Sheffield Wednesday warned to brace themselves for Blackburn Rovers backlash

Twelve places and nine points separate the two clubs in the table and their form could hardly be more contrasting.

While the Owls have suffered just one defeat in eight Championship under Garry Monk's astute leadership, Rovers have slipped to 17th after a six-match winless streak.

Their confidence is low after back-to-back defeats and the pressure is mounting on boss Tony Mowbray.

But Monk, who looks set to restore Julian Börner to his defence after the centre-back shrugged off an ankle problem, has warned his players not to take Rovers lightly.

"I know Tony's teams from the last couple of seasons and playing against them; I don’t think I’ve ever had an easy game at Ewood Park at all," he said.

"When a team is going through a tough patch, which all teams go through, it is the next game where it is an opportunity to respond and they will be looking at this game as that chance.

"We are expecting a tough game physically.

"They have good players. Yes, they are in a difficult patch but we also know their capabilities.

"We are preparing the team for a tough, physical challenge.

"We are prepared for a fight from them because they will want to give a response and we have to be ready for that."

Mowbray's teams typically play an attractive, free-flowing brand of football. They have scored 17 times this season, only one fewer than the Owls, but have been let down by their leaky defence and a string of inconsistent performances.

Monk stressed: "They (Blackburn) have got a lot of quality. They have Danny Graham and [Sam] Gallagher, who I had at Birmingham, so I know their threats.

"They have pace in the wide areas with [Adam] Armstrong, [Joe] Rothwell and the quality of Stewie Downing, who is a different proposition. They have experience in the midfield in terms of [Bradley] Johnson and Elliott [Bennett] has been in there. They have mixed it up and played a few different formations and different personnel.

"They are a very good Championship side.

"Yes, they are in a difficult moment and everyone judges it statistically. They are on a bad run and we are on a good run so we should win but it doesn't work like that in the Championship. You have to be ready for every single game and give your maximum no matter who you come up against.

"We are preparing for a good side that are wanting to give a reaction. If we are not ready for it, we will come unstuck."

The Owls boss expects a strong reaction from Blackburn and has told his squad to beware of a backlash from Mowbray's men.

"They will be expecting it (a reaction) like we would ourselves," said Monk. "We will have a tough period and when that comes we will stick together and you look for a response as quickly as possible to get yourself out of that situation.

"Sometimes it can last for one game or it can last for six or it can last for eight. You hope it doesn't go to those lengths but when you are in that type of run you look at the next game as an opportunity to change it. You get a little bit hungrier to do it so it is a dangerous situation for teams that face that.

"But we have to focus on ourselves. We have our own ambitions and run of form that we are fighting for. The key is the players have to show that determination more and more to keep the points regularly coming."

There is no disputing the fact that Wednesday are in a good place, having taken 15 points out of a possible 24 under Monk to climb up to fifth spot. The Owls will go to Ewood Park aiming to stretch their unbeaten run to five matches.

Monk, who is hopeful in-form midfielder Massimo Luongo (ankle) will be fit to face Rovers, said: "It would be great to keep it (the unbeaten run) going but a loss wouldn't dent us either.

"You see it week in, week out in the Championship that teams are losing to all types.

"People make a lot about when you play the top teams or the bottom teams but for me it doesn't matter. Anyone can beat anyone on any given day.

"Our aim is to win and we are on a good run of form. We are taking points quite regularly. We would like more than what we have but we have earned every single point that we have got and we have to fight continue that.

"There will be times when maybe we don't get what we deserve. You go through different patches in this league.

"It is about not getting carried away when you are doing well and not getting too down when you are in a difficult patch.

"We are ready for the next game and that is all that matters."