Sheffield Wednesday will have the chance to close the gap on the top two in League One when they take on Wycombe Wanderers at Hillsborough on Saturday.

The visitors, meanwhile, are down in 16th place after making a slow start to the season.

Match preview

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Billed as the pre-season favourites to win League One and gain promotion to the Championship, Darren Moore will be reasonably content with how his side have performed in their opening nine league matches.

Five wins, two draws and two defeats sees the Owls occupy fourth position heading into the weekend's reduced fixture list, with second-placed Portsmouth one of eight teams not in action due to players being called up for international duty.

With league leaders Ipswich Town travelling to fourth-placed Plymouth Argyle on Sunday, there is a clear opportunity for Sheff Weds to make up some ground on the three sides ahead of them after they each exchanged draws last weekend.

Indeed, Moore's side showed brilliant resolve to come from two goals behind against Ipswich, especially given that Dominic Iorfa's 70th-minute own goal against his former club left them with only 20 minutes to snatch a point.

Goals from George Byers and Michael Smith ensured that the Owls avoided a second successive home defeat, as well as keeping the gap to the top to four points rather than seven. They will head into Saturday's encounter with Wycombe full of confidence of reducing that even further.

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Wycombe went one step further than their forthcoming opponents in last season's League One playoffs, but were ultimately defeated by the same side in a 2-0 loss to Sunderland in the final at Wembley Stadium.

Gareth Ainsworth's side appear to have suffered a minor hangover as a result so far this season, as they have only managed a return of 11 points from nine matches.

The Chairboys were cruelly defeated away to Derby County in a 2-1 loss last weekend, after failing to hold onto the lead that Anis Mehmeti's strike in the 15th minute had provided them with as Conor Hourihane's late brace turned the game around for the Rams.

Three defeats from five matches on the road is not likely to be a sustainable record for any team with genuine playoff aspirations, so Ainsworth will be hoping to improve on that when his side travel to Sheffield on Saturday.

Team News

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Moore made 10 changes for the 3-2 defeat to Burton Albion in the EFL Trophy in midweek, with only Iorfa retaining his place from last weekend's draw against Ipswich.

As such, it would be no surprise to see the former West Bromwich Albion boss revert to the same starting XI that rescued a point against the Tractor Boys, with David Stockdale starting in goal against his former club.

Like his counterpart, Ainsworth also made 10 changes for his side's 3-0 defeat to Stevenage Town in the EFL Trophy on Tuesday, with Sam Vokes the only player to keep his starting spot from last weekend's defeat to Derby.

The 32-year-old will almost certainly start in attack once again, with Ainsworth unlikely to make any changes from the team that started at Pride Park.

Sheffield Wednesday possible starting lineup:
Stockdale; Iorfa, Ihiekwe, James; Palmer, Byers, Bannan, Johnson; Dele-Bashiru, Windass; Smith

Wycombe Wanderers possible starting lineup:
Stryjek; Grimmer, Mawson, Tafazolli, Obita; Wing, Gape; McCarthy, Freeman, Mehmeti; Vokes

We say: Sheffield Wednesday 2-1 Wycombe Wanderers

We expect a closely-fought affair at Hillsborough on Saturday, but the Owls should prevail in the end.

Wycombe are likely to sit deep and look to frustrate their opponents, who may have to wait until late in the game before finding a winner.

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