Sheffield Wednesday are still seeking their first win of the season as they play host to Sunderland in the Championship on Friday night. The Owls are the only team in the division without a win after their first eight games and their luck doesn’t appear like it is going to change against the Black Cats. 

We take a look at some of the most valuable markets on offer in this second tier battle.

Team news

Sheffield Wednesday have no fresh injury concerns heading into Friday’s clash. This will come as a boost to Xisco Munoz as he prepares to fight for his job and try and secure the Owls their first league win of the year. Will Vaulks and Momo Diaby were not involved in their 3-0 defeat to Swansea City last time out.

Jay Matete and Corry Evans remain long-term absentees for Sunderland. Manager Tony Mowbray will also be without Dennis Cirkin, Jewison Bennette, Eliezer Mayenda, Timothee Pembele and Aji Alese. Duo Pierre Ekwah and Bradley Dack could be back in contention for a place in the squad on Friday night.

Sunderland to score in both halves @ 12/5

The Black Cats suffered a surprising defeat at home to Cardiff City on their last outing, and they will look for a swift response when they travel to south Yorkshire this weekend.

When looking to bounce back from a defeat, there is no better team to face in the Championship right now than Sheffield Wednesday. They are still struggling to land their first three points of the season, fail to hold leads when they do go in front, and as a result are very low on confidence. They won’t want to be facing this Sunderland side right now.

Before the loss to Cardiff, Sunderland had won their last three games, and in all three, they scored in both halves. On paper, their attacking players should have a field day at Hillsborough given how defensively frail the Owls are at this present moment.

Sunderland have the credentials to make a strong promotion push this year and if they are to be successful they need to be getting past opponents like Wednesday quite comfortably.

Over 2.5 Sunderland goals @ 4/1

Sunderland have been scoring goals for fun in the Championship. They are the third highest scorers in the division with 15 goals from their first eight matches, and in recent weeks they have started to become more ruthless with their finishing. Before they lost to the Bluebirds, they enjoyed a very productive three-game winning streak in which they scored a minimum of three goals in each match.

They fired five past Southampton and three past Queens Park Rangers and Blackburn Rovers. There is so much quality in their attack with the likes of Jack Clarke, Patrick Roberts, Jobe Bellingham and Alex Pritchard. All of these players can both score goals and create them. And they look set to be in for another profitable evening in front of goal against the side planted at the bottom of the table.