Predicted Sheffield Wednesday starting XI v Birmingham: Forestieri to return?

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Sheffield Wednesday take on Birmingham City in the Championship on Saturday evening.

After a stuttering start, back-to-back wins for Sheffield Wednesday appear to have kick-started their season.

The Owls head to Birmingham on Saturday to take on Gary Rowett’s side, who have steadily impressed in the early stages of the Championship.

For Carlos Carvalhal, it has been less than steady, but wins over Wigan Athletic and Bristol City have lifted his side up to 11th and brought them back within touch of the front runners.

As they chase a hat-trick of victories, could this be the XI Carvalhal picks to face the Blues?

Sam Hutchinson received a red card in the win over Bristol City, meaning that he is now suspended and will miss the trip to Birmingham.

That means Glen Loovens will come into the team to play alongside Tom Lees, who had a tough night in midweek against the in-form Tammy Abraham.

Jack Hunt and Liam Palmer will continue to fight for the right-back slot, with Palmer’s performance against Wigan probably more impressive that Hunt’s on Tuesday night, meaning that Wednesday’s number 16 should return to the side.

Having gone 2-0 down before half-time, Carvalhal reacted and made two quick changes. The first was replacing Dave Jones with Ross Wallace, a change that we should expect to see from the start on Saturday. The swap will mean that Barry Bannan will shift across one position to the centre of midfield, playing alongside Tuesday’s matchwinner, Kieran Lee.

The other change in midweek saw Fernando Forestieri introduced before half-time, and the Italian should be recalled to the starting line-up against Birmingham, meaning Almen Abdi should drop to the bench.

While the Owls are not reliant on the 26-year-old, he is their biggest creative spark and should start through the middle just behind striker Steven Fletcher, who has found his goalscoring touch again with strikes in their last two games.

Birmingham will be tough opposition for Wednesday, having only lost once this season and kept three consecutive clean sheets, but a win could see Carvalhal’s men jump above the Blues and move into the play-offs.