Sheffield Wednesday shoot for the top ready to handle great expectations

It is a pressure they are quite happy to embrace.

After six straight wins and 20 matches unbeaten in all competitions, the Owls will be heavy favourites to beat a Cheltenham side only four points above the relegation zone.

With Plymouth Argyle not in action, any victory will send them top of the table on goal difference after 28 games for each team.

"The expectations levels have been here since the start of the season so it's not something that's alien to us," commented manager Darren Moore. "But we can't listen to that because we've got to focus on our own and maintain the professional approach.

"The challenge this season is always to get better so there's always something to aim for, irrespective of results.

"I know people outside look at the results and the league table but if you're sitting in my household, we're talking about something completely different, which is consistency and momentum.

"We just try and stay consistent in our approach. We'll just turn the page and focus on the next one."

Defender Liam Palmer insists the club will enjoy being there to be shot at.

"That's what we want," he said. "That's the expectation we have as a club, right the way through to the fans."

The Owls look a lot less flakey than the side which missed out in last season's play-offs, with 16 clean sheets pointing to as much.

"In the summer we recruited some resilience and that's what we've seen," said Moore. "The team is doing what it says on the tin in terms of that. We've got that with the characters we've got in the squad.

"It's not always going to be free-flowing, there's going to be games where you can play football and games where you play percentages."

The biggest danger at this juncture would seem to be complacency, so Moore is determined not to allow it.

"Cheltenham are at home and they've got one or two great little players who really ask a question," he stressed.

"They got one or two goals in them which you saw at the weekend. Even though they lost, they scored a couple of goals at the league leaders (losing 4-2 to Plymouth), so in terms of creativity and scoring goals, they're really, really dangerous.

"It's a tight pitch and when Sheffield Wednesday are in town it brings an energy so we expect a really tough game down there.

"It's looking at the group of players, their strengths and weaknesses, and seeing if we can nullify their strengths and expose one or two of the weaknesses they've got."

Moore expects to pick from the same group of players with Barry Bannan due to make his return from a muscle injury at home to Fleetwood Town in Saturday's FA Cup fourth round tie.

Last six games: Cheltenham Town LLWLLW; Sheffield Wednesday WWWWWW

Referee: J Oldham (Derbyshire)

Last time: Cheltenham Town 2 Sheffield Wednesday 2, October 30, 2021, League One