With half of the 2016-17 Championship season played Sheffield Wednesday are well placed to make another genuine attempt at winning promotion to the Premier League.
The Owls currently sit in 6th place, the same position they finished in last season as they went on to miss out on promotion by losing to Hull City in the play-off final.
Wednesday currently have 40 points from23 games, at the same stage last season they had 36 points and were a point behind the play-offs in 7th place.
Last season the Owls were something of a surprise package and were not really expected to challenge for promotion. On the back of that positive season and a further influx of players during the summer, Carlos Carvalhal's side were expected to maintain a challenge this time around and the added expectancy brings a different kind of pressure.
Wednesday have found that more teams come to Hillsborough primarily to make it difficult for the home side to break them down and as a result goals have been harder to come by. The Owls had found the net 35 times by the halfway point of last season but have only scored 27 goals so far this season.
However, despite equalling the clubs clean-sheet record last season they have been just as solid so far this term. Wednesday had conceded 27 in their first 23 last time around but have only conceded 23 to date in 2016-17.
Some of the Owls summer signings have struggled to make an impact with the highly rated Almen Abdi yet to make his mark due to a combination of niggling injuries and a struggle to find his best role in the team.
Others such as Adam Reach and Steven Fletcher appear to be getting better with each game and if Fletcher can forge a partnership with Fernando Forestieri then the Owls should be able to find it easier to break through the opposition in the second half of the season.
As ever, the January transfer window will have an influence on which teams are able to maintain a challenge in the run-in but Wednesday can be reasonably pleased that they are in a good place to contend for promotion yet again. The Championship is renowned for being a highly competitive division and the quality on show in the top half is as high as it ever has been which will making for an exciting climax to the season.