Sheffield Wednesday will be looking to pick up their first win in this season’s EFL Trophy when the play host to Burton Albion on Tuesday.
Having lost 3-1 away to League two side Bradford City three weeks ago, Sheffield Wednesday will be keen to bounce back with a win this week.
The Owls missed out on promotion to the Championship bt losing to Sunderland after extra-time in the playoff semi-finals last season, but they look capable of securing an automatic promotion spot under Darren Moore.
With 17 points from nine matches, they currently sit fourth in the table, having come back from two goals down at home against league leaders Ipswich Town at the weekend.
While the EFL Trophy is likely to be considerably low in terms of Moore’s list of priorities, reaching the final does provide supporters with a day out at Wembley, so he will not want to fall at the group stage level.
Meanwhile, Burton Albion have endured a poor start to the 2022-23 season, losing seven of their opening eight league matches before finally claiming their first win against Exeter City at the weekend.
Dino Maamria has replaced Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink in the dugout, and after a 2-0 defeat at home to Portsmouth in his first game in charge, he bounced back with an away win on Saturday.
However, with Burton Albion still sitting four points away from safety, there is plenty for the former Oldham Athletic boss to work on.
Like their Tuesday’s opponents, the EFL Trophy is not likely to be off much importance in terms of defining Burton’s season, but they are in a decent position to qualify from Group H after defeating Leicester U21 4-2 in their opening match of this competition in Hasselbaink’s second last game in charge of the club.
Sheffield Wednesday vs Burton Albion head to head
These two teams have previously met on six occasions in the Championship and League one, where they have each claimed two victories while they have drawn twice. They have each scored 10 goals in the process. In their last meeting, Sheffield Wednesday claimed a 5-2 victory at home back in March.
Sheffield Wednesday 1-1 Burton Albion 07/03/17
Burton Albion 1-1 Sheffield Wednesday 26/08/17
Sheffield Wednesday 0-3 Burton Albion 01/01/18
Burton Albion 0-2 Sheffield Wednesday 05/02/22
Sheffield Wednesday 5-2 Burton Albion 01/03/22
Sheffield Wednesday latest home form
Sheffield Wednesday have recently been on a relatively good run of form at home, having lost just one of their seven most recent matches. They drew 2-2 with Ipswich Town in their last home game in the league. In their last five matches, they have scored 11 goals and conceded four.
Sheffield Wednesday 1-0 Charlton Athletic 13/08/22
Sheffield Wednesday 3-0 Rochdale 23/08/22
Sheffield Wednesday 5-0 Forest Green Rovers 27/08/22
Sheffield Wednesday 0-2 Barnsley 03/09/22
Sheffield Wednesday 2-2 Ipswich Town 17/09/22
Sheffield Wednesday latest away form
Sheffield Wednesday have recently been on a relatively good run of form on the road, having lost just two of their five most recent matches. They defeated Morecambe 3-0 in their last away game in the league. In their last five matches, they have scored seven goals and conceded five.
Milton Keynes Dons 0-1 Sheffield Wednesday 06/08/22
Peterborough United 2-0 Sheffield Wednesday 16/08/22
Bolton Wanderers 0-2 Sheffield Wednesday 20/08/22
Bradford City 3-1 Sheffield Wednesday 30/-8/33
Morecambe 0-3 Sheffield Wednesday 13/09/22
Burton Albion latest home form
Burton Albion have recently failed to keep a good run of form at home, having won just one of their nine most recent matches. They lost 2-0 to Portsmouth in their last home game in the league. In their last five matches, they have scored four goals and conceded 11.
Burton Albion 0-4 Bristol Rovers 06/08/22
Burton Albion 0-1 Ipswich Town 16/08/22
Burton Albion 0-2 Port Vale 20/08/22
Burton Albion 4-2 Leicester City U21 30/08/22
Burton Albion 0-2 Portsmouth 13/09/22
Burton Albion latest away form
Burton Albion have recently failed to keep a good run of form on the road, having won just one of their seven most recent matches. They defeated Exeter City 2-0 in their last away game in the league. In their last five matches, they have scored 10 goals and conceded 12.
Rochdale 2-0 Burton Albion 09/08/22
Accrington Stanley 4-4 Burton Albion 13/08/22
Cambridge United 4-3 Burton Albion 27/08/22
Oxford United 2-1 Burton Albion 03/09/22
Exeter City 0-2 Burton Albion 17/09/22
Sheffield Wednesday news
Moore made 10 changes for the game against Bradford, with only Dominic Iorfa retaining his spot from the previous match against Forest Green Rovers.
He is likely to make several changes to his lineup once again, with Callum Paterson, Will Vaulks, Mark McGuinness and Cameron Dawson all hoping for important match fitness.
Burton Albion news
Burton Albion will travel without the suspended Quevin Castro after his red card in the previous game, while Mustapha Carayol is sidelined with a knee injury.
Maamria is expected to make several changes given their vulnerable poistion in League One, but Ciaran Giligan is likely to retain his place in midfield.
Prediction and Odds
Given Sheffield Wednesday’s superior form and resources, we can only expect the hosts to win at Hillsborough on Tuesday.
Moore has far more quality options to call upon in a competition which generally features significant rotation, while Burton Albion could have the weekend in mind given that they are bottom of League one.
Odds: 1 1.89 X 2.05 2 2.22
Probable outcomes
Sheffield Wednesday 1-0 Burton Albion
Sheffield Wednesday 2-0 Burton Albion
Sheffield Wednesday 2-1 Burton Albion
Sheffield Wednesday 3-2 Burton Albion
Sheffield Wednesday 1-1 Burton Albion
