Sheffield Wednesday will be looking to put Saturday’s Hillsborough horror show behind them on Tuesday evening when they travel to Oldham Athletic. The Owls had looked like they had turned a corner with 4 points from their last two away games but another dire defensive display on Saturday saw struggling Plymouth record a 4-2 victory against them.
True to his word, manager Gary Megson had stuck with a winning side on Saturday but changes are now inevitable with very few players doing themselves justice against Argyle. Giles Coke came on as a half-time substitute in that defeat and is likely to have done enough to earn himself a starting place at Boundary Park. Jermaine Johnson could also be pushing for a starting place though he is short of match fitness having only made his return from illness as a substitute on Saturday.
Lewis Buxton is still unavailable due to injury but with no new injury or suspension issues affecting the squad further changes throughout the team could be made. It also remains to be seen whether Megson will stick with the 4-5-1 formation that had worked in previous away games but looked ineffective when the Owls conceded the first goal of the game.
Oldham have received a boost with the news that their captain, Reuben Hazell could be in line to make a return. The central defender has made good progress having missed the last two matches with a back injury.
Less promising news for the home side is that Dean Furman may be ruled out due to illness. The midfielder had been expected to return to the side having completed a two-match suspension.
Both teams are really struggling for form at the moment. Wednesday have won just one of their last 12 league matches and have lost 10 of 17 away games in League One.
Oldham have not won in their last 7 matches and they have failed to score in their last 6 games.
Historically the Owls have a poor record at Oldham having won just 4 times and lost on 12 occasions in 23 visits to the Lancashire club. The two sides met at Hillsborough back in September, playing out an uninspiring 0-0 draw.