Sheffield Wednesday will be hoping that their league troubles can be put to one side this weekend when they travel to Premier League side Birmingham City in the 5th round of the F.A. Cup. The Owls have not won in the league since mid-December put the pressure will be off to a certain extent on Saturday with the hosts firm favourites to progress to the quarter-finals.
Gary Megson will be without midfielder Giles Coke as he starts a 3 match ban following his dismissal in the midweek defeat at Tranmere. Striker Gary Madine is cup-tied having already represented Carlisle in this season’s competition and Lewis Buxton remains side-lined with a hamstring injury.
Darren Potter could return to the team having suffered a bout of illness earlier in the week and fellow midfielder Tommy Miller has resumed training after a lengthy injury lay off but is not expected to be thrown in from the start.
Birmingham will go into the clash without defenders Liam Ridgewell and Martin Jiranek. The pair picked up minor knocks in the Blues midweek home defeat against Newcastle and will not be risked. Curtis Davies looks like being fit and is expected to play against the Owls.
With the Carling Cup final just a week away Alex McLeish is likely to rest some key members of his squad against Wednesday with fringe players expected to be given a chance to prove their worth. Kevin Phillips and Jean Beausejour were amongst those given a run out in the 4th round victory over Coventry and may feature again in this game.
The two sides last met in 2009 in the Championship at Hillsborough where Phillips, so often a thorn in Wednesday’s side, scored a last minute equaliser to earn the Blues a 1-1 draw after Lewis Buxton had given the home side a 2nd half lead.