After a lengthy absence from the first division, Sheffield Wednesday are close to securing their play-off place which is their ticket back to the top.

However in their way stand Cardiff City who are hot on their tails. They play Cardiff in this weekend's fixtures and it is a must win match for Carlos Carvalhal's men.

It looked as if the South Yorkshire side were going to comfortably reach the play-offs with a great run of form between September and October but around November time they tailed off badly.

That has been the story of the season for Wednesday - they have gone on plenty of unbeaten streaks only to undo their hard-work with a series of poor results.

In 2016 so far, the Owls have had two occasions where they have won four games in a row only to go three after that without winning.

Consistency seems to be a niggling problem for Carvalhal's men and currently they have not won in four, but if they beat Cardiff on Saturday then they will reach the play-offs which is a big step in the right direction.

There has been plenty of individual quality throughout the season from Sheffield Wednesday with Marco Matias' goal of the season being a big highlight.

Fernando Forestieri has been amongst the goals as has Gary Hooper and should Wednesday reach the play-offs then they will have an excellent chance against their rivals.

However there have been a number of players who haven't been up to scratch this season, here are THREE Sheffield Wednesday players who have let down their team this season, according to FLW's Rafie Thompson.....

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PRESS THE IMAGE BELOW TO SEE THE THREE PLAYERS!

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Lucas Joao

For a striker whom Sheffield Wednesday spent a fair bit of money on, Lucas Joao has failed to live up to his price-tag so far.

6 goals in 38 appearances is a damning statistic on how much he must improve to live up to his fee.

Understandably Joao is young and has had to adapt to life in England and the Championship, but it is disappointing from the Portuguese man to make such a small difference in relation to his cost.

Joao will have plenty of time to adapt and improve but much was expected of the striker this season and he has not done enough to justify his price tag.

 

Liam Palmer

A performance that sums up Liam Palmer's season would be his game against Bristol City. He didn't make a single tackle during that game and scored an own goal in a 4-1 defeat.

It was Palmer's chance to prove to Carvalhal why he should make the first team but he failed to impress anyone on that day.

In the 12 performances that Palmer has made this season he has only impressed against Fulham and Nottingham Forest, and there have been plenty of games where he fails to make a big impact.

 

Lewis McGugan

Fans favourite Lewis McGugan has been frozen out of the first team this season after some impressive performances early on.

Be it a fault on the managers end or a lack of drive in training - McGugan is not making the impact he wanted to at Wednesday.

He hasn't ever been terrible when he has played but the fans enjoy watching him play and he has failed to repay them by making the first team.

McGugan has the talent, but he must show Carlos Carvalhal why he should make the first team.

Wednesday fans, who do you think has underperformed this season? Who should you let go of in the summer? Let us know in the comments below!