Sheffield Wednesday travel down to Cheltenham with a point to prove after losing their last two League One clashes versus Barnsley and Forest Green.
Before that, Darren Moore’s Owls looked unstoppable near the top of the division – the 4-2 loss at Oakwell last Tuesday night ending a 23 match unbeaten run for the automatic promotion hopefuls.
Their 1-0 loss away at Duncan Ferguson’s Forest Green has the potential to derail what seemed a formality, promotion back up to the Championship.
Still, destiny is in Wednesday’s hands. Despite those two defeats back-to-back, winning away at Wade Elliott’s Robins would see Darren Moore’s men return to top of the league – the game-in-hand advantage favouring the South Yorkshire giants.
Sheffield Wednesday boss Darren Moore warned his players to focus on the task ahead and to not allow the complacency that crept in against The Tykes and Duncan Ferguson’s Forest Green to reappear in an interview with Yorkshire Live.
He said: “It’ll be another tough test. In League One there’s no easy games.
“Teams at the bottom are fighting for their lives, as are the ones at the top. We have to be ready. What we didn’t do at Forest Green was perform and that left us open for the result that we ended up getting.”
Cheltenham do have the ability on their day to sneak a surprise result, Wade Elliott’s side winning 3-0 away at playoff challengers Peterborough United in recent memory.
Three wins from their last four matches has eased any relegation worries the Gloucestershire based club had, winning their last home match at the Completely Suzuki Stadium 3-1 against Exeter City.
A vital 2-1 away victory at Cambridge United on Valentines Day also sticks out, James Olayinka netting late on away at The Abbey to secure the narrow win over Mark Bonner’s team.
Wade Elliott spoke to Cheltenham Town’s website to preview their mid-week clash with The Owls, respecting the strength of the opposition but also relishing the contest to come.
He said:”We respect them as opponents. They’ve lost two games in 26. The calibre of players they have is really good, as well as a range of threats, and they can ultimately find lot’s of different ways to win a game.
“We have enjoyed being at home midweek and we’d like to keep that going! We want to accumulate the next point we can and the next opportunity is Sheffield Wednesday so we’ll throw everything at that.”
Players to Watch
Alfie May (Cheltenham Town)
It’s an obvious pick, but you cannot talk about Cheltenham Town without mentioning this man.
Scoring 59 goals now in total for The Robins, the 29 year-old is instrumental to Cheltenham’s attacking play.
Playing up top most weeks now with young Irish talent Aidan Keena, his 13 goals this season in League One have helped Cheltenham rise above the relegation fodder.
Managed by Darren Moore at Doncaster Rovers, it’s fair to say the now Wednesday boss will have instructed the Owls defenders to keep tabs on Alfie May for the entire 90 minutes.
Lee Gregory (Sheffield Wednesday)
The predictable pick here would’ve been Barry Bannan, but with his partner giving birth very recently, it could be up in the air whether the Scottish wizard travels down to Gloucestershire for this League One encounter.
Therefore, I have chosen the two-goal man from Barnsley away in the form of Lee Gregory. His two strikes that day couldn’t help The Owls to a crucial victory at Oakwell, but he’ll hope he can be among the goals in another away day at the Completely Suzuki Stadium.
The experience of somebody like Lee Gregory – who will be 35 years of age in August – will be vital in this last run of fixtures with Wednesday still gunning for automatic promotion.
Head-to-Head
Cheltenham Town and Sheffield Wednesday have only ever played three competitive matches against each other, all coming in the third tier. Last time Wednesday travelled down to face The Robins away from home, the two sides contested a 2-2 draw.
8th October 2022 – Sheffield Wednesday 3-0 Cheltenham Town
26th March 2022 – Sheffield Wednesday 4-1 Cheltenham Town
30th October 2021 – Cheltenham Town 2-2 Sheffield Wednesday
