VIDEO: Sheffield Wednesday star Fernando Forestieri nominated for Championship Goal of the Month award

Forestieri, suspended for today’s trip to Reading, is in contention for the prize following his gem of a strike in the draw away to Fulham last month.

The 26-year-old’s dummy allowed the ball to roll through to Barry Bannan, who played it into Forestieri’s path via Gary Hooper. Forestieri drilled a fierce right foot shot beyond David Button.

Forestieri faces competition for the award from Derby County’s Darren Bent and Brighton Hove Albion’s Steve Sidwell.

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The winners of the Sky Bet EFL Goals of the Month are chosen by a fan poll on skysports.com

The shortlist for the poll is decided by a judging panel following suggestions from vans via Twitter.

The judging panel comprises Sky Sports’ EFL expert Don Goodman; Sky Bet Sponsorship Manager David Tweed and EFL Head of Marketing Communications Andy Dodd.

Voting is open now and closes on Tuesday, December 13. All winners will be revealed next Friday.

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Meanwhile, Reading boss Jaap Stam expects Wednesday to provide stern opposition even without Forestieri.

Stam said: “Forestieri has been very important for them – he has done very well and he has certain qualities that he can make it difficult for every defence.

“He’s out this weekend – you could say that could be good for us, but if you look at their squad, they have a lot of quality players within it.

“They have invested money in bringing players in so every player that plays in attack for them will be a handful and difficult to defend against well.

“We’ve got the qualities to do it – we’ll be focused on that and in doing it well.”

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