Sheffield Wednesday travel to Leyton Orient on Saturday and with 2nd placed Sheffield United not in action until midweek the Owls can claim second place in League One with a win.
It was only last month that an automatic promotion spot seemed beyond the Owls but a series of slip ups by the city rivals combined with a fine run of form since the Sheffield derby has seen Wednesday close the gap. The midweek draw with Walsall was a setback however and anything less than 3 points on Saturday will hand the Blades the opportunity to reopen a gap and also open the door for Huddersfield and MK Dons.
Dave Jones’ squad is bolstered by the loan signings of Nile Ranger and Keith Treacy who could both make their Owls debuts. Ranger may have to wait for his opportunity from the bench with fellow strikers Ryan Lowe and Gary Madine currently in decent form.
Left-back Reda Johnson is still troubled by injury and so Julian Bennett may keep his place. Centre-back Danny Batth has picked up a knock and so Miguel Llera is in lie to replace him if required.
Leyton Orient have 3 goalkeepers currently sidelined with injuries and so on loan Leeds United stopper Paul Rachubka is likely to continue between the sticks.
Club captain Matthew Spring picked up a knock in the midweek defeat at MK Dons and the midfielder is struggling to be fit to face the Owls. Fellow midfielder George Porter may also miss out but defender Dean Leacock could make a return from injury.
Ex-Owls loan midfielder Jimmy Smith is expected to line up in midfield against his former club.
The Owls are undefeated in 6 games, winning 4 of them but they have suffered a number of setbacks on the road against teams in the bottom half this season.
Leyton Orient have lost 3 of their last six games, winning only one but all of those defeats came on their travels and they have collected 4 points from their last 2 home games.
Wednesday have a decent record at Orient with 5 wins and 6 draws from 18 visits but they were humbled on their last trip, losing 4-0 last season. The Owls enjoyed a narrow 1-0 win at Hillsborough when the two teams last met back in November.
Source: FOOTYMAD
