Sheffield Wednesday will come into the FA Cup fourth round in high spirits, having taken on Premier League high-flyers Newcastle United in the previous round after getting past Morecambe and Mansfield Town, with all of their ties thus far having come at Hillsborough.
Darren Moore’s side took a surprise lead against the Magpies through Josh Windass, and he would make it 2-0 before the Owls stood strong to see out a memorable 2-1 victory and advance to the fourth round after Bruno Guimaraes pulled one back for their visitors 20 minutes from time.
They also head into the weekend in fine form on the league front, having recently climbed into the automatic promotion spots in England’s third tier thanks to a 15-match unbeaten run and five straight victories, while their streak without a defeat in any competition dates back to a penalty shootout loss to Premier League outfit Southampton in the EFL Cup.
After leaping into the top two in League One with a 5-0 thrashing of Cambridge United after the turn of the year, Moore’s side continued their impressive run with a 1-0 triumph away at Wycombe Wanderers, thanks to a Will Vaulks screamer from long range, before beating
Saturday’s opponents by the same scoreline last weekend, with Marvin Johnson’s 17th-minute goal making the difference in South Yorkshire, after they also triumphed over the Cod Army away from home on Boxing Day in a 2-1 victory.
Now on the back of the postponement of their trip to Cheltenham Town on Tuesday evening, the Owls will return to action this weekend with the aim of making it seven straight victories in all competitions and advancing to the final 16 of the FA Cup for a third time in the last six seasons.
They meet a Fleetwood Town side who will aim to avenge last weekend’s defeat and triumph over the team who have beaten them twice in League One since Christmas.
Scott Brown’s side began their FA Cup journey in the first round with a home tie against Oxford City and won 3-1 before beating Ebbsfleet United 1-0 away from home to book a tough contest at home to second-tier Queens Park Rangers after the turn of the year.
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Heading into that tie in a mixed run of league form, the Cod Army would prevail somewhat against the odds, despite going 1-0 down in the first half, as Aristote Nsiala quickly levelled the scores before Promise Omochere netted the winner 23 minutes from time at Highbury.
Brown’s men have disappointingly been unable to build on that since, though, and now come into the weekend on the back of three straight league defeats, firstly falling short against Oxford United and the Owls before they were beaten 2-0 at home to Portsmouth on Tuesday, with Colby Bishop and Joe Pigott getting on the scoresheet.
Now hoping to continue their longest ever run in this competition, Fleetwood will be vying to get back to winning ways and topple Darren Moore’s side at the third time of asking on Saturday.
