Town are waiting on the fitness of midfielder Tommy Miller ahead of Saturday's home game against Sheffield Wednesday. The Blues are without the suspended Veliche Shumulikoski and the injured David Wright, but Owen Garvan and Kevin Lisbie are available after illness.

Miller picked up a dead leg in last week's 3-0 FA Cup victory over Chesterfield but is closing in on a recovery and Town are hopeful he will be available for selection in central midfield.

Macedonian international Veliche Shumulikoski picked up his fifth booking of the season against the Spireites and misses one game, with Owen Garvan his most likely replacement. Garvan has missed a number of recent games due to various bugs but has been back in training this week and looks likely to return to the side.

Alan Quinn seems set to continue on the left of midfield with David Norris on the right, with the Blues probably sticking with a 4-4-2 formation at home. Liam Trotter is back from his loan spell at Grimsby and may get a place on the bench.

At the back, Moritz Volz will return to the side at right-back for David Wright, who suffered a recurrence of his hamstring injury against Chesterfield and is out for a fortnight.

Ben Thatcher will continue on the left with Iván Campo and Gareth McAuley in the centre and Richard Wright in goal.

Kevin Lisbie is back after a throat infection kept him out of the game against Chesterfield and could get a recall after a number of promising performances on the road in recent weeks. However, Pablo Couñago and Jon Walters both scored against Chesterfield – as did Jon Stead after coming off the bench – and last week's starters will hope to keep their places.

Danny Haynes will be hoping for a role from the bench, while Billy Clarke is the latest Town player to have been struck down by illness. The Irishman, back from a loan spell at Darlington, was in any case unlikely to be involved against the Owls.

Town, who beat Derby and Chesterfield in their last two matches, will be looking to win three consecutive games for the first time since defeating Luton, Plymouth and Barnsley during March and April 2007.

Sheffield Wednesday, who sit in 13th in the Championship, one point and three places behind the Blues, hope to bring in a couple of loan players prior to Saturday's game, having lost a number of squad members due to injury, suspension and loan spells coming to an end.

Striker Bartosz Slusarski has returned to West Brom at the end of his stay at Hillsborough and looks set to go back home to Poland during the transfer window. Chelsea midfielder Jimmy Smith, at one-time a Norwich City loanee, has also gone back to his parent club.

Marcus Tudgay (thigh), Wade Small (hamstring) and Leon Clarke (hamstring) are considered doubts ahead of Saturday's match, while veteran midfielder Steve Watson is expected to return after a hip problem.

Fellow midfield man James O'Connor is suspended having reached five bookings and striker Akpo Sodje (hamstring), midfielder Etienne Esajas (toe), full-back Frankie Simek (hamstring) and central defender Richard Hinds (leg) are all still sidelined.

This week has been hailed as the dawning of a new era for Wednesday with Lee Strafford taking over as chairman, Nick Parker as chief executive and former manager Howard Wilkinson returning to the club as an unpaid advisor to the board.

Town manager Jim Magilton faces one of his old sides, the Blues boss having left Hillsborough for Portman Road in 1999 after an unhappy short spell with the Owls.

Midfielder Alan Quinn was also at Wednesday during Magilton's time in South Yorkshire and is the only player to have scored for both the Owls and Sheffield United in the Steel City derby. Alex Bruce spent time on loan at Wednesday when a Birmingham player, while chief scout Steve McCall is also a former Owl.

Brian Laws's squad currently includes former Town loanee Franny Jeffers, who is going through a rare spell of fitness at present, while winger Jermaine Johnson had a trial at Portman Road in 2001.

Historically, Wednesday have had the better of the Blues, winning 16 games between the sides (15 in the league), drawing six (five), with Town victorious on 14 occasions (13).

Earlier in the season, the teams played out a 0-0 draw at Hillsborough, while last February Town broke their away duck for 2007/08 with a 2-1 victory in South Yorkshire. Alan Quinn netted against his old club before Marcus Tudgay pulled one back, but Alan Lee was on hand to net a winner.

The most recent game between the teams at Portman Road was on the opening day of last season with the Blues hammering the Owls 4-1, Lee scoring twice and Gary Roberts and Pablo Couñago once each. Leon Clarke added a late consolation for the visitors.

TWTD issue 95 will be on sale from our sellers around the ground prior to the game from 1pm. This issue's interview star is testimonial man Fabian Wilnis.

As well as the interview with Fab, in which he talks about his testimonial year, his plans to form the Fabian Wilnis Foundation, life in the Blue Square Premier and lots of other stuff, there are pieces on Jim Magilton's management, the UEFA Cup, watching the early, early rounds of the FA Cup and spotting Bontcho, great players not becoming great managers and very, very much more.

If you can't make the game, you can purchase a single copy or six-issue subscription here.

Saturday's referee is Graham Horwood from Bedfordshire, who has shown 49 yellow and three red cards in 19 games so far this season. Horwood is in his first year as a Championship official and has never previously refereed a Town game.

Likely squad: R Wright, Supple, D Wright, Volz, McAuley, Campo, Bruce, Balkestein, Naylor, Miller, Norris, Garvan, Trotter, Quinn, Walters, Couñago, Lisbie, Haynes.

Photo: Action Images

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