Yorkshire rivals set for play-off battle

Last updated : 13 May 2017 By C. Morris

Sheffield Wednesday make the short trip to Huddersfield for the first leg of their Championship play-off semi-final on Sunday lunchtime.

The Owls look set to be without influential striker Gary Hooper. The former Celtic forward has played a key role in the Owls recent good run of form but is likely to miss out due to a hamstring injury.

Carlos Carvalhal rested a number of players for the final game of the season against Fulham and will welcome them back on Sunday. The key decisions are likely to be in attack with Steven Fletcher expected to start but with Hooper injured the place alongside him is up for grabs with the likes of Forestieri, Rhodes, Winnall and Nuhiu all in contention.

Huddersfield secured their play-off place with 2 games to spare and they have been resting players since. They did however play 1st-choice goalkeeper Danny Ward in their final game at home to Cardiff and the on-loan Liverpool stopper was sent off so will miss the first-leg. Top scorer Elias Kachunga has been suffering from a calf injury over the past couple of weeks but is expected to be fit enough to feature.

The Owls enjoyed 2 victories against the Terriers in the regular season, winning 1-0 away and 2-0 at home and they have not lost any of their last 7 meetings. The two teams could barely be split over the course of the season with Wednesday only finishing above Huddersfield on goal difference after 46 matches.