Derby and Sheffield Wednesday meet with Championship survival on the line as the campaign reaches a conclusion at Pride Park. Mark O’Haire previews the encounter.
“With Championship survival on the line, a tight and cagey contest looks most likely, particularly from the first whistle”
Derby v Sheffield Wednesday
Saturday May 8, 12:30
Sky Sports
Derby sink to sixth straight loss
Derby missed yet another opportunity to secure Championship safety as the Rams were beaten 2-1 at Swansea last weekend. Wayne Rooney‘s struggling side suffered a sixth successive league defeat, despite breaking the deadlock through a Tom Lawrence header soon after the half-time interval. Only victory now on Saturday will assure survival.
Rooney had brought his squad to Wales on Tuesday in the hope of inspiring an upturn in fortunes, but the Derby supremo was again frustrated by basic errors in his team’s display, saying: “We can’t keep giving goals away. We are shooting ourselves in the foot by conceding two goals in three minutes. You can’t afford to do that.”
The Rams boss added, “The players are fighting for each other. There is no lack of fight or character. The players will be ready for next week. We know what we have to do – we know we have to stay in this league. The preparation will good this week and it will be on the players to go and get the three points.”
Wednesday fail to impress in goalless draw
Sheffield Wednesday‘s chances of avoiding relegation from the Championship were boosted as rival clubs failed to take top honours as the battle to avoid the drop reaches boiling point. The Owls themselves were unable to take advantage of their rivals slip-ups by playing out an uninspiring scoreless draw with Nottingham Forest at Hillsborough last Saturday.
Keiren Westwood‘s penalty save earned Wednesday a point in the lunchtime kick-off, but they could have been relegated had Derby managed to avoid defeat against Swansea, whilst a Rotherham victory on Tuesday evening could also have ended the Owls’ survival hopes.
Speaking post-match, assistant boss Jamie Smith aired his frustration after Westwood, as well as Adam Reach, Julian Börner and others were all guilty of making individual errors over the course of the game. He said, “The occasion maybe got to us a little bit – particularly in the first half when we were a bit frantic and our decision making wasn’t good enough.”
Sheffield Wednesday’s fate is now out of their hands with the Owls requiring a victory at Pride Park to stand any chance of staying up. Smith may again be asked to lead the team with manager Darren Moore still battling the aftereffects of COVID-19.
Derby have traditionally held the upper-hand in head-to-head meetings with Sheffield Wednesday, posting a strong W12-D7-L3 supremacy in 22 league duels dating back to 2006. That includes a W7-D4-L0 return at Pride Park, although the Owls have suffered only two defeats in their most recent six match-ups with the Rams across all venues (W2-D2-L2).
Wayne Rooney took sole charge of Derby 2.447/5 in November and in the 18 league games that followed, oversaw W9-D4-L5 for 1.72 points per-game. County climbed off the bottom of the Championship to 16th, but have since managed one success in 14 matches, and six consecutive defeats to leave the Rams scrambling to secure their Championship status.
Sheffield Wednesday‘s 3.2011/5 survival prospects have relied upon the club’s home form this season. The Owls have proven particularly poor travellers this term, being turned over in 16 of 22 games as guests, scoring just 15 goals in the process. The visitors have also lost and failed to even score in eight of their 10 previous away trips to fellow bottom-half dwellers.
Derby have delivered a tally of three clean sheets in 19 league outings since the end of the January with 11 of those tussles producing Over 2.5 Goals 2.1011/10 profit. However, the hosts have found goalscoring a particular problem in 2020/21, managing a measly 33 goals – a divisional-low – and scoring multiple goals just twice in their past 14 fixtures.
Sheffield Wednesday’s aforementioned wretched goals return on the road – averaging 0.68 goals per-game – has proven a major concern for Owls supporters, and the visitors arrive here having plundered multiple goals in just three of their past 17 encounters across all venues, highlighting their struggles in the final-third.
Considering the bleak attacking efforts from both sides, plus the magnitude of the match, it’s difficult to foresee an open and entertaining clash. With Championship survival on the line, a tight and cagey contest looks most likely, particularly from the first whistle. With that in mind, taking the Second Half to be the Highest Scoring Half appeals at 2.1011/10.
Source: Betfair UK English Championship
