On the return to league action following the recent international break, Norwich City and Sheffield United will do battle at Carrow Road on Saturday in England's second tier.
The visitors currently sit second in the Championship table with a three-point lead and a game in hand over Middlesbrough at the front of the chasing pack in the fight for automatic promotion, while their hosts find themselves seventh, three points outside of the playoff places with eight matches left to play.
Match preview
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In their bid to make another immediate return to the Premier League after their relegation last term, Norwich City have certainly not enjoyed their strongest campaign in recent years, and they turned to David Wagner to take charge in early January with the side far from in a strong position in the playoff fight on 36 points from 26 league outings.
The new boss did make a positive start to life in Norfolk, as the Canaries picked up six wins and 19 points from his first nine Championship games at the helm to quickly strengthen their position in the top-six race, but after a five-match unbeaten run including four victories, they quickly experienced a dip in form heading into the international break.
That run was put to an end by a 1-0 defeat to Sunderland at Carrow Road, as Abdoullah Ba's early goal made the difference for the visitors, before they were only able to take a point from a 1-1 draw away at strugglers Huddersfield Town, as Gabriel Sara's first-half opener was cancelled out by a Grant Hanley own goal after the hour mark.
Aiming to make a return to winning ways and gain ground on the likes of Blackburn Rovers, who were not involved in Championship action, in their final game before the international break, the Canaries most recently travelled to take on Stoke City, but they again only came away with a share of the spoils, with that contest ending goalless.
As a result, despite sixth-placed Millwall suffering a setback that weekend, Norwich do sit three points outside of the top six as a result of their slight drop in form, and with little room to drop further behind Millwall and Blackburn in the fight for playoff places in the run-in, they will know that they must quickly end their three-match wait for a victory this weekend.
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They meet a Sheffield United team who headed into the break on a relative high, despite recently seeing their lead over third place quickly cut having sat in the automatic promotion spots for most of the Championship campaign thus far.
Ahead of their meeting with Middlesbrough at the front of the chasing pack last month, Paul Heckingbottom's side boasted a 10-point lead and a game in hand in second spot, but as they lost that game and went on to suffer three further defeats in the next five matches, Boro quickly moved within touching distance of the Blades.
Still reeling from their toughest run of the season so far, the South Yorkshire outfit faced the tough test of a trip to Sunderland in their most recent league outing, but they were able to come from behind to put a vital win on the board and leave the gap between themselves and third at six points, thanks to goals from Tommy Doyle and James McAtee, before welcoming Blackburn Rovers to Bramall Lane last time out for an FA Cup quarter-final tie with a place at Wembley on the line.
The Blades twice went behind in that clash, as Ben Brereton Diaz and Sammie Szmodics found the net for the visitors either side of Sam Gallagher's own goal, and Oli McBurnie would eventually draw his side level in the final 10 minutes, before Doyle removed the need for extra time, firing in the winner from long range in injury time to book their semi-final meeting with Manchester City.
Now on a high following their progression in the cup, Heckingbottom's men must now turn their focus back to their Championship pursuits, and after Middlesbrough played and triumphed in the final round of fixtures before the break, Sheffield United's lead now stands at just three points with a game in hand, leaving them little room for error if they are to hold onto their spot in the top two.
Team News
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David Wagner's options are somewhat limited by injuries, with Dimitris Giannoulis, Isaac Hayden, Sam Byram, Jonathan Rowe, Kieran Dowell and Adam Idah all out of contention for Saturday's game.
He should again try and incorporate Teemu Pukki and Josh Sargent into the front line, with the duo having netted 10 and 11 league goals respectively so far this campaign, while the former has also contributed seven assists, with the likes of Marquinhos and Christos Tzolis battling for starts in the wide areas.
There is competition all over the pitch, with Marcelino Nunez vying to come back into the midfield after fellow Brazilian Gabriel Sara was preferred alongside Kenny McLean away at Stoke, while Andrew Omobamidele will hope to displace either Ben Gibson or Grant Hanley and return to the starting XI in the middle of the defence.
Sheffield United are still dealing with several injury issues of their own, as the likes of Jack O'Connell, Ciaran Clark, Rhys Norrington-Davies, Ben Osborn and Rhian Brewster remain sidelined, although Enda Stevens has returned to fitness to challenge for a place in the defence.
Heckingbottom may opt to deploy an unchanged XI from the victory over Blackburn Rovers, with experienced midfielder Oliver Norwood having recently dropped to the bench to allow for Sander Berge and Manchester City loanees Tommy Doyle and James McAtee to feature in the middle, while the back three of Anel Ahmedhodzic, John Egan and Jack Robinson is bound to remain untouched.
At the other end of the pitch, their line will be led by Oli McBurnie and Iliman Ndiaye, with the former having netted 13 goals in all competitions so far this season, while Senegal international Ndiaye boasts 12 goals and eight assists across league and cup action.
Norwich City possible starting lineup:
Gunn; Aarons, Hanley, Gibson, Sorensen; Sara, Nunez, McLean; Tzolis, Pukki, Sargent
Sheffield United possible starting lineup:
Foderingham; Ahmedhodzic, Egan, Robinson; Baldock, Berge, Doyle, McAtee, Lowe; McBurnie, Ndiaye
We say: Norwich City 1-1 Sheffield United
Sheffield United will return from the break on a high and will be desperate for three more points, but Saturday presents a tough test, and Norwich have the quality to match their second-placed visitors and take a share of the points.
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Top tip
Sam Varley
