Sports Mole previews the Premier League clash between Norwich City and Sunderland at Carrow Road, as both sides look for crucial points in their battle against the drop.

Two sides firmly in the relegation scrap meet at Carrow Road this weekend as Norwich City host Sunderland.

The Black Cats are currently 18th in the table, three points adrift of safety, but have at least two games in hand on the other teams who are fighting against the drop.

Norwich are four points clear of the Premier League's bottom three, a position they find themselves in largely due to their inconsistency and poor away form.

The Canaries have not won consecutive top-flight matches all season, but Chris Hughton will view the next month as the perfect time to change that statistic during a run of fixtures against their closest rivals.

Hughton will be glad to be back in East Anglia having conceded four in successive heavy defeats on the road. They have lost fewer homes games than both Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur this term.

Elliott Bennett resumed light training this week as he continues his recovery from cruciate knee ligament damage, but there are still doubts as to whether the winger will feature before the end of the campaign.

Injuries to Leroy Fer and Jonas Gutierrez further deplete Norwich's midfield, but Wes Hoolahan, Bradley Johnson and Robert Snodgrass have all been on the scoresheet recently and should start.

Sebastien Bassong may be restored after being dropped in favour of Ryan Bennett for the 4-2 defeat to Southampton in which Johan Elmander netted, but the Swede will likely be on the bench again.

Sunderland manager Gus Poyet has only two senior fitness concerns, with goalkeeper Kieren Westwood a long-term absentee and striker Steven Fletcher struggling with a persistent ankle problem.

With the Scotsman sidelined and Ignacio Scocco yet to settle, the visitors could either recall Jozy Altidore, who is without a goal since December, as Fabio Borini's partner or match Norwich's 4-5-1 formation.

The Wearsiders' back four is fairly settled, but Poyet continues to shuffle the pack in midfield. Sebastian Larsson, Craig Gardner, Jack Colback and Lee Cattermole are battling for one or two spots in the team.

Recent form

Norwich: LDLWLD

Sunderland: DLLLWL

Possible starting lineups

Norwich: Ruddy; Martin, Yobo, Bassong, Olsson; Redmond, Johnson, Tettey, Snodgrass; Hoolahan, Hooper

Sunderland: Mannone; Bardsley, O'Shea, Brown, Alonso; Bridcutt, Ki, Colback; Larsson, Johnson, Borini

Sports Mole says: 0-0