Four points separate us so it is time for the six-pointer cliché.

Sheffield Wednesday v Derby County
Coca Cola Championship
3:00pm - 20th March 2010
Hillsborough - Sheffield

The Wednesday:

Current League Position: 20/24
Leading scorer: Marcus Tudgay, 9
Manager: Alan Irvine
Kit home: Blue and white stripped shirts, black shorts, blue socks
Kit away: Yellow shirts, Blue shorts, blue socks
Last game: Preston 2 - 2 Sheffield Wednesday

Quotes from the manager:

Alan Irvine speaking to the BBC after coming back from 2 - 0 at Preston:

"It was a great response."

"People are telling me it's a long time since Sheffield Wednesday have had a comeback like that."

"I'm delighted that we were able to do that but I wasn't happy that we got ourselves in that position.”

On the warm reception he got from the Preston fans (Billy Davies take note):

"I've had a lot of letters, e-mails and phone calls from people saying that I would get a nice reception, but I didn't quite expect that level of reception that I got."

"It was very humbling and something that I'm really grateful for."

Current Wednesday Squad:

No. Position. Player

1 Keeper Lee Grant
2 Defence Tommy Spurr
3 Defence Lewis Buxton
4 Defence Darren Purse (captain)
5 Defence Richard Hinds
6 Midfield Tommy Miller
7 Striker Marcus Tudgay
8 Midfield Sean McAllister
9 Striker Francis Jeffers
11 Midfield Etienne Esajas
14 Midfield Darren Potter
15 Defence Mark Beevers
17 Midfield James O'Connor
18 Striker Leon Clarke
19 Striker Luke Varney (on loan from Derby County)
20 Defence Frank Simek
21 Defence Nick Wood
22 Keeper Richard O'Donnell
23 Midfield Jermaine Johnson
24 Midfield Luke Boden
25 Keeper Arron Jameson
26 Defence Max Wragg
27 Midfield Callum Harrison
28 Striker Nathan Modest
29 Midfield Liam Palmer
30 Midfield Tom Soares (on loan from Stoke City)
32 Defence Eddie Nolan (on loan from Preston North End)
33 Midfield Michael Gray

The Rams:

Quotes from the manager:

Nigel Clough speaking after the Middlesbrough game:

"It's disappointing having been 1-0 down for a long time and then to come back and go 2-1 up against 10-men."

"We gave a daft free-kick away and didn't defend it and got punished for it. We're getting punished for every little thing at the moment."

"But it's part of the learning process and we have to see games out better than that."

"There was an element of naivety at times. We went for another goal when we didn't need one and people have got to do their jobs defensively a little bit better."

Current Rams Squad:

No. Position. Player

1 Keeper Stephen Bywater
2 Defender Paul Connolly
3 Defender James McEveley
4 Midfield Paul Green
5 Defender Miles Addison (vice-captain)
6 Defender Dean Leacock
7 Midfield Lee Croft
8 Midfield Robbie Savage (captain)
9 Striker Rob Hulse
10 Midfield Kris Commons
11 Midfield Gary Teale
12 Striker Chris Porter
13 Keeper Saul Deeney
14 Defender Shaun Barker
16 Midfield Stephen Pearson
17 Defender Jake Buxton
18 Midfield Ben Pringle
19 Midfield Michael Tonge (on loan from Stoke City F.C.)
20 Striker Steve Davies
21 Defender Dean Moxey
22 Midfield Arnaud Mendy
23 Defender Mark O'Brien
24 Defender Nicky Hunt (on loan from Bolton Wanderers F.C.)
25 Midfield David Martin (on loan from Millwall F.C)
26 Midfield Lee Hendrie
27 Defender Russell Anderson
28 Defender Mitchell Hanson
31 Defender Javan Vidal (on loan from Manchester City F.C.)
32 Striker Gilles Sunu (on loan from Arsenal F.C.)
33 Defender Mark Dudley
35 Striker Callum Ball
-- Keeper David Martin (on loan from Liverpool F.C)

What the Bookies think:

Home Win: 23/20
Draw: 11/5
Away win: 19/10
First Scorer: - Marcus Tudgay, Franny Jeffers 6/1, Chris Porter, Rob Hulse 7/1

Information for travelling fans:

Driving: Take the M1 North and exit at Junction 36 and follow the A61 towards Sheffield. Continue along the road for approximately four miles until the second roundabout. Take the third exit (Leppings Lane) - the ground is situated on the left-hand side. Take the train. You know it makes sense. 

Parking: There is street parking if you arrive early enough otherwise there are unofficial car parks along the A61. It's hell to get out of Sheffield so don't expect to be back early. Take the train. You know it makes sense.

Drinking: The New Bridge Inn on the main A61 welcomes away supporters as does the Rose & Crown further along to the M1.Several other pubs further back towards the M1 are also welcoming including the New Barrack Inn near the McDonalds, the Norfolk Arms and the Red Lion.

For some reason, I always seem to bump into the less savoury element of the Wednesday support when I go there so I avoid the pubs on the way to the ground from the station but I am informed they are quite welcoming.

Note that one place you cannot get a drink is in the away end of the ground. You cannot get much else either and it is often a tight squeeze just to get to the toilet. Couple that with over zealous stewarding and police and it can be a miserable ground to visit.

You would think if any club would have learned it would be Wednesday.

Mick’s Preview:

At half time I was certain that I would be ripping up my ticket for next year. There is no getting away from the fact that we were poor all over the field. The fact that we only went in 1-0 down was more down to Middlesbrough not pressing their advantage than to anything we did.

Middlesbrough are a tight organised side with a no nonsense physical approach and they are likely to be competing in the play offs. We are not. We are not close. We are not tight or organised and many of the players are playing their own game.

Gilles Sunu looked very good - and would have looked better if he had Bendtner or van Persie to pass to instead of Rob Hulse.

We started the second half in much the same vein and then Nigel Clough substituted Robbie Savage - and we started playing!

Therein lies the nub of the problem. Savage is a fit man for a 34 year old but he's not fit enough to be the lynchpin of a Championship midfield. He never has been to be honest and that's not what his game is about. In his previous teams he has been part of a solid midfield line.

His role has been to break up the play of the opposition and get under their skin. It is happening less and less as he ages and Paul Green et al are not the players who can take on the extra workload. We would need a 5-man midfield to get the best out of Savage and that leaves us unlikely to score with only one up front.

Will Nigel start the game without his captain at Hillsborough?  We might see more of Paul Green if he is not worn out from doing two players jobs in the first half.

Mick's Team:

Martin, Hunt, Barker, Leacock, McEveley, Green, Martin, Tonge, Pearson, Porter, Sunu.

Subs: Deeney, Pringle, Anderson, Moxey, Savage, Hulse, Buxton

Mick's Prediction:

Sheffield Wednesday 2 – 0 Derby

Photo: Action Images

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