Aston Villa will be looking to get back to winning ways, and Sheffield Wednesday will hope to further cement their spot in the play-off positions when the two sides meet at Villa Park on Saturday.
Villa have endured a miserable campaign despite being one of the pre-season favourites for automatic promotion, and they currently lie in 15th position with seemingly little to play before in their final 10 Championship fixtures of the season.
A run of three straight wins was brought to an end on Tuesday night as Steve Bruce’s men were beaten 1-0 by high-flying Huddersfield Town at the John Smith’s Stadium, a result which wasn’t helped by the fact that the club are currently missing a number of their first team players because of injury.
Meanwhile, the Owls maintained their hold on sixth spot in the standings with a 1-1 draw at home to Burton Albion in midweek, which keeps them five points ahead of seventh-placed Fulham.
Carlos Carvalhal will be keen for his team to pick up another positive result when they make the trip to the Midlands at the weekend and, like Bruce, he knows he has some players at his disposal that can trouble the opposition.
Here are FIVE players that could play a pivotal role in the huge Championship clash…
Jordan Rhodes
If Sheffield Wednesday were looking for a boost in their race for promotion at the start of 2017, then bringing in Rhodes from Middlesbrough was the perfect tonic.
The 27-year-old is known to be a proven goalscorer at this level and he has got off to a decent start for the Owls, scoring three goals in his first eight league games.
The Aston Villa defence will know that they need to stop the supply line to the striker, because if he gets an opportunity in the penalty area, the ball usually ends up in the back of the net.
Henri Lansbury
Like Rhodes, the midfielder only moved to current club Villa during the January transfer window, but he is already impressing in the middle of the park for Steve Bruce’s men.
Able to press as well as provide that goal threat too – Lansbury scored six league goals for struggling Nottingham Forest before sealing a transfer to Villa Park – the 26-year-old came close to opening his account for his new side when he hit the crossbar in the defeat against Huddersfield in midweek.
He will be hoping to see the net ripple on Saturday.
Fernando Forestieri
Despite now having the likes of Jordan Rhodes and Steven Fletcher to call upon, it is Forestieri that is Wednesday’s top goalscorer in the Championship this season.
The Italian forward has quickly established himself as one of the division’s best players since making the move to Hillsborough in 2015, and he has netted 11 league goals for the Owls this term.
With three of those coming in his last five fixtures, the 27-year-old is a man in form coming into the clash at Villa Park.
Jonathan Kodjia
While Villa have endured a disappointing campaign, it hasn’t all been bad news.
After signing from Bristol City towards the end of the summer transfer window, Kodjia has gone on to score 13 league goals for the Villans.
He quickly established himself as the club’s first choice striker – despite having competition from the likes of Rudy Gestede and Ross McCormack earlier in the campaign – and will once again be his side’s main goal threat for the visit of the Owls.
Ross Wallace
Wallace has become renowned for his deadly accuracy with shots from outside the penalty area in recent seasons, and Villa boss Steve Bruce will surely have been telling his players that they can’t afford to give the midfielder space to shoot from range this weekend.
With five league goals to his name – including two in his last two and four since the end of January – the 31-year-old winger is in great form and will be full of confidence ahead of the trip to Villa Park.
