PICKING a frontline appears to be the biggest poser for Dave Jones as his Sheffield Wednesday side aim for a fourth successive Championship win against Huddersfield Town at the John Smith’s Stadium today.
With three clean sheets running for ex-Liverpool and Wigan keeper Chris Kirkland, there seems no reason to change a back four of Lewis Buxton on the right, Miguel Llera and Anthony Gardner in the centre and Reda Johnson out left.
In midfield, Kieran Lee, David Prutton, on loan from Scunthorpe, Rhys McCabe and Jeremy Helan, on loan from Manchester City, lined up at Bolton on Boxing Day.
Up front, it was on-loan Stoke striker Mamady Sidibe, who scored in the 1-0 victory, and versatile former Reading man Michail Antonio.
Boss Jones, whose 21st-placed side had earlier beaten Barnsley 1-0 at Oakwell and Charlton 2-0 at Hillsborough, can also call on combative former Carlisle man Gary Madine, ex-Rochdale player Chris O’Grady and QPR loanee Jay Bothroyd.
The pacy Antonio could be pushed out wide in place of former Manchester United and Oldham man Lee to leave a vacancy in the attack, while ex-Bradford winger Jermaine Johnson could also come into the equation after recovering from a hamstring problem.
Jones, whose side trail 15th-placed Town by seven points as they seek revenge for a 3-1 derby defeat by Simon Grayson’s side at Hillsborough in September, says confidence is high.
"We’re coming off the back of three really good wins and we want to keep that momentum going," he said.
"You can’t inject players with confidence. They have to earn it. That’s what they’ve done over the last few games.
"There’s always been a good atmosphere around the place, even when they were losing (there were seven defeats on the spin before Barnsley were beaten).
"But there’s that extra bit now, which helps. When you work on things there’s a smile on everybody’s face.
"There’s nothing better than winning. It’s a nice feeling. You get a lot of satisfaction from it and we want more of it."
Hertfordshire’s Mick Russell is today’s referee.
