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Sunday 8th January will s
ee the FA Cup Third Round tie take place between League One outfit, Sheffield Wednesday and West Ham of the nPower Championship, writes Richard Norton.
Both sides have been in good form this season in their respective leagues and find themselves in second position.
Sheffield Wednesday have relied heavily on their home form in the league so far this season and have won 9 of their 11 games so far and drawing just twice. Wednesday will be missing top goalscorer Gary Madine at the weekend through injury. Madine currently tops the charts with 11 goals for the club.
On-loan Stoke striker Ben Marshall is joint second top scorer with 5 goals, will only be able to play if his loan is extended to the end of the season, also on-loan Sanchez Watt from Arsenal will be ineligible. Goals therefore may be an issue but so far this season they have been shared around between 17 different scorers.
West Ham have been an even record home and away in the league this season; they’ve won 7, lost 3 and scored 20 goals home and away. The Hammers have already scored 40 league goals this season, with top scorer Carlton Cole contributing 8 goals and captain, Kevin Nolan scoring 7. West Ham possess a very strong squad for the Championship and may well look to utilise this and make a few changes to the starting line-up.
The Owls have only faced lesser opposition in the FA Cup so far this term, beating Morecambe and Aldershot by single goal margins.
However, Wednesday did knock Championship side Blackpool out of the League Cup first round at home this season, albeit on penalties. West Ham only entered the draw at the third round stage, but they have already lost to lower opposition this season in their opening match of the League Cup at home to Aldershot Town of League Two.
Match Winner
I think this is likely to be a hard- fought encounter between two confident sides with a big atmosphere from the home fans. Wednesday will be looking to continue their excellent run of home form and West Ham will want to continue into the fourth round.
Taking all of that into account, the odds are very evenly priced with West Ham the slightest of favourites. Personally, I think the most likely outcome here will be a draw, which can be found at 3.40 (12/5) from Victor Chandler.
A West Ham win is 2.50 (6/4) with SkyBet. Whereas, a Sheffield Wednesday victory is 3.00 (2/1) with BetFred.
First Goalscorer
It will be difficult to judge who will be starting for West Ham, due to the depth of their squad. Therefore, the most likely first goalscorers are likely to be Carlton Cole (6.50 (11/2) @ Bet365) and Kevin Nolan (8.50 (15/2) @ Bet365).
With Sheffield Wednesday still missing their top scorer through injury and various players being ineligible, they will probably choose two of Lowe (8.00 (7/1) @ Sky Bet), O’Grady (8.50 (15/2) @ Sky Bet) or Morrison (9.00 (8/1) @ Ladbrokes).
Recommended Bets
Correct score: 1-1 Draw, 7.00 (6/1) @ William Hill
First scorer: Clinton Morrison, 9.00 (8/1) @ Ladbrokes.
Scorecast: C. Morrison & 1-1, 40/1 @ Ladbrokes.
