Derby County vs Sheffield Wednesday Prediction: 10/1 shot to strike twice?

Derby County lost a home game to Swansea City in midweek, which will disappoint Paul Warne given his side had the better of the second half. However, conceding two goals so early on was always going to make life difficult, and ultimately they couldn’t quite complete the comeback. 

They will look to bounce back immediately though as they host Sheffield Wednesday at 15:00 and with the game live on Sky Sports+, both teams will be keen to make an impression. Danny Rohl saw his side beat Hull in midweek, and we bagged a 10/1 winner as they won both halves at the MKM Stadium. Hoping for similar luck here, below you will find my Derby County vs Sheffield Wednesday predictions.

Team News

Things are looking brighter from a Derby perspective in terms of injuries. They can now boast virtually a completely clean bill of health with only two players sidelined for the game on Sunday. David Ozoh is one of those, but even he returned to training this week, although this weekend will come too soon for him. 

Ryan Nyambe is the other name out for the long term, as his knee injury will keep him sidelined until 2025 but Jerry Yates will return to the starting line-up having been ineligible to play against his parent club Swansea in midweek. I’d expect Kayden Jackson to be moved back out wide with Corey Blackett-Taylor the most likely to drop out of the team to make room for Yates. 

Di’Shon Bernard will miss this game due to suspension for the Owls, having picked up five yellow cards this season, while Akin Famewo and Olaf Kobacki remain sidelined. Michael Ihiekwe has also been absent in recent weeks and is set to miss this game, so with Bernard also suspended, Dominic Iorfa is likely to come back in at centre-back.

Despite a good performance on the road against Hull, Michael Smith, Svante Ingelsson and Anthony Musaba may be handed starts as the manager considers refreshing his line-up. Back-to-back away games are always tough, but it feels like Wednesday are kicking into gear at the right time.

Derby County vs Sheffield Wednesday Odds

Derby are priced at 7/5 to win this game, with Sheffield Wendesday available at 2/1 to take maximum points. That gives the home side an implied win probability of 41%, a draw can be backed at 23/10 and over 2.5 goals is 11/10. Elsewhere, BTTS is 5/6 and Michael Smith is the favourite to open the scoring at 6/1. 

Sheffield Wednesday to win @ 2/1

A straightforward selection to begin with. Wednesday have only lost one of their last four games, and that came in the narrow 1-0 defeat to rivals Sheffield United at Bramall Lane. They took full advantage of Hull City in midweek securing a comfortable 2-0 win and I think it is only a matter of time before they crack the top half, and begin to knock on the door of the play-offs. 

Rohl is highly regarded and I think it wont be too long before he gets poached by another team higher up the pyramid, but for now, he is Wednesday’s biggest strength. These two teams met in a final day relegation decider in 2021 when Wayne Rooney was in charge of the Rams, and the 3-3 draw saw the Owls drop down to League 1. 

Relegation would follow the next season for Derby, but now they are both back in the second tier looking upwards rather than downwards. However, I have Wednesday ahead of their hosts at this moment in time, so I’m happy to back the away side to win. 

Sheffield Wednesday to win both halves @ 10/1

Lightning doesn’t strike twice. Does it? We backed this to come in on Tuesday night and after Josh Windass’ first-half penalty and Michael Smith’s late goal secured a 2-0 win over Hull, we walked away as winners. Now Hull were not in a good place, but I don’t think Derby are all that convincing either.

Warne is doing a good job and they are punching above their weight, but the defeat to Swansea was slightly concerning and I just feel they could be shown up on home soil here. 10/1 for Wednesday to win both halves, given they pulled it off on Tuesday, marks excellent value.

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