Preview: Owls v Cardiff

Wednesday will be looking to put their Steel City Derby defeat to bed on Saturday when three Championship points will be up for grabs against Cardiff City at Hillsborough.

The Owls go into the match on the back of two straight defeat, and Laws will be looking to end that run when Dave Jones and his men make the long trip to South Yorkshire.

The Bluebirds, too, have suffered a dip in form after an electric start to the new campaign, meaning both sides will be desperate for a victory to get their respective campaigns back on form.

Cardiff also have a slight score to settle after Wednesday ended the Bluebirds' hopes of a play-off finish on the final day of last season with a 1-0 victory at S6.

Brian Laws told the official SWFC website:

'I want a reaction now. We have got to get back in the groove and get some wins under the belt.

'I watched Cardiff at Aston Villa in the Carling Cup on Wednesday night and they are a good side. But they have had a bit of a blip in the league and let's hope that continues on Saturday.'

Cardiff's Jay Bothroyd told WalesOnline.co.uk:

"It`s all about the Sheffield Wednesday game now and I`m looking forward to it.

"I don`t know what plans the gaffer has for this fixture, but the set-up at Villa worked well.

"We played well and knocked the ball around to the level we know we can and we looked quite comfortable playing in that format."

Owls boss Brian Laws has no fresh injury concerns for the visit of the Bluebirds, and could well have a selection headache thanks to Etienne Esajas' performance last weekend.

Laws has admitted he could well give Esajas a rare chance to impress on Saturday, but whether that's at the expense of Jermaine Johnson or Michael Gray is yet to be seen.

Johnson was poor against United, but has been arguably Wednesday's player of the season before, while Gray has also impressed on the left.

Darren Purse will face his former club, and Akpo Sodje, Leon Clarke and Francis Jeffers are all ready for first team action after impressive showings in the midweek reserve clash.

The Owls skipper has come under some criticism in recent weeks, and what better way to prove some of his doubters wrong than with a captain's performance against the side he moved to S6 from last season.

Former Leeds United and Barnsley midfielder Stephen McPhail will miss the chance to return to Yorkshire as he sits out the final match of a three-game ban for Cardiff at the weekend.

Goalkeeper David Marshall is set to return to number one duties for Cardiff after Peter Enckleman went in-between the sticks for their midweek Carling Cup clash at Aston Villa.

Riccardo Scimeca could also make his first league appearance of the season after playing in the defeat at Villa.

Michael Chopra is likely to return to the bluebirds squad, while Ross McCormack, Kelvin Etuhu and Kevin McNaughton remain injury absentees.

The former Newcastle United and Barnsley hitman is likely to return to Cardiff's frontline on Saturday and he'll be looking to continue his fine goalscoring start to the season. Wednesday's defence will have to be on top of their game to handle him.

Head-to-Head:

Wednesday wins: 23

Cardiff wins: 22

Draws: 12

Last Time Out:

Wednesday 1-0 Cardiff

Hillsborough, 03/05/09

Jermaine Johnson's fine strike was enough to give Wednesday a winning end to the season and end Cardiff's hopes of getting in the post-season play-off positions.

v Crystal Palace (A) - 29/09/09

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