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

Norwich City host Coventry City on Saturday lunchtime in one of five all-Championship meetings in the FA Cup third round.

The Canaries are currently top of the second tier, while the Sky Blues are 16th, with the league meeting between the two sides earlier in the campaign ending 1-1.

Match preview

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Norwich have one of the best home records in the Championship, having only lost one of their 12 games at Carrow Road this season and that came back at the start of October against Derby County.

The team's lead at the top of the table currently stands at four points after they beat Barnsley 1-0 last weekend to recover from defeat to Watford and a draw against Queens Park Rangers over the Christmas period.

The Canaries have never won the FA Cup but have reached the semi-finals on three occasions, most recently in 1992.

Daniel Farke's side came agonisingly close to getting to the last four last season, though, as they lost 2-1 to Manchester United after extra-time in the quarter-final, having beaten Tottenham Hotspur on penalties in the previous round.

That cup run ended a streak of six successive years of Norwich being knocked out in the third round, a habit they will hope does not return this season.

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Maxime Biamou's late equaliser cancelled out Mario Vrancic's first-half penalty when the pair last clashed in November - the fourth time in a row that Coventry had failed to beat Norwich.

This will be the 10th FA Cup fixture between the two clubs and the first since 1999, when Gordon Strachan's Sky Blues – then in the Premier League - triumphed 3-1 in the third round.

The West-Midlands outfit were winners of the competition in 1987 but have never gone beyond the quarter-finals since then; they reached the fourth round last season before bowing out to St Andrew's tenants Birmingham City following a replay.

This year is the first campaign since 2011-12 that they have the luxury of not entering until the third round, having returned to the Championship as champions of League One last season.

While slightly struggling for consistency, Mark Robins's side have proven hard to beat in the second tier; they have lost just two of their last 12 games and are seven points clear of the relegation zone.

Coventry have won only three of their 14 away games in all competitions so far but that includes a 2-1 victory at Millwall last weekend.

Norwich City FA Cup form: LLWWWL Norwich City form (all competitions): WWWLDW

Coventry City FA Cup form: DWDWDL Coventry City form (all competitions): WDLDLW

Team News

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Farke has continually referred to this week as the "FA Cup break", suggesting that he will ring the changes for Coventry's visit to Carrow Road.

There could be opportunities for youngsters Tyrese Omotoye and Andrew Omobamidele and players returning from injury such as Kieran Dowell and Przemyslaw Placheta, as well as a rare start for Jordan Hugill upfront.

Coventry's new loan signing Matty James, who played against Norwich for Barnsley only last weekend, has said that he is ready to be put straight into the team on Saturday.

Matt Godden was forced off just 15 minutes into the game against Millwall with a recurring foot injury, with Robins admitting post-match that the striker could be set for another spell on the sidelines.

Norwich City possible starting lineup: Barden; Aarons, Omobamidele, Zimmermann, Quintilla; McLean, Tettey; Omotoye, Dowell, Placheta; Hugill

Coventry City possible starting lineup: Camp; Ostigard, McFadzean, Hyam; Dabo, Hamer, James, Giles; O'Hare, Shipley; Biamou

We say: Norwich City 1-2 Coventry City

With his focus on earning promotion from the Championship, Farke does not seem too concerned about winning this game; it is likely to be a makeshift Canaries side and that could allow Coventry the opportunity to progress to the next round.

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