Norwich City will be bidding to continue their strong run of form when they welcome Preston North End to Carrow Road in the Championship on Tuesday night.
The Canaries are currently eighth in the Championship table, two points behind sixth-placed Blackburn Rovers, while Preston occupy 15th, eight points off the playoff spots in the second tier of English football.
Match preview
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Norwich boast a record of 11 wins, 10 draws and 10 defeats from their 31 Championship matches this season, with a total of 43 points leaving them in eighth spot in the table, just two points behind sixth-placed Blackburn.
The Canaries have picked up seven points from their last three matches, beating Swansea City and Watford before drawing 1-1 with Derby County on Saturday afternoon, and they will be bidding to record their 12th league success of the campaign on Tuesday.
Johannes Thorup's side are the second-highest goalscorers in the Championship this season, finding the back of the net on 50 occasions, and they have the leading scorer in the division in their squad, with Borja Sainz netting 15 times this term.
Norwich finished sixth in the Championship last season, losing to Leeds United in the semi-finals of the playoffs, and they are aiming to make the top six once again, but it will be a real battle due to the quality of the teams currently above them.
The Canaries have picked up 27 points from their 15 home league matches this season, and they will be welcoming a Preston outfit that have only collected 12 points from their 15 Championship games on their travels.
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Preston, meanwhile, will enter this match off the back of a penalty-shootout success over Wycombe Wanderers in the FA Cup, with the team advancing to the fifth round of the competition.
Paul Heckingbottom's side have been victorious in two of their last three in the Championship, meanwhile, beating Watford and Middlesbrough in back-to-back fixtures before going down 2-1 to Blackburn at the end of January.
The Lilywhites have a record of eight wins, 13 draws and nine defeats from their 30 league matches this season, with a total of 37 points leaving them in 15th spot in the table, eight points off the playoff spots.
Preston are nine points ahead of the relegation zone, meanwhile, so they should be looking up the division rather than down, and a push for the playoffs is possible if the team are able to put a positive run together.
The Lilywhites have not beaten Norwich since October 2022, but it was 2-2 when the two teams locked horns in the corresponding fixture in the first half of the 2024-25 campaign.
Team News
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Norwich will be without the services of Liam Gibbs, Gabriel Forsyth and Forson Amankwah, Onel Hernandez and Anthony Springett for their league clash with Preston on Tuesday night.
Sainz has been in excellent form for the Canaries this season, finding the back of the net on 16 occasions, and he will be able to return for this match, having served a six-game suspension for a spitting incident against Sunderland in December.
Ante Crnac has scored five times in all competitions this season, and the 21-year-old will again be in the XI.
As for Preston, Robbie Brady and Ben Whiteman are on the sidelines, while Jordan Storey is expected to be absent with the problem that forced him off the field against Blackburn last time out.
Jack Whatmough is expected to be the player to benefit if Storey is ruled out, as he was introduced off the bench in the 30th minute of the fixture with Rovers.
Emil Riis has scored eight times in 33 appearances this season, and there will again be a spot in the final third of the field for the 26-year-old, while Sam Greenwood and Mads Frokjaer-Jensen should also start.
Norwich City possible starting lineup:
Gunn; Fisher, Duffy, Doyle, Mahovo; Nunez, McLean, Marcondes; Crnac, Sainz, Sargent
Preston North End possible starting lineup:
Woodman; Whatmough, Gibson, Hughes; Kesler-Hayden, McCann, Ledson, Meghoma; Greenwood; Frokjaer-Jensen, Riis
We say: Norwich City 2-1 Preston North End
Norwich have only lost twice at home in the Championship this season, and they will be welcoming a Preston outfit with just two away victories to their name - it is therefore incredibly difficult to back an away success here, and we are expecting Norwich to emerge victorious on Tuesday night.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Matt Law
