League One betting preview: More woe for Sheffield Wednesday

Things are getting tense at the top of League One with Sheffield United threatening to cut loose in the race for the sceond automatic promotion spot and Sheffield Wednesday aren't responding particularly well to the gauntlet that has been thrown down by their bitter rivals.

The Owls have picked up just two wins in their last seven league outings and have lost each of their last three in all competitions. Now the price is right for Chesterfield to stretch those sequences further at 13/5 on Saturday.

The Spireites might be struggling towards the bottom of the table but they've been resurgent in recent weeks after manager John Sheridan dipped into the transfer market to freshen things up. In came six new faces and the upshot has been a solid seven-match run against mid-ranking League One opposition that has delivered four victories and only one defeat.

Wednesday will present them with a stiffer challenge, of course, but it's been a theme of Sheridan's managerial career that he lands a disproportionate amount of prize scalps. His demeanour is one that exudes confidence in such encounters and his players tend to play with plenty of purpose and no fear in games when they are least fancied.

Indeed, Chesterfield were unfortunate not to take something from the game when the two sides met at Hillsborough in the reverse fixture last October. That game ended in a 3-1 defeat with the locals breathing a sigh of relief when Ben Marshall made the game safe late on but the Spireites were the better side for long periods.

Most of the top teams still have to visit the B2net Stadium - a 1-1 draw with Stevenage and 1-0 defeat to Sheffield United makes up the small sample of similar matches - but Chesterfield were impressive when beating in-form Bournemouth three weeks ago and a smilar performance here would give them more than a fighting chance.

Recommended bets:

1pt Chesterfield to beat Sheff Wed at 13/5 (Paddy Power)

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