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Championship Betting: Sheffield Wednesday v Plymouth

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Stalemate seems likely as Wednesday battle to save their Championship lives, says Andrew French

I've been to Hillsborough for matches in the Championship and it's one of those grounds that really can feel very empty.

I've been to bigger stadia containing exceptionally small crowds when I've attended reserve matches (yes, sad I know, but it was all for work purposes - honest), but going to a large ground for a first-team game and seeing swathes of empty seats is pretty eerie.

Hillsborough in one such venue - a symbol of a great past but, when half-full, also a warning of what could be a bleak future. It will be even more empty should it be hosting League One football next season.

If Sheffield Wednesday lose at home to Plymouth tonight all of their games in hand will be gone, and they will be left possessing the one remaining 'available' relegation spot, with only three fixtures left to play.

One of those three outstanding matches is against the team currently directly above them, Leicester, so some Owls fans will feel that even if they don't win tonight, there is another escape route. But with so little time left, Wednesday really could do with sorting their problems out very quickly.

Yet unfortunately for them they host a Plymouth side whose season also hinges largely on the result of this evening's game. In and around the play-off places for much of the campaign, the Pilgrims know if they don't take three points then any hopes of being involved in the post-season scramble for a Premiership place will be all but mathematically over.

A win tonight takes Plymouth to within three points of Crystal Palace in sixth, and with a couple of games to come against teams who have little or nothing left to play for, Paul Sturrock's side could use victory over Wednesday as the springboard for a late charge.

So, 90 minutes which both sides know could well decide their fate - and what so often happens when both teams need a victory? Neither of them get it. And that is where my money will be going tonight, backing the draw at [3.35]. A point is slightly less fatal for Wednesday and although they are at home, a draw also lifts them out of the bottom three, moves up a couple of places and gives them that psychological lift with so little of the season left.

You can back a Wednesday win at [2.22] while Argyle are priced at [3.8] to make the long journey back to the south-west with three points.

There is another reason for me favouring the draw - Wednesday seem to love them. Their last six matches have ended in stalemate, although they will doubtless feel they should have ended that sequence on Saturday when they led 2-0 at great rivals Sheffield United with less than an hour to go and ended up drawing 2-2.

Home games have tended to be low-scoring affairs for Wednesday, with six of their last eight games at Hillsborough producing only two goals or less. Therefore, with so much at stake tonight, I can't see either them or Plymouth being too gung-ho, so backing Under 2.5 goals at [1.76] is a good option.

The Pilgrims have been on the slide of late, with only one win in six, although they have managed to score first in three of their last four games. I think they may well have a go at Wednesday early on and hope to play on their nerves, so backing Plymouth/Draw in the half-time/full-time market at [16.0] could be rewarding.