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Sheffield Wednesday have been in fine form recently, having gone unbeaten in their last seven Championship outings. The Owls have been reinvigorated by the appointment of Steve Bruce and will now be heading into Monday night’s derby clash with bitter rivals Sheffield United at Hillsborough full of confidence.
Wednesday can damage the Blades’ automatic promotion hopes with victory in the Steel City derby, but would also boost their own play-off ambitions with a win too. Former West Ham United striker and EFL on Quest pundit Dean Ashton has given his verdict on the Owls’ play-off credentials.
What he said
Speaking to Football League World, Ashton gave his opinion on whether or not Wednesday can sneak into the play-offs: “I looked at the table and it’s as if Sheffield Wednesday were invisible! I hadn’t seen them and then suddenly they’re there. I looked at the fixtures and obviously, it’s the Steel City derby and all of a sudden Sheffield Wednesday are there in the top six race.”
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The ex-England forward continued, taking into account the impact that Bruce has had: “They’ve shown defensively that they can be really strong and hard to beat in recent games and they’re scoring goals too with Fletcher back in form. There’s always a team that comes late and with his experience there is no reason why it can’t be them.”
Wishful thinking
The Owls are currently 14th in the Championship table, seven points behind sixth-placed Bristol City heading into tonight’s derby clash. With 12 games left to play that certainly isn’t an insurmountable gap but the odds are stacked against them.
What’s more, Bruce’s side face a tough run-in, with visits to title-chasing pair Leeds United and Norwich City, as well as meetings with Aston Villa, Nottingham Forest and Bristol City all to come in their last few fixtures.
Bruce has certainly done a good job so far at Hillsborough, but the play-offs still look a little way beyond the Owls this season.
