Source: FOOTYMAD
Options open to Irvine as Owls search for three points
Owls Vs Foxes: Team news - Injured players in contention for a return After three straight defeats and three goals without a win Sheffield Wednesday will be boosted by having some alternative attacking options available when they face play-off hopefuls Leicester City at Hillsborough on Saturday. Last weekends humiliating 5-0 defeat at the hands of fellow strugglers Reading has seen the Owls slide back into the bottom three in the Championship table and an improvement in results sooner rather than later is a must if the club are to stand a fighting chance of beating the drop. Winger Jermaine Johnson has returned to training and could come straight back into the starting line up. The Jamaican played just off the front man to good effect in Irvine first two games as Owls manager and his return could prompt Wednesday to revert back to this approach. Long term injury absentee Francis Jeffers could also be pushing for a place up front for the goal-shy side. Tommy Miller returned to the fold last weekend and could get a starting role in a midfield that has struggled to create opportunities of late. At the back captain Darren Purse could make a timely return to the side and Frank Simek could also be recalled given the dire defensive display that the team put in with him on the bench at Reading. Leicester City, led by former Wednesday captain Nigel Pearson, come to Hillsborough without injured top scorer Matt Fryatt. They don’t have any fresh injury or suspension issues to concern them though and so are likely to stick with the same line-up that overcame local rivals Nottingham Forest last Saturday. Wednesday have lost four of their last five fixtures and have managed to keep just one clean sheet in the last 17 matches. No team in the division has lost more home games than the Owls this season. In contrast 5th placed Leicester are unbeaten in 8 games and have won more than they have lost on their travels in the league. They look a good bet to secure a play-off place and their comfortable 3-0 win over Wednesday at the Walkers Stadium in December spelt the end of Brian Laws spell in charge of the Owls. Wednesday have double the amount of wins that their opponents do in the 53 times the clubs have faced each other in Sheffield but the Foxes won 2-0 on their last visit to Hillsborough in 2007.
