Sheffield Wednesday manager Steve Bruce has spoken highly of Nottingham Forest striker Lewis Grabban ahead of the two sides' meeting at Hillsborough tonight.

The pair will know each other well after their time at Aston Villa last season - after an impressive first half of the season for Sunderland, Bruce moved to sign the striker on a loan deal from AFC Bournemouth until the end of the campaign.

The 31-year old netted eight goals in 15 league appearances for the Villans, helping Bruce's side reach the play-off final where they were eventually defeated 1-0 by Fulham at Wembley Stadium.

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Grabban then signed for Forest in the summer for a reported fee of £6million, and has since become a hugely important player for the Reds, scoring 17 goals in 35 appearances thus far.

Speaking ahead of tonight's clash at Hillsborough, Bruce spoke highly of his former striker, and said to the Sheffield Star: "We had him at Aston Villa last year and he did excellent for us - he is a very, very good player."

Wednesday will be determined to put their play-off push back on track and get back to winning ways tonight, after a hugely disappointing 3-1 defeat to Villa at the weekend.

Bruce's men sit 12th in the Sky Bet Championship table, six points off the play-offs and three places below Martin O'Neill's Forest.

The Verdict

Grabban is an extraordinary striker at Championship level and has a very good goal-scoring record in this division.

Wednesday will have to keep a close eye on him on Tuesday night, as he only needs one chance to score.

The fact that Bruce has worked closely with Grabban before could work in Wednesday's favour though, as he will know how he works as a striker and how to get the best out of him.