Preview:Coventry City vs Norwich City - prediction, team news, lineups

Aiming to extend their unbeaten run to five matches, Coventry City welcome Norwich City to the Coventry Building Society Arena on Saturday for a Championship match.

The Sky Blues have made a good start to their quest for promotion to the Premier League, whilst the Canaries have endured mixed fortunes to date.

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Match preview

After losing to Sunderland in the semi-finals of last season's playoffs in dramatic fashion, Coventry City are showing no signs of feeling sorry for themselves, with this weekend's hosts getting straight back on the promotion-chasing horse under Frank Lampard.

Across six competitive matches in the Championship and EFL Cup this term, the Sky Blues have lost just a single game, whilst also producing some simply-sensational results in the second tier, striking a certain level of fear into their top-six rivals.

The biggest example of such a result to date in 2025-26, Lampard's men absolutely hammered a sorry Queens Park Rangers side during their most recent match at the CBS Arena on August 23, when Haji Wright, Jack Rudoni and Victor Torp all bagged braces in a 7-1 success.

Heading back into the heat of second-tier battle following September's international break, the Sky Blues are currently occupying fifth spot in the Championship standings with eight points from four matches, four points behind league-leading Middlesbrough.

On a mission to fulfil his massive potential and guide Coventry to the Premier League this season, United States international Wright had made an excellent start to 2025-26, scoring four goals in as many Championship contests for the Sky Blues.

Without the added bonus of parachute payments from the Premier League, former top-flight regulars Norwich City are looking to avoid a long-term fate of mid-table obscurity in the Championship, with the East Anglians falling into the shadow of rivals Ipswich Town of late.

Under the reign of ex-Bristol City boss Liam Manning, the promotion-chasing Canaries have made an inconsistency start to the 2025-26 season, securing two wins and suffering two defeats during their opening quartet of second-tier fixtures.

As a result, it is unsurprising to find Norwich sitting almost in the middle of the Championship rankings as club action returns following the international break, with this weekend's visitors in 11th spot, just two points behind fifth-placed Coventry.

A cause for real optimism ahead of Saturday's daunting journey from East Anglia to the West Midlands, the Canaries have won all three of their competitive away matches at the beginning of 2025-26, conquering Watford (2-1), Portsmouth (2-1) and Blackburn Rovers (2-0).

Finding the net on four occasions on the second-tier road for Norwich to date, American marksman Joshua Sargent is undoubtedly one of the brightest attacking sparks in the division, with the 25-year-old's proposed move to the Bundesliga collapsing during the summer window.

Coventry City Championship form:

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Coventry City form (all competitions):

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Norwich City Championship form:

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Norwich City form (all competitions):

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Team News

Coventry are short on options at the back due to the absence of Joel Latibeaudiere, who picked up a knee injury last month.

The Sky Blues are also sweating over the fitness of midfielder Josh Eccles, with the 25-year-old yet to feature in the Championship this term.

After keeping eight clean sheets across 28 second-tier appearances in 2024-25, goalkeeper Oliver Dovin is currently nursing a serious knee injury.

Receiving his marching orders during the loss at home to Middlesbrough, Norwich youngster Jacob Wright remains suspended this weekend.

On the other end of the experience scale, Canaries right-back Jack Stacey is unable to feature at the CBS Arena owing to concussion protocol.

Coventry City possible starting lineup:

Rushworth; Van Ewijk, Thomas, Kitching, Dasilva; Grimes, Torp, Thomas-Asante, Rudoni, Mason-Clark; Wright

Norwich City possible starting lineup:

Kovacevic; Medic, Darling, Chrisene; Fisher, Topic, McLean, Diallo; Crnac, Kvistgaarden, Sargent

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We say: Coventry City 2-1 Norwich City

 

Enjoying exceptional form at the CBS Arena so far, Coventry should be supremely confident of collecting maximum points at the expense of Norwich.

The Canaries have been impressive on the road to date, but we feel that a trip to the East Midlands will prove a step too far.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

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