The wheels on the bus go round and round - but sometimes they fall off!
First up the ‘High Noon’ shootout last Sunday turned out to be more handbags than handguns as Forestieri bagged a second half penalty to secure all three points for the visiting Owls.
Then on Wednesday night things went from bad to worse for Wagner’s men as they got spanked 3-1 against a Preston side who are now unbeaten in their last six.
This was the first time Town had conceded more than one goal in a league game this season, as their miserable league record at Deepdale continued.
WATCH: David Wagner says Preston match was the first time this season his side has underperformed
You have to go back to November 1969 for the last time Town won at the Lancashire ground.
After climbing out of Apollo 12, Conrad and Bean became the third and fourth humans to walk on the moon, John Lennon handed back his MBE, Sesame Street aired on US TV for the first time and Pele scored his 1,000th goal - not exactly a happy hunting ground you might say.
Preston boss Simon Grayson had a plan to deal with the visitors and it worked a treat. ‘Get the ball in the box, rise above the defenders and stick it in the back of the net, simple!’ he might have said to his men, and that’s just what Preston did... three times!
Town were guilty of giving too many free kicks away, especially in and around the box and Preston’s Paul Gallagher took full advantage.
"Gally, on his day, is as good as anyone in this division with his delivery," said Grayson - and so it proved.
Town Manager David Wagner bemoaned his side’s abject performance by saying, "We weren't on the aggression that we normally are" - well Herr Wagner, you had better instil some belligerence into your team and soon, otherwise all the good work you've done thus far this season may just count for nothing.
On the back of those two poor performances, Ladbrokes have stretched Town’s odds to win the Championship to 22/1 and 4/1 to achieve promotion either automatically or via the play-offs.
Next up for Town is a home fixture against Steve McClaren’s old, or rather new Derby County side.
Back in the hot seat at Pride Park, McClaren got his latest tenure off to a winning start as they beat - no small thanks to the woodwork (twice) - a rather unlucky Leeds United 1-0 last Saturday.
Wagner will have had a few choice words with his team on the bus journey home from Preston and I fancy Town to put the wheels back on the bus with a comfortable win.
Ladbrokes have the Terriers slight favourites to prove me right at 13/8, Derby are 15/8, with the draw on offer at 19/10.
A 2-0 win for the Terriers is priced up at 11/1.
WATCH: What David Wagner expects from Derby County
Leeds threw away the chance to go one point shy of the play-off places when conceding an injury time equaliser to lowly Wigan on Tuesday night.
Garry Monk will be hoping his team can concentrate fully for the whole duration of the game when they travel to the Molineux Stadium on Saturday when they take on Walter Zenga’s Wolves.
Leeds haven’t got a great record in the league at Molineux, having won just once in their last eight visits (W1, L5, D2).
That said, last season they came away from the West Midlands with a 3-2 win courtesy of Sam Byram double and a smart finish from Stuart Dallas.
The bad news for Leeds is that Byram now sits on West Ham’s bench and Dallas is also ‘sidelined’ with an injury.
So, maybe the Whites will have to settle for another draw this time around?
The travelling fans will just hope their team can stay awake for 90 minutes, plus whatever time the referee adds on.
Leeds are 13/5 to win the game in ‘normal’ time, Wolves are 21/20, with the draw up for grabs at 23/10.
WATCH: Our sports writers preview the weekend's Championship action
Elsewhere this weekend expect Newcastle to tighten their grip on a Championship promotion spot as the leaders welcome mid-table Ipswich.
Norwich are one point behind the Geordies in second place and will want to keep the pressure on Rafa’s men when they try achieve what Town failed to do midweek by beating Gallagher and his Preston team-mates.
I’ve no doubt Canaries’ manager Alex Neil will have been watching the game on Wednesday night and will have learned from Town’s mistakes.
Norwich are now 11/4 to win the league, with Newcastle still favourites at 8/11 - I still fancy the Canaries to be singing come the end of the season.
This weekend’s treble:
Town to beat Derby @ 13/8
Norwich to beat Preston @ 4/7
Newcastle to beat Ipswich @ 4/9
A £10 stake with Ladbrokes ‘The Nation’s Favourite’ returns £59.58
Place your bets at www.ladbrokes.com
