Sheffield United host Sheffield Wednesday this Friday night in what should be a cracking Steel City derby between two sides struggling for form.

The Blades have won just one of their last nine in the league, whilst the Owls have won one in ten.

Nevertheless, Chris Wilder’s men will approach the game with confidence after their memorable 4-2 win at Hillsborough earlier in the season. United put in a superb performance to dismantle their rivals as the sides met for the first time in five years.

That was a significant blow for Carlos Carvalhal who has since lost his job with the Owls and his successor, Jos Luhukay, will be in the dugout for the first time as the Wednesday manager for this ferocious fixture.

But, where will the game be won and lost?

We look at three key factors that could influence the derby.

Wednesday’s injury woes

Having his first game at Bramall Lane gives new Wednesday boss Luhukay a chance to become an instant hero, however he will have his work cut out given the injuries his side have.

Wednesday have been forced to cope without several key players throughout the season and the injuries are really mounting up.

Sam Hutchinson was the latest confirmed absence and joins the likes of Barry Bannan, Kieran Lee, Fernando Forestieri and Tom Lees whilst Kieran Wetwood is a doubt. There’s more too, but they are the influential players that have been integral to the Owls success over the years.

They go from a strong Championship side with those players to mediocre without and even though the manager has changed, Wednesday’s injury woes could once again be their undoing.

Midfield dominance

Following on from that, a decisive area of this game will be the midfield and that’s where Wednesday look particularly weak.

Barry Bannan is the Owls best player and Hutchinson and Lee are both quality operators at this level but all three are missing. That leaves underperforming duo Jacob Butterfield and Dave Jones as the midfield options.

Can they compete with the Blades three men in the middle of the park? Ryan Leonard is a new signing and could bring composure and creativity that’s been lacking since Paul Coutts injury, whilst Mark Duffy displayed his quality in the reverse fixture.

The Blades should look to control the game from the middle of the park and with a raucous crowd behind them it could be hard work for Wednesday to keep them out.

New look Owls

One positive Wednesday do have is the unknown of their manager.

Playing against Carvalhal’s side was relatively predictable. It was a standard 4-4-2 and they don’t really have blistering pace out wide to cause you problems.

Whilst Luhukay has the same players, he will surely switch things up. He is known to be a disciplined coach who focuses on the team, but there’s going to be an unpredictability about the visitors that has been missing for months.

How will they line up? Does he play Rhodes and Hooper? Will the players be putting more effort in? There’s a lot of questions that we won’t know the answer to until kick-off and that could play a big role in the outcome if the Blades can’t deal with their rivals new tactics and approach.

Thoughts, Sheffield United and Wednesday fans? Who will come out on top? Let us know in the comments below.