Town boss Mick McCarthy will be hoping to continue his remarkable record at Hillsborough when the Blues face Sheffield Wednesday on Tuesday evening looking to record back-to-back wins for the first time this year.
McCarthy has never been beaten at Hillsborough in his 26-year-long managerial career, while the Blues are undefeated in eight on Wednesday turf stretching back to a 2-0 reverse under Jim Magilton's management in April 2007 - their only loss there since 1995 - and have only been defeated in two of their last 17 matches against the Owls, both at home.
In April last year, Wednesday’s 1-0 victory over Town in Portman Road's match of 2016/17 ended McCarthy's run of 14 games without losing to the Owls anywhere since a 2-0 League Cup defeat at the Den while in charge at Millwall in 1995, his only previous managerial loss to his fellow South Yorkshiremen.
"I was hoping you wouldn’t mention it, to be honest,” McCarthy said when asked about his record at Hillsborough and against Wednesday at his pre-match press conference.
"Yes, wouldn’t it be nice if we continued that, of course. I joked at the time [we played there last season], I said I’d got a better record at Hillsborough than I had at Portman Road!” he laughed.
The Blues go into the match in a decent run of form away from home having won two and drawn two of their last four on the road, most recently the excellent 1-0 victory at Preston the weekend before last.
McCarthy says he doesn't know precisely why his side appear to be better on their travels at present: "No, but I hope that continues on Tuesday night. I don’t know if teams play differently against us. We approach the game pretty much the same way, we go and try and win the game.
"No, I’ll hope for a good performance and a good result on Tuesday night and then we’ll take care of the next home game after that.”
The Blues are 13th, nine points off the play-offs with a game in hand on sixth-placed Bristol City, while Wednesday are 17th with 11 fewer points having spent significantly more cash in recent seasons. Does McCarthy feel the Owls’ struggles lends some perspective to Town’s current position?
"Not really, I don’t look for perspective with other people, I just look with how we’re doing and what we do and where we are, still in with an outside chance of the play-offs,” he reflected. "Who knows, you keep pecking away and you might get there.
"But I don’t think so, even now I still don’t. I think the teams above us, I watched Sheffield United play at Reading and they put in a good performance, I just watched Bristol City dismantle Sheffield Wednesday [4-0 on Saturday] and I can’t imagine us getting nine more points than Bristol City or Sheffield United, to be honest.
"But we’ll keep trying. I don’t look to compare with anywhere else, I just look at how we’re doing.”
Having won their first five games in all competitions this season, the Blues last recorded consecutive victories when they won at Derby and the beat Nottingham Forest at home as November turned into December.
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McCarthy admits back-to-back wins have been hard to come by: "They have, but we’ll be trying on Tuesday night. And, of course, you talk about perspective and with the players and money that they have, Hull and Sunderland are the two that everybody will be thinking how they are where they are.
"But going back to us, two back-to-back wins, back-to-back away wins would be great.”
McCarthy says he’s been taken aback that Wednesday, who have lost their last four in all competitions, have had such a disappointing season.
"I think getting in the play-offs and losing can have a really devastating effect on teams,” he reflected.
"And I thought, brilliantly, they did it twice, they recovered the first time and then lost again.
"I don’t know whether people lose faith in it and stop believing in what they’re doing and maybe people start to look for a change.
"Well, we can see what change has happened there, Sheffield Wednesday are where they are and Carlos Carvalhal is nearly halfway up the Premier League with Swansea, he’s been brilliant.
"So yes, I am surprised. And I am surprised when I look at the strikers they’ve got. They’ve had a pretty big budget Sheffield Wednesday, they’ve spent heavily and invested heavily, so I expect them to be better than they are, definitely.”
He says they have a squad to compete again next season, at least as things stand at present: "I think so but like anything it depends whether the owners decide they want to start recouping some money and stop investing. I don’t know, I’ve no idea what they’re thinking and what they’re planning to do.
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"But when you’re thinking that they’ve got Atdhe Nuhiu, who came and scored against us [in the final moments of November's 2-2 draw], they’ve got Lucas Joao, they’ve got Jordan Rhodes, they’ve got Fernando Forestieri, they’ve got Hooper. Should I keep going on?
"They had all these strikers that they were playing and they just looked a real threat. I thought they’d have won the play-offs, I thought they were a good side.
"But, like I said, I wonder how much of an effect on people that has when they’ve lost twice. Looks like it’s had a bad effect.”
Wednesday were among three clubs linked with McCarthy last week along with Reading and West Brom, reports to which McCarthy gave predictable short shrift when asked whether he had heard from any of them.
"Is that where we were going? I didn’t realise that. I’ve spoken to them all!” he joked. "No, none.”
He similarly reiterated that there was nothing in deadline day links with former Blues striker Rhodes, who the Owls were understood to be looking to get off their wage bill in January.
"Well, if they wanted him off the wage bill, we weren’t going to pay it,” McCarthy said when quizzed on whether there was anything in the link.
"Not really, no. We asked about loads of people, but I wouldn’t tell you who we did and who we didn’t, that’s for certain.”
Bartosz Bialkowski will be in goal for the Blues with McCarthy appearing likely to stick with the team which beat Preston last time out, although he has said he will utilise his squad with Town having four games in 12 days.
