Sports Mole previews Wednesday's Championship clash between Swansea City and Sheffield Wednesday, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

Swansea City host Sheffield Wednesday this coming Wednesday as the Owls travel to the Liberty Stadium in search of their first win under new manager Tony Pulis.

Swansea took all three points having come through a testing matchup with Rotherham United on Saturday, while Pulis was denied a dream start to his tenure as his side went down 1-0 to Preston North End.

Match preview

Swansea City manager Steve Cooper pictured on November 3, 2020 © Reuters

Swansea kept pace with the league leaders after captain Matt Grimes scored his first goal in 1,915 days to secure all three points, following keeper Jamal Blackman's error.

It was the Swans' sixth win of the season and third in their last five games, which will please Steve Cooper after a tricky run of fixtures.

Swansea will also see this fixture as an opportunity to secure back-to-back wins against Sheffield Wednesday for the first time since December 1978, following their 2-1 win in this exact fixture last season.

Peculiarly, Pulis's men aren't the only 'Wednesday' opposing Swansea, as they are without a win in their last eight home league matches played on a Wednesday - their last win coming against Newcastle United in December 2013.

Following the visit of the Owls, Swansea then travel to Nottingham Forest, then Middlesbrough as they look to keep their promotion hopes intact.

Preston North End's Tom Barkhuizen celebrates scoring their first goal with teammates against Sheffield Wednesday on November 21, 2020 © Reuters

It was left to Tom Barkhuizen's goal to decide who took the win at Deepdale on Saturday, and Tony Pulis will not underestimate the job he has on his hands after Wednesday were condemned to their sixth loss of the season.

Wednesday have lost both of their last two away league games to Swansea by a 1-2 scoreline and will be looking to buck that trend to secure points that could move them out of the bottom three if results go their way.

Similarly to Swansea, Wednesday have not won on a Wednesday since 2007, and in fact have lost their last seven, while new boss Pulis has never won away to Swansea City in a league match in his managerial career, failing with Bournemouth, Stoke, Crystal Palace, West Brom and Middlesbrough.

Pulis has hinted the Owls may look at the free agency market to increase their attacking firepower, having found the back of the net just six times in 12 league outings so far this season

Swansea City Championship form: DWWDLW

Sheffield Wednesday Championship form: LLLWDL

Team News

Swansea boss Steve Cooper on February 1, 2020 © Reuters

Steve Cooper said he had been waiting for a chance to start Liam Cullen, as the striker looks to join the list of academy products who have thrived at Swansea City.

Cullen is likely to keep his place when Cooper's side target a fourth successive home win against Sheffield Wednesday on Wednesday.

Swansea must wait on assessments of Andre Ayew and defender Marc Guehi to see if they can overcome muscle injuries in time to feature.

Viktor Gyokeres and Jordon Garrick will again be absent after testing positive for COVID-19 but should be in contention for next Sunday's trip to Nottingham Forest.

For the Owls, Josh Windass will sit out the next three matches, starting with this daunting midweek trip to Swansea.

His absence further adds to Pulis's striking woes, with Jack Marriott unlikely to feature again until the new year after suffering a calf injury.

Swansea City possible starting lineup:
Woodman; Naughton, Bennett, Cabango; Roberts, Fulton, Grimes, Smith, Bidwell; Lowe, Cullen

Sheffield Wednesday possible starting lineup:
Wildsmith; Palmer, Van Aken, Borner, Lees; Odubajo, Bannan, Pelupessy, Reach, Luongo; Rhodes

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We say: Swansea City 2-0 Sheffield Wednesday

All roads point to a home win here, and though Pulis's men will huff and puff, we cannot see past the Welsh side who we expect to brush Wednesday aside without too much trouble.

Top betting tip

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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 Swansea City win with a probability of 46.79%. A draw had a probability of 28% and a win for Sheffield Wednesday had a probability of 25.18%.

The most likely scoreline for a Swansea City win was 1-0 with a probability of 14.34%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (9.55%) and 2-1 (8.56%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (12.86%), while for a Sheffield Wednesday win it was 0-1 (9.66%). The actual scoreline of 1-1 was predicted with a 12.9% likelihood.