Sheffield Wednesday will be looking to make significant inroads in the League One playoff race on Tuesday evening when they play host to Burton Albion.

At a time when the in-form Owls have games in hand on three teams immediately above them, Burton are in a position where they need wins on the board to meet their target of a top-10 finish.

Match preview

Sheffield Wednesday manager Darren Moore on February 13, 2022 © Reuters

Earlier in the season, Sheffield Wednesday's promotion bid was being undermined by draws, and it appeared as though they may struggle to last the pace.

However, the Owls have gone through 12 matches without suffering a stalemate, winning eight of those fixtures to remain as a threat in the race to secure second-tier status.

Six victories have come from the last seven, the only reverse coming at home to leaders Rotherham United, and Darren Moore will have been left full of optimism ahead of the run-in.

On the back of a fine comeback win at Doncaster Rovers, the Yorkshire giants made lighter work of Charlton Athletic at the weekend, prevailing by a 2-0 scoreline thanks to goals from George Byers and Callum Paterson.

With seven games remaining at Hillsborough, their home form will be key over the coming months, but they have collected 15 points from their last six outings on familiar territory.

Having initially looked like outsiders for the playoffs, Burton have endured a poor three months in League One, only winning four of their 15 matches.

Still sitting 13 points clear of the relegation zone, the Brewers are under no threat of relegation, but the steam generated from the early part of Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink's second reign at the club has disappeared.

The priority now is to reach the 50-point mark as soon as possible, something which may prove difficult in the short term with Wednesday, Oxford United and Wigan Athletic all to come in the next five outings.

On a positive note, Burton have shown that they are capable of raising their game in single games, with their last four points coming against Bolton Wanderers and Sunderland respectively.

Sheffield Wednesday League One form:

Burton Albion League One form:

Team News

Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, now in charge of Burton Albion, pictured in January, 2021 © Reuters

Moore could stick with the same Wednesday XI from the Charlton game, particularly having been able to rest four players during the closing stages with an extra replacement permitted through their opponents using a concussion substitution.

While Saido Berahino failed to contribute at the weekend, the forward should keep his spot in the starting lineup.

After the setback against Shrewsbury, Hasselbaink may decide to make sweeping changes to his Burton XI.

That could see Adlene Guedioura, Harry Chapman and Oumar Niasse all provided with opportunities in the team.

Adedeji Oshilaja is also an option in the centre of defence or midfield after not playing any football since February 5.

Sheffield Wednesday possible starting lineup:
Peacock-Farrell; Storey, Hutchinson, Palmer; Hunt, Byers, Luongo, Bannan, Johnson; Berahino, Paterson

Burton Albion possible starting lineup:
Garratt; Hughes, Brayford, Shaughnessy; Hamer, Powell, Oshilaja, Guedioura, Borthwick-Jackson; Niasse, Smith

SM words green background

We say: Sheffield Wednesday 2-1 Burton Albion

Burton's inconsistency has cost them this season, but it also makes them a threat when playing a team coping with more pressure. Nevertheless, on this occasion, we feel that Wednesday will do enough to claim another important three points.

Data Analysis

Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Sheffield Wednesday win with a probability of 61.48%. A draw had a probability of 22.5% and a win for Burton Albion had a probability of 15.99%.

The most likely scoreline for a Sheffield Wednesday win was 1-0 with a probability of 13.39%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (12.11%) and 2-1 (9.62%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (10.63%), while for a Burton Albion win it was 0-1 (5.88%). The actual scoreline of 5-2 was predicted with a 0.4% likelihood. Our team at Sports Mole and our data analysis both correctly predicted that Sheffield Wednesday would win this match.