Sheffield Wed vs Hull prediction: ENGLAND: Championship betting tips on match 2023-12-31 17:15.
A fourth win in seven Championship matches (L3) against Preston on Friday night dragged Sheffield Wednesday off the foot of the table for the first time since mid-August. Boss Danny Röhl highlighted an abundance of “fighting spirit” as a key reason as to how they held on to victory, particularly after George Byers’ late dismissal.
Still six points adrift of safety ahead of this round, the Owls are going to need more of that spirit to claw their way out of danger in 2024, starting with a ninth consecutive home game on New Year’s Day. But having lost four of the previous eight (W3, D1), including one in 2020 to Monday’s opponents Hull City, the Wednesday faithful may fear further New Year’s blues.
Liam Rosenior’s Hull are on a high after showing “mentality, character and energy” to stave off a Blackburn fightback in a 3-2 victory on Friday, as the Tigers reclaimed their place in the play-off places. Kicking off 2024 with an away assignment won’t faze them either, as only three teams in the division have earned more points on their travels than Hull this term, although they’ve won just one of their last five such matches (D1, L3).
Hillsborough could be as good a venue as any to turn that around, as Hull are unbeaten on their last five trips here (W2, D3). The Tigers now go in search of their first set of back-to-back wins away at Wednesday, and having won all three of their away games on New Year’s Day against Yorkshire opposition to this point, including two against the Owls, they’ll certainly be confident.
Players to watch: Wednesday youngster Bailey Cadamarteri has directly contributed to a goal in four of his last seven games (G3, A1), with three of those four coming in the first-half, including his assist for the winner against Preston. Hull’s Aaron Connolly meanwhile has three goals in his last four, with half of his eight league goals this season scored away from home.
Hot stat: At least one goal has been scored in the first half in 20 of Hull’s 25 Championship games so far this season, including in 11 of their 12 away games to date.