Sheffield Wednesday fans sent clear warning ahead of Sheffield United - Dreaded Chris Wilder prediction made | OneFootball

FLW's Sheffield Wednesday pundit is not full of optimism, ahead of Sunday's Steel City Derby against Sheffield United at Bramall Lane.

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Ahead of Sunday lunchtime's Steel City Derby against their bitter rivals United, Sheffield Wednesday fans couldn't be in a much gloomier state of mind.

Their team is already effectively relegated, and even though that has been the situation for most of this season, it could be a mathematical certainty by two o'clock on Sunday afternoon.

Wednesday have just one win to show for their 32 outings so far this season, while off the pitch there have been growing concerns that the takeover of the club by a consortium led by the former Sheffield United advisor could yet hit the rocks amid reported concerns about the origins of the funding of the bid.

The form guide could hardly be weighted more heavily in one direction. United have only lost one of their last five league matches - and that was against promotion-chasing Middlesbrough - and they've won more of those five than Wednesday have in all 32 of their league matches so far this season.

Sheffield Wednesday, Chris Wilder warning sent ahead of Sheffield United

Football League World have spoken to our resident Sheffield Wednesday fan pundit Patrick McKenna ahead of Sunday's showdown, asking him to identify which Sheffield United player he is most concerned about, and his reply was essentially that he's spoiled for choice: "To be honest, as Sheffield Wednesday fans, I think we're in for a real hammering."

Patrick feels that United have every motivation to make this game as damaging for Wednesday as possible: "No matter what some of their fans might say, it's pretty inevitable that United are going to win 4-0 or 5-0, so you can pick any number of their players that are going to be on their game.

"Wilder is going to have them motivated and going at us all game long. There'll be no taking their foot off the gas."

Patrick pointed to the last derby between the two sides - in which United won 3-0 at Hillsborough in November - as an indicator that the Blades' goals could come from anywhere on the pitch in this match: "Last game we saw Tyrese Campbell step up and score two goals and Tom Cannon got on the scoresheet, so it's going to be a very hard watch for Wednesday fans all over the pitch. We are just going to get beaten by the better team."

But he did also reflect on the fact that this is not a normal derby match, in which there will be some semblance of hope for both teams in the days leading up to it: "It's a strange one because it's not a normal derby on the pitch, that normal anticipation and excitement where you're thinking about where each team can get one over on the other isn't there, so hopefully in future derbies I'll be able to answer this question slightly better."

Sheffield Wednesday fans have little reason for optimism ahead of this Steel City Derby

Sheffield United and Sheffield Wednesday first met in a Charity Cup match at Olive Grove, Wednesday's home until 1899, on the 16th April 1891, with the home side winning 2-1. In total, the two sides have played each other 147 times over 135 years, with United winning 52 times, Wednesday winning 48, and 47 draws.

Wednesday fans still sing about the match played at HIllsborough on Boxing Day 1979, when Wednesday won 4-0 on their way to promotion from Division Three - now League One - while United laboured in mid-table. The only five-goal winning margin between the two teams was also claimed by Wednesday, a 5-0 win at Bramall Lane in March 1918, though this did come in a wartime tournament rather than anything that would ordinarily be considered an 'official' competition.

United have never beaten Wednesday by a five-goal margin, as our fan pundit predicted could happen this weekend, but they have beaten them by four goals twice. In March 1934 the Blades won 5-1 at Bramall Lane, but arguably the most remarkable fixture ever played between these two clubs came on the 8th September 1951, when United beat Wednesday 7-3.

So big wins are not really that much of a part of the history of this fixture. Indeed, United's 3-0 win earlier this season was the first time that either side had won this derby fixture by greater than a two-goal margin since that match on Boxing Day 1979.

Unfortunately for Wednesday fans, there is little to suggest that United won't win this match, though there is a crumb of comfort in the fact that while their team have been losing a lot of matches this season, they've not been on the end of many hammerings. Of their 23 League defeats so far this season, only two have been by a margin of more than two goals; their 4-0 defeat at Swansea City a couple of weeks ago and their 5-0 home defeat against Coventry City at the start of October.

Sheffield Wednesday fears ahead of this fixture will only be amplified by the fact that this particular weekend could be the one that mathematically sends them down. Going into the weekend's fixtures, Wednesday are 41 points from safety. Should West Bromwich Albion beat Coventry on Saturday lunchtime and Blackburn Rovers pick up at least a point from their Friday night match against Preston North End, they'll be down by 3pm on Saturday afternoon.

In the event that this doesn't happen - and with Coventry and Millwall occupying two of the top three positions in the division, it does seem unlikely - a failure to win will be enough to confirm it regardless.

And while at this point of the season, it's largely academic - nobody in their right mind would predict that Wednesday will win their last 14 matches of the season consecutively while either West Brom or Blackburn lose all of theirs - it's the symbolism that counts in derby matches, and the unfortunate fact for Sheffield Wednesday fans is that the mismanagement of the club that left them in this condition in the first place has now most likely sentenced them to relegation, and in a manner that will be talked about for years.