Owls v Cardiff City

As we've already highlighted, a huge crowd will descend on Hillsborough this Sunday. The feelgood factor is high for home fans, but there'll be apprehension in the travelling Bluebirds - they know what their team has to do to make their place in the playoffs safe. A point is all they need. For Wednesday, a chance to relax and enjoy the game with the pressure off. A good match in prospect.

Dave Jones on cardiffcityfc.co.uk:

'It's a big occasion for the club and an opportunity to be where they've never been before. We've been building for the last eighteen months to try and get there and we've done well. We're going to bring a lot of supporters and I believe it will be Sheffield Wednesday's biggest crowd of the season. So it's got all the ingredients of a good game, but we know what we have to do.'

Mark Beevers on swfc.co.uk:

'Cardiff will come here thinking they can win and sometimes that can have a bad effect. When you're playing a team who are safe and their confidence is high, that team might do things they wouldn't normally do in a game when the points were more at stake.'

Russ Wilcox on swfc.co.uk:

'Cardiff will be very tense because they need a point to make sure they are in the play-offs so it's going to be a tough game. We need to approach it in the right manner and we have to be respectful to the teams at the top end of the table like Preston and Burnley, and also to our supporters so we can finish the season on a high.'

Russ Wilcox: 'We have a small squad to choose from, we're carrying a few niggles and we don't want to risk them on the last game of the season. Leon Clarke is going to struggle to make the game, Etienne Esajas is a definite non-starter so there could be a couple of young lads coming into the squad.' Common sense says Tudgay and Jeffers up front, but Brian Laws has a penchant for using JJ as a striker. No recognised wingers in midfield this week? Could be.

We'd like him at the sharp end of the pitch, please, Brian. When Marcus scores, Wednesday do well.

It looks like Cardiff will be without the services of midfield starlet Joe Ledley (torn thigh). Following a horror show run of three matches (two losses and a draw, eleven goals conceded), Dave Jones will review his defensive options.. Darren Purse and Miguel Comminges were on the bench last week and will push for a start. Former Arsenal starlet Quincy Owusu-Abeyie could be introduced to freshen things up in attack.

Our old boy Lee Bullen says McCormack is one to watch, so who are we to argue? 'He's a tremendous little player, and can play down the left wing. He's full of belief, not lightning quick, but very sharp on the ball and around the box. He creates that half a yard of space. He's also brilliant at free-kicks, a very good striker of the ball.' Thanks, Bully!

Head To Head

Wednesday wins - 16
City wins - 5
Draws - 6

Last Six:

City - WWWLDL

Wednesday - DWLLWD

Last Time Out:

Wednesday 1 Cardiff City 0

Hillsborough - 23-02-2008

Marcus Tudgay's lone strike against the run of play hauled Wednesday out of the relegation zone.

Previous Line-Ups:

Wednesday: Grant, Buxton, Hinds, Wood, Spurr, Tudgay, McAllister, Potter, Esajas (Johnson 45), Jeffers (O'Connor 69), Clarke. Subs Not Used: O'Donnell, Beevers, Boden.

City: Heaton, McNaughton, Gyepes, Roger Johnson, Kennedy, Rae (Eddie Johnson 76), Parry (McPhail 59), Ledley, Burke, Bothroyd, McCormack (Chopra 58). Subs Not Used: Purse, Comminges.

Wait until next season!

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