Plymouth vs Sheffield Wed prediction: ENGLAND: Championship betting tips on match 2023-10-24 18:45.
Saturday’s goalless draw at West Brom was a good result for Plymouth Argyle but still left them winless in October and without a victory in four overall (D2, L2), having now lost half of their first 12 games back in the second tier following promotion (W3, D3, L6). Cynics may say the harsh realities of Championship football are perhaps starting to rear their ugly head for Steven Schumacher’s side, who have seen all three of their league wins this term arrive on home turf.
That’s a positive omen ahead of the visit of one of the three clubs to start the round below Argyle in the table, Sheffield Wednesday. Argyle don’t find themselves in the position they’re in due to their goalshy nature, more due to the alarming rate at which they leak goals, with their clean sheet at The Hawthorns just a third in the Championship this season to date.
Schumacher’s side now head into back-to-back clashes against the two clubs promoted alongside them from League One last season, and they’re probably relieved it’s struggling Sheffield Wednesday first up rather than high-flying Ipswich. The Owls are still winless after 12 games (D3, L9) following a 1-0 defeat at Watford in Danny Röhl’s first game in charge, leaving them as the only team in the EFL without a league victory this term.
Post-match at Vicarage Road, Röhl said his team were “ready for the fight”, though what the Hillsborough natives have been served up so far suggests otherwise. A midweek win at Home Park would go some way to backing those words up with actions, but with Wednesday not winning at this ground since 2009, losing all four of their visits since, their 13 game winless run in league games held on a Wednesday looks set to extend (D5, L8).
Players to watch: With five goals already this term, it’s evident that if Plymouth survive, clinical striker Ryan Hardie will probably be the main reason why. He has scored against the Owls in both of their two previous visits to Home Park, with both goals coming in the first half. Argyle concede from roughly 10% of the shots they face, so Josh Windass, who takes aim with an average of 1.5 efforts per game, could be their best avenue to goal.
Hot stat: Nine of the 16 goals scored in the six most recent instalments of this fixture have come in the first half, with three of the last four arriving within the opening ten minutes.