Posh travel to league leaders Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday in Sky Bet League One action (3pm).
Peterborough United make the trip to Hillsborough on Saturday afternoon (3pm) to face in-form Sheffield Wednesday, who currently lead the way in a hugely competitive Sky Bet League One table after an incredible run of form, which has seen them lose just once in the last 27 games in all competitions.
The Owls last lost in the league to Plymouth Argyle back in October and have won their last four league games in a row. Their only blemish in that incredible run came in the Emirates FA Cup, when they were beaten 1-0 by Fleetwood Town, but they changed the majority of their starting line-up for that clash with the Cod Army.
Posh go into the game on the back of five wins from eight games since the return of Darren Ferguson with a 0-0 draw against Charlton Athletic at the Weston Homes Stadium last time out. Posh beat Sheffield Wednesday 2-0 earlier in the season.
TEAM NEWS
Posh striker Ricky-Jade Jones was expected to miss the game after he was forced to leave the field against the Addicks with a knee injury, but he trained on Thursday and is expected to travel with the squad to Hillsborough.
Dan Butler missed the game with Charlton due to illness, but should recover while Josh Knight will serve the first of a three-match ban after his red card on Tuesday evening. Emmanuel Fernandez could be added to the squad to provide additional defensive cover.
The Owls have arguably the strongest squad in League One and can chop and change their personnel to suit the opposition with Lee Gregory and Michael Smith vying for a position in attack alongside the talented Josh Windass.
ONE TO WATCH
Barry Bannan (pictured below) has been playing at League One level for far too long given his ability and the way he dictates games. He has a wand of a left-foot and everything that the Owls do is through him in midfield. A talent from set-pieces, he can score from long-range and if he lies in a deeper role, he can control the tempo of games. One of the best talents that has played at this level.
FROM THE GAFFER
“Sheffield Wednesday away is as tough as it gets at this level. They are a very good side and are on a wonderful run, but we have to look forward to these type of games. You have to enjoy the occasion. We have to go there and play our game. They want to play in a certain way and impact their game on the opposition. We can’t let that happen. The lads are still in a good place, we have had a decent set of results and we need to keep it going,” Ferguson said.
TICKET NEWS
Tickets are on sale until 3pm on Friday at www.theposhtickets.com and via the Weston Homes Stadium Box Office. The game is not all-ticket. Posh have sold around 1,800 tickets for the game.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
Please note there are no away pubs in the area of Hillsborough other than the stadium. The city centre has plenty of bars that will accommodate you. Hillsborough Stadium is 4 miles from the city centre and if using the tram service catch the YELLOW LINE MIDDLEWOOD TRAM and disembark at LEPPINGS LANE for the stadium. Tram stops can be found on WEST STREET.”
POSH+
Audio passes are available for the game both domestically and overseas for £2.50. Match passes are available for overseas subscribers priced at £10.
PLAYED FOR BOTH
There have been a few players to have played for both clubs down the years including promotion-winning Posh skipper Mark Beevers (pictured below right), experienced front man Guy Whittingham and one of the most recent Hall of Fame inductees George Boyd (pictured below centre).
Saido Berahino, Ian Hendon, Guy Branston, Jack Marriott, Graham Hyde, Lloyd Isgrove, Mark McKeever, Nathaniel Mendez-Laing (pictured below left), James Quinn, Danny Sonner, Frank Noble, Ian Nimmo and Tom McAnearney also represented both clubs.
CLASSIC CONTEST
Craig Mackail-Smith, Lee Tomlin (pictured below) and George Boyd (2) were on target in a big 4-1 win for Posh during Darren Ferguson’s second spell in charge, but under Grant McCann earlier this season, Posh beat the Owls 2-0 with Jonson Clarke-Harris and Jack Taylor on target.
KIT COLOURS
Posh will be wearing the black kit for the fixture.
MATCH COVERAGE
If you can’t make the game, you can follow all of the action in a number of ways.
- Live match updates on our official Twitter feed @theposh.
- Behind the scenes coverage and updates on our official Instagram story.
- Keep up to date with minute-by-minute updates on our Live Match Centre here.
- Download the official Peterborough United app to get all of the action direct to your smartphone.
MAN IN THE MIDDLE
The match referee is Anthony Backhouse.