Sheffield Wednesday's current predicament in the Championship is the very definition of bleak, dark clouds hanging over proceedings at Hillsborough with Danny Rohl's Owls in very real danger of being cut adrift in the relegation battle.
Losing 4-0 to Huddersfield Town last time out in league action was a calamitous showing from the Owls, only made worse by Rohl's much-changed eleven shipping another four goals in mid-week to Coventry City in a similarly dismal collapse.
Still, not all hope will be lost in South Yorkshire just yet if Rohl's beleaguered men can pull off a confidence-boosting result against Birmingham City tonight.
It does look far-fetched that Wednesday will pull off an unbelievable, against all the odds escape from the dreaded drop-zone, but Rohl will hope these seven changes to his lineup – which includes Marvin Johnson potentially coming back in – can inspire his flat troops to a rare three points against Tony Mowbray's Blues.
1 GK – James Beadle
Rohl will look to bring James Beadle back into the side for tonight's clash under the lights at Hillsborough, with the German manager opting to give young Wednesday product Pierce Charles a start away at the Sky Blues.
The Brighton loanee's confidence will be slightly dented after picking the ball out of his net a humiliating four times away at the Terriers last time he played, but Beadle showed that he's more capable at being the Owls number one in a 0-0 draw with Watford prior to this humbling day out to the John Smith's Stadium.
2 RB – Liam Palmer
Played in a defensive midfield spot recently by Rohl, Liam Palmer could be pushed back to a right-back spot to add experience and calmness to a nervy Owls back four tonight.
This personnel switch would see Pol Valentin drop out of the lineup, the Spanish defender not having a performance to write home about against Huddersfield – misplacing 15 of his 32 passes during that dismal loss.
3 CB – Di-Shon Bernard
The former Manchester United centre-back had a nightmare day at the office in the Huddersfield loss, but nobody really covered themselves in glory from an Owls perspective come full-time in that one.
Given an understandable breather mid-week, Di-Shon Bernard could be reinvigorated to prove doubters wrong at Hillsborough against Birmingham tonight if recalled into Rohl's XI.
This change would see Michael Ihiewke drop out, with the defender – who was once referred to as "solid" by Wednesday Till I Die podcast host Alex Mappin – struggling against the likes of Callum O'Hare on Tuesday night.
4 CB – Akin Famewo
Akin Famewo, despite starting Tuesday night's ego-bruising defeat to Coventry, will be in line to remarkably be kept in the side still for the game against Birmingham.
Famewo's heroics from central defence the last time the Owls played at Hillsborough shouldn't be forgotten about by Rohl, winning four duels as the South Yorkshire side picked up a rare clean sheet against Watford in the stalemate match.
5 LB – Marvin Johnson
Everyone with allegiances to Wednesday will be boosted by the news that Marvin Johnson is back in contention for a start against the Blues, battling back from injury to give Rohl a selection headache to ponder tonight.
With Kristian Pedersen flopping big time on his debut in the 4-0 Huddersfield defeat, and Reece James struggling in equal measure mid-week versus Coventry, the door looks open for Johnson to push his way back into his manager's first-team plans this evening.
Johnson won't win his place back in the side just due to other players underperforming however, the experienced 33-year-old helping himself to three goals and two assists this season predominantly from the full-back spot.
6 CM – Will Vaulks
Will Vaulks could well have played himself back into Rohl's plans too off the back of his Coventry away performance, with Sheffield Star journalist Alex Miller stating that Vaulks showed 'leadership in the heart of midfield' at the CBS Arena.
The ex-Rotherham United man has also stood out on occasion this season for the Owls in the second tier, winning seven duels late last year even when Wednesday fell to a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Cardiff City.
7 CM – Barry Bannan
Barry Bannan was given a breather for the clash against Mark Robins' Sky Blues, the silky Scotsman onto 29 appearances for the season despite showing signs of rust at 34 years of age.
The former Aston Villa midfielder should come back into the side for the test of Birmingham however, the ageing creator at his dynamic best versus Watford with three key passes registered across a bright 86 minutes for the Wednesday captain.
8 RM – Anthony Musaba
Anthony Musaba has also starred for the Owls this season in patches, bagging five goals in total across all competitions.
Musaba's last strike in the Championship for Rohl's relegation-threatened side did come all the way way back in December though, but his dangerous presence from down the right wing could unlock a susceptible Blues defence even if he is enduring a barren patch in front of goal.
9 CAM – Ike Ugbo
Ike Ugbo could well come back into the side as an attacking midfielder just behind the lone striker, Rohl looking to switch back to a 4-2-3-1 formation potentially after going back-to-basics with a 4-4-2 approach in the FA Cup.
The German manager will be gutted that he doesn't have Josh Windass at his disposal – with the 30-year-old now back in the Hillsborough treatment room – but the ex-Chelsea man showed signs of his quality in his position away at Huddersfield last time in the second-tier.
The Troyes loanee would attempt to make the 4-0 scoreline less embarrassing with two efforts on the Terriers net, hoping to break his Owls duck versus Birmingham tonight.
10 LM – Ian Poveda
With Djeidi Gassama having an afternoon to forget at the John Smith's Stadium alongside his dire teammates – the 20-year-old Frenchman giving the ball up 20 times in total – the time could well be right for Rohl to gift Ian Poveda his debut against Tony Mowbray's visitors in Gassama's place.
Usually chosen to play at right wing, the Leeds loanee can also do a job down the left-hand side with two goals at youth level for Manchester City coming from this channel.
