Hillsborough will host the first Steel City derby of the season this Sunday but considering both participants currently reside in the bottom three, it is hard to know which way it will fall.
No other Championship club has leaked more goals than Sheffield Wednesday (29). On the other hand, Sheffield United have found the net the fewest number of times (11).
To win, either club must overcome their shortcomings and it seems that they have both looked in the same direction for solutions – north.
Wednesday brought in former Leeds United defender Liam Cooper to bolster their backline for the remainder of the season, while the Blades signed striker Patrick Bamford until January after the 32-year-old departed the Whites in August.
Though perhaps the difference at play could be nothing to do with personnel, but with the energy the fans emit around the stadium.
While the Blades are feeling stuck in the mud, the Owls are sensing the beginnings of the end to their troubles despite being in administration and whether or not they land in League One next season, the atmosphere is a light, celebratory one.
“There’s been a big change of energy since the administrator took over,” manager Henrik Pedersen told BBC Radio Sheffield.
“There is freedom again and there is belief again. People are looking forward to the future. You can feel a different energy in the stadium now.”
The Owls are yet to win at Hillsborough this season and those first three points on home soil will feel all the more sweeter if they are secured against their great rivals.
