Sky Sports pundit Andy Hinchcliffe has admitted that he believes that the outcome of Sheffield Wednesday's next two league fixtures could make or break their season.

The Owls are set to host Plymouth Argyle at Hillsborough before heading to the Kassam Stadium to face Oxford United.

Plymouth currently occupy the final play-off place in the third-tier whilst the U's are also enjoying a fruitful campaign at this level as they are fifth in the standings.

Wednesday's recent blip in form has resulted in them losing ground in the race for a top-six finish.

In their last five league games, the Owls have only managed to accumulate five points are were particularly poor during their clashes with Sunderland and Shrewsbury Town.

After being thrashed by the Black Cats, Wednesday were unable to deliver a response to this setback during their meeting with the Shrews as Steve Cotterill's side sealed all three points in this particular showdown.

Speaking on the latest episode of the Sky Sports EFL Podcast about the current situation that the Owls find themselves in, Hinchcliffe said: "The next two games are make or break for them.

"I really think the season could come down to these two matches and you don't want to go into these two games off of the back of the two games they've just had, a really heavy defeat and a poor performance.

 

 

"So if they don't pick up some points from these two games, [or] if they were to lose these two games, I think because the league is so competitive, that's the problem Wednesday have faced I think.

"They were expected to do well, dealing with that expectation is not easy but there are so many good teams in this division that if you do fall away slightly or draw a few games, it's going to prove costly and that's why these next two matches are huge in their season."

The Verdict

It is hard to disagree with Hinchcliffe's comments as Wednesday could face a mammoth task in their quest to secure a play-off place if they fail to secure positive results from their clashes with Plymouth and Oxford.

A tendency to draw games has hindered the Owls' progress in the third-tier this season as they have been forced to settle for a point in 10 of their 24 league games.

For Darren Moore's sake, he will be hoping that his players will be able to step up to the mark in the coming weeks as the pressure is starting to build on him at Hillsborough.

By delivering a response to their recent defeats to Sunderland and Shrewsbury in their upcoming fixtures, the Owls may be able to gain some momentum heading into the closing months of the season.