Stoke vs Sheffield Wed prediction: ENGLAND: Championship betting tips on match 2023-12-08 15:00.
Having been 11th following a 2-0 win on matchday 14 at Middlesbrough, Stoke City are now without a victory in five Championship games (D2, L3) after a 2-1 loss to Plymouth Argyle saw them slip to 20th. That defeat in Devon came despite the Potters opening the scoring, making it the second successive encounter in which they have led before going on to lose as the pressure continues to build on manager Alex Neil.
A return to the Bet365 Stadium may prove a good omen for Stoke, as they’ve notched up six of their eight wins in all competitions this season on home soil. That said, irrespective of the venue, they’ve now lost their last three league matches and will be looking to avoid suffering a fourth on the bounce for the first time since September 2019 as Sheffield Wednesday arrive in the Midlands.
Despite sitting rock bottom of the Championship, the visiting Owls are in better form than their hosts after securing a huge 3-1 triumph over play-off chasing Blackburn Rovers last Saturday. That victory made it consecutive league outings without defeat for Wednesday for the first time this campaign, having previously held leaders Leicester City at Hillsborough (1-1), as new manager Danny Röhl begins to stamp his identity on the club.
Since he became the youngest boss in the EFL, the 34-year-old German has still been unable to help fix their away form however. They enter this game having picked up only one point from their nine Championship trips (D1, L8) this term – scoring just four times in the process – while the fact that they have won only once in their past eight H2Hs (D4, L3) and haven’t tasted victory at Stoke since October 2007 won't inspire much confidence.
Players to watch: Stoke’s Tyrese Campbell scored his first league goal of the season at Plymouth and netted against Wednesday in the 2019/20 campaign. Josh Windass also scored at the weekend, meaning that his last ten league goalscoring appearances have now all ended with him on the winning side.
Hot stat: Both sides have only seen seven of their 19 Championship matches this season feature goals from both teams on the day – the joint-fewest in the competition.