Sheffield Wednesday travel south to Peterborough on Tuesday hoping to carry their F.A. Cup form into the league in order to get their promotion ambitions back on track.
Manager Alan Irvine will have a number of selection decisions to make ahead of the game at London Road. Striker Gary Madine scored on his home debut a week ago but was cup-tied for the weekend’s 4-1 victory against Hereford and is likely to be vying with Paul Heffernan for a starting place alongside Clinton Morrison who scored twice from the penalty spot on Saturday.
At the back Wednesday have a number of options but could stick with the same back four that started against Hereford meaning that Mark Reynolds would have to settle for a place on the bench. Full back Lewis Buxton may be available but could be given more time to work on his fitness having limped out of his return from a hamstring injury at half-time just over a week ago.
In midfield Darren Potter was produced improved displays in the past two matches and will be hoping to keep his place alongside Giles Coke. However, Isaiah Osbourne, who joined the club on loan from Aston Villa on Sunday, will be in contention to play in the holding role in midfield should Irvine opt to change things around.
Peterborough completed the signing of Exeter goalkeeper Paul Jones on loan on transfer deadline day, fuelling speculation that highly-rated keeper Joe Lewis would be on his way out of the club. This has not happened as yet however and Lewis is expected to line up against the Owls.
The Posh also added young Manchester City striker David Ball to their ranks ahead of Monday night’s transfer deadline but the deal was not completed in time for him to play against Wednesday.
Captain Grant McCann missed last Friday’s defeat at Colchester through suspension but is expected to return to the Peterborough starting line-up.
The Owls go into the game without a league win in their last five games and they have lost 4 away matches in succession in League One, a run that has left the four points behind 6th-placed Peterborough in the table.
The Posh have been inconsistent of late having won two and lost two in their last four league games. Both of those defeats came on the road though and their home form has been much better with four wins on the trot and no defeats in five matches at London Road.
This was a Championship fixture last season and Wednesday had the better of the two meetings last term, winning 2-1 at Hillsborough and drawing 1-1 at London Road. The Owls have not lost any of the last 7 matches between the two teams dating back to 1978 when they were beaten 2-0 on their travels.