The Lowdown

Just a few days after travelling to their local rivals in midweek, Coventry City welcome Sheffield Wednesday to the Ricoh Arena this afternoon and the Owls will certainly be on a high after a result in midweek which can only be described as massive.

The Owls travelled to Colchester on Tuesday in a crunch relegation battle and thanks to goals from Deon Burton and Wade Small, they recorded what could turn out to be a priceless three points.

Not only did it rectify Wednesday's poor away form but it also saw Brian Laws' men move above the relegation zone for the first time since they beat Cardiff1-0 last month.

The challenge will now be to try and build up a head of steam, after a season which can only really be described as an uphill battle from the very start.

Wednesday lost their first six league games of the campaign and midway through September still had no points to show. As well as the obvious deficit that they had to overturn, the psychological effect of such a slow start must have been considerable.

But manager Brian Laws has done a good job of keeping the Owls in touch with the teams above them and having managed to sneak out of the drop zone, the challenge will now be to stay there.

City face the Yorkshire outfit twice in the next three weeks and the outcome of these matches could well go a long way in deciding the fates of both sides.

Current Form

Sheffield Wednesday have shown a timely resurgence in form of late, which may just see them escape what has been a season long relegation battle.

They have only lost once in their last six games, the solitary defeat coming against West Brom who snatched victory at Hillsborough thanks to Kevin Phillips' last minute strike.

Since then, the Owls have responded well to record two straight victories over QPR and fellow struggles Colchester, who they beat 2-1 on Tuesday night.

Wednesday have been strongest on home soil lately, losing only twice in their last six outings at Hillsborough and winning three of them.

Their vital win at Colchester in midweek was the Owls' first win away from home in 12 attempts, since they beat Plymouth 2-1 at Home Park back in November.

In their last six away outings, they have lost four, drawn one and won one.

The Gaffer

Brian Laws was appointed the Sheffield Wednesday boss in November 2006 after a successful period in charge at Scunthorpe United.

Laws bossed the Iron for almost ten years and led them to promotion twice in that time, as Division Three play-off winners in 1998/99 and League Two runners-up in 2004/05, leaving them third in League One when he joined the Owls.

He started his managerial career with Grimsby Town, spending two years at Blundell Park between 1994 and 1996.

In his playing days, Laws made 651 professional appearances for Burnley, Huddersfield Town, Middlesbrough, Nottingham Forest, Grimsby, Darlington and Scunthorpe.

In his time at Forest, he won the League Cup in 1989 and 1990 and was a runner-up in the 1991 FA Cup final and the 1992 League Cup final.

The Last Time we Met

18/11/06: Coventry 3 Sheffield Wednesday 1, Championship

A lively encounter at the Ricoh ended with the Sky Blues taking all three points last season, despite Chris Brunt giving the Owls an unlikely 22nd minute lead with a goal straight from a corner after Wade Small had been red carded in the 16th minute for a push on Michael Doyle

Madjid Bougherra turned past his own keeper to give City a quickfire equaliser and the Owls were reduced to nine men before the interval when Brunt was also given his marching orders for a professional foul on Leon McKenzie.

The Sky Blues' numerical advantage told in the second period and two goals in the space of four minutes from McKenzie - his first goals since signing for the Club in August - earned City a valuable win.