SHEFFIELD Wednesday will be this weekend's opposition for the Golden Boys who will be looking for their first away victory of the season at Hillsborough.

Wednesday, who narrowly avoided relegation on the final day of last season; currently sit 14th in the table, only two points but six places behind the Golden Boys.

Wednesday topped the table after their opening day demolition of Burnley, a game that they won 4-1 but did not kick on from there and haven't won a game since.

They were dumped out of the Carling Cup by League 2 side Rotherham on penalties and followed that with a disastrous trip to Molineux where they were comfortably beaten by 4 goals to 1 by an in-form Wolves side.

Since then the Owls have come through two hard fought games at home to Preston and away to Swansea both of which ended all-square.

The international break will have given Brian Laws' men a good chance to recover ahead of this weekend's game.

Deon Burton is currently the only international in the Wednesday squad, so the vast majority of the players will be well rested and eager to register their first league win in over a month.

The Owls will be confident of upsetting the Golden Boys on their home turf. So far they have amassed four points from six at home and only a late Preston equaliser prevented them from keeping a 100% league record.

Watford on the other hand, having been the division's away specialists last term, are yet to win on the road this season and therefore will have to be at their best to come out on top at Hillsborough.

Boss Brian Laws

Wednesday are a passing side, comfortable in possession and will make the Hornets work hard for the ball.

They have dominated possession in every game they have played this season apart from the defeat against Wolves where they still kept the ball 50% of the time.

The only permanent addition to the squad is that of James O'Connor, a combative midfielder signed from Burnley.

A significant addition to the squad is the loan signing of the young Chelsea midfielder, Jimmy Smith.

Smith will add depth to the Owls midfield as he can operate anywhere across the engine room.

The loan signing of 22-year-old Middlesbrough right-back Tony McMahon has added some much needed depth to Wednesday's back-line.

McMahon has started the last two games for the Owls and is likely to feature again this Saturday.

The Owls' defence has a very youthful look to it and have over 400 less league appearances between them in comparison to the Watford rearguard. The promising talents Tommy Spurr, Richard Wood and Mark Beevers are all products of Wednesday's youth system.

Skipper Wood, recently handed in a transfer request having linked with a last minute move away from the club, however manager Brian Laws refused the request and reiterated his desire to build his squad around the centre-half.

Laws' options up-front have been significantly reduced. The loss of Akpo Sodje for the foreseeable future will have been particularly galling.

The striker bagged a brace and set up one in the first 21 minutes against Burnley on the opening day, before leaving the pitch with an injury that will see him out until the end of September at least.

Francis Jeffers' long road to recovery from an ankle problem, delayed further by a groin injury, may well be coming to an end having completed half an hour for the reserves this week but he is unlikely to start.

Laws will have look to Marcus Tudgay, who has just returned from injury, and Jamaican international Burton for goals.

Striker Deon Burton

Tudgay is a good link up player who holds the ball up well. His aerial threat is also something the Watford defence will have to be mindful of. The striker has already netted twice at Hillsborough this season and could prove to be a handful.

Etienne Esajas could also be one to watch. Operating primarily on the left-flank, the speedy wide player has an eye for goal and good crossing ability.

TEAM NEWS

Burton will return to action following international duties with Jamaica. The squad was forced to travel an extra 1,600 miles to Mexico for their fixture due to the effects of Hurricane Gustav on their home pitch. He is still likely to feature unless injured due to the lack of options available up-front.

Richard Hinds suffered a fracture of his fibula at Wolves on the 16th August and is expected to be sidelined for around three months.

Sodje suffered knee tendon damage during the opening day victory over Burnley and is another player enduring a long lay-off.

Frank Simek is recovering from an ankle operation and is unlikely to be in contention.

Jeffers is back on the comeback trail after making a surprise return in the reserves. The striker, kept out of the first team by injury since January, played for around half an hour as a sub in Tuesday night's 3-1 win against Port Vale and helped to set up two goals.

Wade Small's protracted recovery from his troublesome hamstring injury is coming to an end having completed the best part of an hour for the reserves on Tuesday however he will be unlikely to start.

Mark Beevers strained a hamstring before the international break but is expected to have recovered just in time for Saturday's clash.

LAST TIME THE TEAMS MET

The last time the two sides met was back in November of last year. The Hornets ran out 1-0 winners at Hillsborough, which sent them back to the top of the Championship ahead of the busy Christmas period.

Although the 'Orns were on their heels in the early exchanges they soon stung Wednesday with an early strike from Jobi McAnuff, which was eventually enough to secure the points for the Golden Boys who sealed their eighth away win of the season.

The winger's sixth minute strike was his first for the club and only served to better Watford's impressive away record; the best in the football league.

The goal came from Watford's first attack of the game; Nathan Ellington was the provider with an accurate through ball to right into the path of McAnuff who duly prodded home much to the dismay of the home fans in the Kop end.

The Owls responded well but only managed to squander their chances in the run up to the half-time whistle. Despite the better chances falling to Wednesday the scales could have easily tipped either way in what was a toughly contested 45 minutes but the score remained 0-1 at the break.

Wednesday came out the stronger of the two sides in the second half but again failed to make their territorial advantage pay.

Watford's defence coped with the pressure very well and Richard Lee pulled out some smart saves when there was a breach.

Clear-cut chances were few and far between, particularly for Watford. However the Golden Boys managed to soak up everything Wednesday had to throw at them to preserve their 0-1 lead to return to the top of the Championship table by two points.

Goalscorer McAnuff is also likely to feature this time out at Hillsborough and will be looking for a repeat performance as he looks to find the net for the first time this campaign.

HEAD TO HEAD

The two sides have met on 37 occasions in their history. Watford's first visit to Hillsborough came back in 1970.

The Owls ran out 2-1 winners at that meeting but the Hornet's have had the better of the exchanges over the years.

The Golden Boys have beaten Wednesday 17 times to Wednesday's 12. Eight matches have resulted in a draw.

The Owls do have a better record at home but Hillsborough has hardly proved to be an impenetrable fortress as Watford have won six times to Wednesday's nine.

There have been five draws so this one will be very tough to call.

HORNETSBET - CLICK HERE FOR OUR SPECIAL OFFER

Home win - 6/4
Draw - 9/4
Away win - 8/5

Scorecast - Lloyd Doyley to score first, Watford to win 2-1 - 391/1.

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