Sheffield Wednesday v Leeds United: Sky Sports pundit issues four-goal prediction | OneFootball

David Prutton has given his prediction for the game between Sheffield Wednesday and Leeds United at Hillsborough on Friday night.

Sheffield Wednesday take on Leeds United in the Championship at Hillsborough on Friday night.

Wednesday enjoyed an outstanding start to the season as they registered an emphatic 4-0 win over Plymouth Argyle in their opening game, but they were on the wrong end of a comprehensive defeat on Sunday as they were beaten 4-0 by Sunderland at the Stadium of Light.

It was an incredibly disappointing performance from the Owls, and the Black Cats established a three-goal lead after just 24 minutes thanks to goals from Dennis Cirkin, Eliezer Mayenda and Luke O'Nien.

Wednesday manager Danny Rohl would have been hoping for a response from his side in the second half, but Mayenda added his second shortly after the break to extend Sunderland's advantage, and while that proved to be the end of the scoring, the hosts did have further chances.

After suffering heartbreak in the play-off final as they were beaten by Southampton, Leeds were widely tipped to be among the automatic promotion contenders in the Championship this season, but it has been an underwhelming start to the campaign for Daniel Farke's side.

The Whites have failed to win any of their opening three games in all competitions, and they were held to a 0-0 draw by West Bromwich Albion at The Hawthorns on Saturday in a match in which both teams struggled to create meaningful chances.

Leeds lost star forward Georginio Rutter this week, with the Frenchman completing a £40 million move to Brighton & Hove Albion, but there could be some good news on the way for the club after they agreed a deal to sign Almeria winger Largie Ramazani for a fee of €11.7m plus add-ons.

David Prutton's Sheffield Wednesday v Leeds United prediction

Sky Sports pundit David Prutton believes there could be more frustration ahead for Leeds on Friday night, predicting a 2-2 draw between the Whites and Wednesday.

"In the game on Saturday lunchtime, Leeds needed to look resolute at the back after shipping six goals in the first couple of games, but there was a lack of firepower going forward," Prutton said on the Sky Sports Championship Predictions podcast.

"They needed to address something, they came away with a clean sheet and a point, but it was one which will not live in the memory at all.

"I couldn't tell you anything other than that, the stats of the game being a clean sheet and a point for each.

"As for Sheffield Wednesday, I was reading Danny Rohl's quotes in the week that you can't get too carried away when you turn over a team in the manner they did against Plymouth, nor can you get too carried away or too down when you get turned over as they were by a very interesting and impressive Sunderland outfit. "It's a good game this one, I love a Yorkshire derby, I've played in them and covered them, so it'll be nice to get a good watch of this one."

"It'll be a bumper crowd, it'll be a very, very decent crowd and the Leeds United massive will travel in great numbers as well just down the M1," Prutton continued.

"But there's a bit of consternation for Leeds to work through and a reaction is needed from Wednesday, this will be a nice test of what all the hype about Danny Rohl is about."

Leeds United are under pressure ahead of Sheffield Wednesday clash

As Prutton says, both Wednesday and Leeds will be looking for a response after disappointing results last time out, but much of the scrutiny will be on Farke's men coming into the game.

The Whites will have been pleased to keep a clean sheet against West Brom after conceding six goals in their opening two games, but they lacked an attacking threat at The Hawthorns, and their options in the forward areas have been depleted this week by Rutter's departure.

It was a poor performance from Wednesday at Sunderland, which was something of a surprise given their strong start to the season, and Rohl will have plenty to work on ahead of the game against Leeds, most notably his side's defending from set pieces.

It should be a competitive game on Friday night, and it is easy to see why Prutton has predicted a draw, but the Whites may just have enough to edge it and secure their first win of the campaign.