Sheffield Wednesday travel to Ashton Gate to face Bristol City in the 3rd round of the F.A. Cup on Saturday with new signings Reda Johnson and Michael Morrison in contention to feature. Morrison could well come in at right-back with Lewis Buxton still some way off a return and Jon Otsemobor having suffered another calf injury at Huddersfield last Monday.
Whilst an F.A. Cup win may be important in terms of potentially starting a good run of form and aiding the finances it is not the priority when compared with maintaining a promotion push and it remains to be seen if changes will be made with forthcoming league fixtures in mind. If this is the case then the likes of Darren Potter, Chris Sedgwick and Paul Heffernan could all come into the starting 11.
Danny Rose, on loan from Spurs, will not feature for Bristol City and the home side are also likely to be without defenders Jamie McAllister and Louis Carey. Another defender, Liam Fontaine, has returned to training this week after a lay off and he has an outside chance of playing some part against the Owls.
Wednesday travel to Bristol having lost 2 matches in a row in contrast their hosts are unbeaten in 3 and have taken 4 points from high flyers Cardiff and QPR in their last 2 games.
The Owls last clash with City ended in a narrow defeat last April when a Nicky Maynard goal ten minutes from time sealed a 1-0 win as the Owls were left empty handed at Hillsborough as they tried in vain to pick up points to secure their Championship safety. The visit to Ashton Gate earlier that season resulted in a 1-1 draw when Luke Varney levelled matters after Maynard had given the hosts the lead.
Alan Irvine’s side will be attempting to reach the heady heights of the 4th round of the competition for the first time since 2001.