Sheffield Wednesday face Wigan Athletic at Hillsborough on Wednesday evening on the back of a 1-0 win at Watford, knowing that another 3 points would see them clamber out of the Championship's bottom 3.
Stuart Gray continues to take caretaker charge of the Owls as chairman Milan Mandaric bides his time over the selection of a new manager. The job the Gray has done – guiding Wednesday to 6 points from 3 matches since the departure of Dave Jones – has afforded Mandaric such time.
Wednesday will be without injured trio Lewis Buxton, Michail Antonio and Joe Mattock for the Wigan match and Anthony Gardner remains some way off a return from his long term injury lay off.
Talismanic defender Reda Johnson returned to the side on Saturday and after a recent dip in form he will be hoping to keep his place and help the Owls towards another positive result.
Stephen McPhail and Jeremy Helan returned to the starting 11 at Vicarage Road and will be eager to retain their places. Few changes are expected following such a positive result but the likes of Seyi Olofinjana, Jermaine Johnson and Atdhe Nuhui provide Gray with options.
Newly appointed Wigan manager Uwe Rosler led his side to a 3-2 victory over local rivals Bolton at the weekend but has options available should he choose to freshen up a team that has had a busy recent fixture schedule due to European commitments.
Experienced defender Gary Caldwell and goalkeeper Ali Al Habsi have stepped up their progress as they return from injury but are not yet thought to be ready to be involved in competitive first team action.
Bustling striker Grant Holt could lead the line for the Latics against his former club and Scott Carson, who enjoyed a successful loan spell with the Owls in 2006 is expected to feature.
Two wins from 3 matches has moved Wednesday to within touching distance of a few times above the relegation zone and they have looked much tighter defensively since Gray took temporary charge.
Sunday's victory over Bolton halted an alarming run of 6 successive defeats in all competitions for Wigan. They have enjoyed little success on their travels in the Championship this season with 6 defeats and just 2 wins from 9 away matches.
This will be the first ever league match between the two teams. They faced each other twice in the F.A. Cup in the 1970's with both sides winning once.