Sports Mole previews Saturday’s Championship clash between Norwich City and Bristol City, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
Returning from the international break, Norwich City and Bristol City meet at Carrow Road on Saturday afternoon for an intriguing Championship encounter.
The Canaries slipped to 19th after a disappointing 3-1 defeat to East Anglian rivals Ipswich Town before the break, while the Robins are winless in four and sit in tenth place.
Match preview
Unlikely to receive a warm reception from the travelling fans, Norwich boss Liam Manning faces his former club as he looks to get his side’s season back on track.
Since taking over in the summer, Manning has overseen just two wins from nine league matches, with his side now five games without victory.
Draws away to Coventry City and Stoke City have provided some stability, but a humbling derby defeat, their first to Ipswich in 16 years, means the bottom three is now a little too close for comfort.
One positive for Norwich is their attacking consistency, having scored in all but one league game this season, though only five teams have conceded more, highlighting the defensive issues Manning must resolve to lift his side up the table.
Returning from the break hovering just above the relegation zone, the Canaries will be eager to spark their season into life and generate some much-needed momentum.
As for Gerhard Struber‘s Bristol City, an impressive start to the season has been followed by a run of four games without a win.
After scoring 12 goals in their opening five fixtures, Struber’s side have found the back of the net just three times in their last four, despite taking the lead in each of their past two fixtures.
A late Paul Smyth strike condemned them to defeat against Queens Park Rangers last time out, denying them what would have been a deserved point.
Despite the mixed run, the Robins remain just two points off the top six and are still firmly in the promotion mix.
Under Manning, the Robins won 2-0 at Carrow Road in this fixture last season, and they will fancy their chances of extending their impressive record this Saturday.
Norwich City Championship form:
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Bristol City Championship form:
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Team News
Norwich City confirmed that both Ben Chrisene and Shane Duffy have stepped up their recovery in training, although neither is expected to feature in the matchday squad on Saturday.
Gabriel Forsyth, Forson Amankwah, Papa Amadou Diallo and Mathias Kvistgaarden all remain sidelined, while Jose Cordoba is set to miss up to two months of football after picking up an injury while on international duty with Panama.
The absence of Cordoba could see Jakov Medic return to the starting XI alongside Harry Darling in central defence.
Bristol City’s midfield options are severely depleted ahead of the trip to Norfolk.
Jason Knight, who played every minute of every game last season, missed the Republic of Ireland’s World Cup qualifiers against Portugal and Armenia and remains a doubt.
Max Bird, Josh Stokes, Joe Williams and Adam Randell are all ruled out through injury, while Cameron Pring and Luke McNally have yet to feature this season and remain unavailable.
As a result of the lack of options in midfield, defenders Ross McCrorie and Zak Vyner may have to venture into the centre of midfield alongside Scott Twine.
Norwich City possible starting lineup:
Kovacevic; Stacey, Darling, Medic, Fisher; Mattsson, McLean; Crnac, Topic, Schwartau; Sargent
Bristol City possible starting lineup:
Vitek; Tanner, Dickie, Atkinson; Sykes, McCrorie, Twine, Vyner, Borges; Riis, Mehmeti
We say: Norwich City 1-2 Bristol City
When the fixture list was released in July, this match immediately stood out given Manning’s reunion with his former club. If Norwich’s defensive issues persist, Bristol City have the quality and composure to make them pay and return to winning ways at Carrow Road.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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