Sheff Wed vs Swansea Prediction: Owls to nick a nerve-jangler at Hillsborough

My word, this is a weird time to be a Sheffield Wednesday fan. The Owls are heading into Friday’s clash with Swansea City at Hillsborough (kick-off 15:00 GMT) off the back of two straight convincing defeats to Leeds United (2-0) and Ipswich Town (6-0), and yet the 23^rd-placed side have every right to be bullish about their chances of staying up.

That’s what makes the Good Friday fixture in S6 most intriguing, and most difficult to pinpoint when assessing our Sheff Wed vs Swansea predictions.

Team news

Wednesday boss Danny Rohl took over a team all-but doomed to relegation in October and made them a bunch of silky scrappers who now sit just one point from the safety line with eight games to go. And the German has been boosted over the international break with the return to training of Josh Windass and Callum Paterson.

Windass hasn’t played in eight weeks since being forced off at half-time of a 0-0 draw with Watford, while Paterson is three months removed from his last appearance having had surgery to mend a knee injury sustained in the 2-0 Boxing Day loss to Coventry City.

Rohl remains without Juan Delgado, who has been missing since October with a hip injury, and there is a concern over the fitness of in-form loan star Ian Poveda, who limped out of the 6-0 loss to Ipswich last time out. Club captain Barry Bannan also left the Portman Road defeat early but has played a full part in training, while Lee Gregory and Jeff Hendrick could be in contention having previously been deregistered on the off-chance Rohl could add some free agents to his squd.

Swansea head coach Luke Williams may be able to call upon Harrison Ashby and Josh Ginnelly after absences, with the fortnight break giving both players the opportunity to rebuild their fitness.

Liam Walsh’s latest injury trouble means he is likely to spend further weeks on the sidelines with the hope that he will get to play some part before the season ends.

Match odds

Wednesday are slight favourites here at 11/8, which implies a 42% probability of a home win. Swansea, on the other hand, are 7/4 (36% probability). The draw comes in at 21/10, with 8/11 being offered for both teams to score.

Ike Ugbo to score anytime @ 2/1

Us Wednesdayites were dreading what could happen in the last couple of weeks before the international hiatus, and while the two defeats suffered and eight goals conceded look horrific on face value, results elsewhere leave the Owls in with a fantastic shot at pulling off a great escape.

One of the reasons for the optimism is the goalscoring prowess of January loan addition Ike Ugbo from Troyes. The big Canadian front man has bagged six goals in his last eight matches, during which spell Wednesday have won five and lost only to the top three sides in the division.

Ugbo’s cool head in front of goal has been in stark contrast to many of his team-mates, and he could once again be key if the home side are to finally move up out of 23^rd spot on Friday. He’s also coming off a successful trip with Canada, having chalked up a vital assist in the 2-0 win over Trinidad and Tobago which marked his return to the international scene after 18 months away.

Draw HT/Sheff Wed FT @ 5/1

Rohl’s impact at Hillsborough has been such that Wednesday have started to games like this one pretty robustly for the most part. However, their last two victories – 1-0 successes at home to Plymouth Argyle and away to Rotherham United – have both seen the Owls take their time in grabbing the vital opening goal.

I expect similar to be true on Friday, with chewed fingernails likely to be the order of the day before Wednesday finally make home advantage count. As much as any supporter wants their side to get ahead early to settle the nerves, relegation battles have a way of putting you through the ringer and I expect this game to be settled late in the day.

I don’t blame you if you think the Wednesday half-time/full-time bet at 3/1 looks appetising, but this Owl knows it’s very rarely done the easy way in S6.

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