brom the 1 - 0 win.
Sheffield Wednesday and Birmingham have met 102 times in their histories, with the first meeting coming all the way back in 1892. Birmingham have the slightly better record in the fixture with 40 wins in comparison to Wednesday’s 35 wins, the other 27 games ending in a draw.