Sheffield Wednesday VS Aston Villa Match Prediction
2018-02-24
15:00:00
Sheffield Wednesday
VS
Aston Villa
Our Prediction Tip
Aston Villa will win this match.
2018-02-2415:00:00 Aston Villa will win this match.
Since Sheffield Wednesday's relegation from the Premier League in 2000, the Owls had only played Aston Villa once - winning a League Cup tie in 2001 - until Villa joined them in the Championship in 2016. In the three fixtures since then, Villa lost 1-0 at Hillsborough at the start of the 2016/17 season, but hit back to win 2-0 at Villa Park. In this season's reverse fixture, again at Villa Park, Sheffield Wednesday grabbed a 2-1 win thanks to early goals from Adam Reach (after just 16 seconds) and Jordan Rhodes.
%HEAD-TO-HEAD-STATS-BANNER%Sheffield Wednesday, lacking goals and suffering an eye-wateringly long injury list, have continued to be inconsistent under new boss Jus Luhukay, with his unbeaten start now well and truly over.
Defeat to Millwall in mid-week was their second in five days, and while they pulled off a surprise win at home to Derby, it would be a surprise if Wednesday managed another top-six scalp.
Villa are also without two key players, Albert Adomah and Jack Grealish, but they boast strength in depth - Lewis Grabban could prove a key signing, having now bagged his first Villa goal.
While Steve Bruce's side have lost their winning streak, they are still well placed to push for an automatic promotion berth and need to win at Hillsborough on Saturday to prove that.
It has been a long time coming since their relegation in 2016, but Villa’s form at the start of 2018 was nothing less than what has been expected of them for some time.
Now, they need to prove their dropped points in the past week were just a small blip - and even with Adomah and Grealish out they are perfectly equipped to do just that.
Aston Villa are favourites to win on Saturday, and have been priced at 16/11 with Ladbrokes to do just that - a generous price, given their form up until last weekend.
With the Owls struggling for goals in the absence of Gary Hooper, Villa are also 11/4 to win to nil with Ladbrokes and Bet365 and you can bet against both teams to score at 4/5 with Betfair.
Lewis Grabban is off the mark for Villa now, and the Bournemouth loanee will hope his penalty against Preston will open the floodgates - he is 13/5 to score at any time with Betfair.
Aston Villa have suffered a little blip in the past week, but that is all it is - Steve Bruce's side are well-equipped to bounce back to winning ways, and it would be a surprise if they did not do that.
Jordan Rhodes is available again up front after illness, while Lucas Joao and Adthe Nuhiu could also feature after dropping to the bench in mid-week as Jack Stobbs made his first start. The Owls' ridiculously long injury list includes Kieran Westwood, Kieran Lee, Jack Lees, Steven Fletcher, Gary Hooper, Fernando Forestieri and Joost van Aken.
Jordan Rhodes has scored just six times since his club-record move from Middlesbrough, but the striker has proved already at this level that he is capable of scoring plenty - now fit again after illness, the Owls will hope they start to see the best of Rhodes, supported by the creativity of winger Adam Reach.
Since losing under new boss Jos Luhukay for the first time at the start of this month, Sheffield Wednesday have won just one of the four matches they have played since - a 2-0 triumph at home to Derby County. They drew with Barnsley and Swansea in the matches either side of that win, but lost 2-1 at Millwall on Tuesday despite Joey Pelupessy’s opener.
Jack Grealish and Albert Adomah continue to be major doubts - it is no coincidence Villa have lost the last two matches in the absence of their star players. Andre Green, Jonathan Kodjia and Jed Steer are long-term absentees, but Robert Snodgrass should be available to play despite taking a knock on Tuesday against Preston. Lewis Grabban could make his first start after grabbing his first Villa goal from the penalty spot in that game, while Henri Lansbury is also pushing for a first start since December.
After grabbing his first Villa goal in mid-week, Lewis Grabban will be hoping it proves to be the first of many during his loan spell with the club. With current top scorer Albert Adomah injured, Scott Hogan also needs to add to his eight goals for the season.
Villa's 2-0 defeat at Fulham last weekend ended a seven-match winning streak, and they were unable to bounce back with a win on Tuesday either - Lewis Grabban's first Villa goal earning them a point at home to Preston.
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