The increasingly familiar back three of Cameron Carter-Vickers, skipper Luke Chambers and Adam Webster will be in front of Bialkowski, while Dominic Iorfa will probably be the right wing-back with Jonas Knudsen on the left.
In midfield, Cole Skuse will make his 200th appearance for the Blues alongside Callum Connolly with the front three again Mustapha Carayol, Joe Garner and Martyn Waghorn.
The Owls have significant injury problems going in to the match with further doubts emerging following Saturday's heavy defeat to Bristol City.
Daniel Pudil, who was subbed at half-time at Ashton Gate with an ankle problem, Frederico Venancio and Lucas Joao all suffered knocks against the Robins and will be assessed ahead of Tuesday’s match.
Hooper, Forestieri, Keiren Westwood, Barry Bannan, Kieran Lee, Joost van Aken and Sam Hutchison are all still on the injured list, but defender Tom Lees could make his first start in more than three months having come on for Pudil at the weekend after recovering from a groin injury.
Having conceded eight in their last two league games Owls manager Jos Luhukay admits his team will have to be better defensively, while at the same time presenting a threat going forward.
"It’s a new game and new challenge. We must, as a team, defend better. We must also trust ourselves offensively, creating chances and scoring goals,” he told the Sheffield Star.
"Our fans have stayed fantastic behind the team and we must give tomorrow 100 per cent and we must play the game from the first minute and not after 15-20 minutes.”
Historically, Town have the edge having won 19 games (18 in the league), Wednesday 18 (17) and with 13 (12) matches having ended in draws.
At Portman Road in November, Sheffield Wednesday sub Nuhiu headed an equaliser four minutes into injury time to grab a 2-2 draw.
Garner put Town ahead on 48, Hooper levelled via a 64th minute penalty after Spence had handballed, then Waghorn’s header on 70 looked to have won it for the Blues until Nuhiu’s late goal stole an undeserved point for the visitors.
Blues striker David McGoldrick was forced off at half-time after suffering a bad gash to his groin after a high Glenn Loovens challenge in the opening minutes which went unpunished.
The injury required surgery and saw the Republic of Ireland international, who is now sidelined with a different injury, miss a month's football
Last time the teams met at Hillsborough, in November 2016, skipper Chambers headed an 87th minute winner to see the Blues to a 2-1 victory.
In the first half Tom Lawrence had put Town ahead with a brilliant first goal for the club but Hooper had hit back almost immediately with what looked to be an offside goal for the Owls.
Town striker McGoldrick spent a month on loan at Hillsborough when a Nottingham Forest player during the early part of 2011/12, scoring once in three starts and one sub appearance.
Jordan Rhodes joined the Owls from Middlesbrough in January last year, initially on loan before making his move permanent in the summer.
The former Kesgrave High School pupil came through the academy ranks at Playford Road having moved to the Blues’ youth set-up in March 2005 for £5,000 from Barnsley after his father Andy joined the club as goalkeeper-coach.
The striker made 10 sub appearances and scored one goal for the Town first team before being controversially sold to Huddersfield by then-manager Roy Keane in the summer of 2009 for a fee which, after top-ups and a sell-on following his £8 million move to Blackburn Rovers in August 2012, climbed to just over £1 million.
During his time at Ewood Park, Rhodes scored six goals in six games against the Blues, the team he still supports, while he failed to find the net as Town drew 0-0 with Boro at the Riverside in April 2016 and after coming on as a sub for the Owls on their visit to Portman Road at the end of last season and after playing the first 87 minutes of November's match.
Rhodes senior is currently head of goalkeeping at Hillsborough, while ex-Blues left-back Neil Thompson coaches their U23s.
Defender Morgan Fox was a schoolboy at Town's Playford Road academy before being released at 11.
Tuesday’s referee is Oliver Langford from the West Midlands, who has shown 100 yellow cards and four red in 32 matches this season.
Langford's most recent Town match was the 2-1 home defeat to Derby at the end of December in which he booked only Webster.
Prior to that he refereed the 3-1 defeat at Cardiff in October when he booked Tommy Smith and one home player.
He was also in charge of the 2-0 home victory over Brentford in August in which he booked Myles Kenlock and two Bees.
Langford also officiated in the 2-1 win at Burton at Easter last year in which he cautioned only Freddie Sears. He also refereed the 1-1 East Anglian derby draw at Carrow Road in February in which he again yellow-carded Sears as well as Spence.
Before that he was the man in the middle for the 2-0 home defeat to Fulham on Boxing Day in which he booked Lawrence, McGoldrick and one Cottager.
Langford also took control of the 2-0 home victory over Burton Albion last October in which he cautioned Skuse and two Brewers.
Before that he refereed the 0-0 home draw with Charlton in April last year, in which he yellow-carded Knudsen and two Addicks, and the 2-1 home defeat to Leicester in November 2013, in which he booked only Chambers.
The only other Town game he has officiated in was the 2-0 defeat at Leeds in April of the same year when David Norris, by then with the Whites, was the only player cautioned.
Squad from: Bialkowski, M Crowe, Spence, Iorfa, Kenlock, Chambers (c), Knudsen, Carter-Vickers, Webster, Skuse, Connolly, Hyam, Bru, Gleeson, Nydam, Ward, Celina, Carayol, Waghorn, Garner, Sears.