Sheffield Wednesday have enjoyed an industrious season so far; sitting comfortably in mid-table, with the play-offs probably out of reach, but far surpassing the points total to exit from the relegation battle.

Wednesday are 13th in the Championship, just one point and place behind their opponents Watford, albeit the Hornets do have a game in hand. From their 38 games played, they’ve amounted 48 points, leaving them 16 clear of Yeovil in 22nd.

Their ambitions for the rest of the season will now be aiming for tenth place, a realistic goal for the Owls in their second season since promotion from League One.

Tuesday’s last minute winner against Brighton and Hove Albion courtesy of Leon Best extended their run of wins at home to four, including a very impressive 3-0 defeat of Queen’s Park Rangers.

Wednesday manager Stuart Gray has been happy to rotate his squad all season, ensuring his starting line ups are hard to predict. So far, only three squad members have played 30 league games this season; midfielders Jeremy Helan and Liam Palmer, and striker Atdhe Nuhiu.

However, Gray will be without Connor Wickham, who has been called back to his parent club Sunderland, cutting his loan short. Prior to him leaving, Wickham had managed eight goals in 16 league appearances. He was also scored in Wednesday’s 1-0 defeat of Watford early in the season.

Instead, the main attacking threat will come from Best, who is currently on loan from Blackburn Rovers. Best has scored three goals in his last five games, and has recently had his loan extended to the end of the season, along with Sam Hutchinson, on loan from Chelsea.

He will also be aided by Chris Maguire, who has offered five goals in 20 games, and is currently the club’s top scorer, now that Wickham has rejoined Sunderland.

Whilst a win at Hillsborough will not hand Watford a play-off place, defeat will surely put a major dent in their hopes. Wednesday are able to leapfrog Watford with a win, so the visitors will have to give a top performance, and shake off their poor away record, which hasn’t seen a win in 14 games.