Sheffield Wednesday vs Derby County Prediction: Owls to prosper on home turf

Only six points separate Sheffield Wednesday and Derby County and a close game should be expected when the two teams meet at Hillsborough on New Year's Day (15:00 KO, live on Sky Sports+).

Read on for my Sheffield Wednesday vs Derby County predictions, complete with match odds and team news.

Sheffield Wednesday vs Derby County Odds

With Wednesday having home advantage, they are 1/1 favourites to win Wednesday's battle. The draw is 23/10, while Derby are 3/1 to collect all three points on their travels.

Over 2.5 goals is priced at 6/5, while both teams to score is available at 10/11.

Owls striker Michael Smith is the 2/1 favourite to score anytime, closely followed by team-mate Josh Windass at 9/4.

Team News

Wednesday centre-back Akin Famewo remains sidelined with a muscle injury, while Dominic Iorfa is set to miss out after picking up a hip injury against Preston last time out.

Youngster Gabriel Otegbayo is expected to step into the back four as Danny Rohl tries to get a result to start 2025 in style.

Derby's Eiran Cashin is still a few weeks away from recovering from a hamstring strain, while David Ozoh remains a long-term absentee due to a hamstring injury of his own.

Draw @ 23/10

After strong showings in the first half of the Championship campaign, both Wednesday and Derby will be confident of avoiding relegation.

The Owls are winless in two, but they did fight back from 3-0 down to secure a 3-3 draw against Middlesbrough on Boxing Day.

Rohl's team have only lost one of their last five at home, but they are not exactly prolific at Hillsborough, winning four of their 12 games on home turf.

Derby's away record is the fifth-worst in the division, with the Rams collecting seven points from 12 games.

However, Paul Warne's side were narrowly beaten by high-flyers Leeds last weekend and they have only lost two of their previous five matches.

Under 2.5 goals @ 8/13

While both teams can improve defensively, the winter period has showcased how hard both squads have worked to climb the table.

Wednesday's last five games at home have all contained two goals or fewer, while Derby have only conceded two goals in one of their previous five in the Championship.

The Rams have a dismal record on the road, but they are not getting outclassed. They have not conceded more than two goals away from home since August, so this match should be a bruising encounter from start to finish.

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