Preview: Norwich City vs Preston North End - prediction, team news, lineups

Norwich City will be targeting a fourth consecutive league win when they welcome Preston North End to Carrow Road on Saturday.

Meanwhile, PNE will be desperate to claim all three points after failing to win any of their last six Championship matches.

Match preview

Norwich were languishing in 23rd position and four points adrift from safety when Philippe Clement was named Liam Manning's permanent successor in November.

The former Rangers boss has since worked his magic to take his side away from danger and up to 15th place with 12 victories, three draws and six defeats in his 21 league games in charge.

Clement's side have taken maximum points from each of their previous three Championship outings, including back-to-back 2-0 wins over Sheffield Wednesday and Leicester City at the end of last month.

The Canaries then bounced back from a 3-0 defeat to Leeds United in the FA Cup fifth round with a 2-1 victory in Wednesday's Championship home clash with Sheffield United.

Jack Stacey found the net midway through the second period to cancel out Jairo Riedewald's first-half opener, before Amankwah Forson scored an 84th-minute winner to fire Norwich to a fourth victory in five matches.

With nine points separating them from the playoffs, the Canaries know they need to continue collecting wins on a consistent basis if they are to have any hopes of making a late bid for the top six.

If they are to take three points from Saturday's contest, they will need to beat Preston at Carrow Road for the first time since claiming a 2-0 victory in August 2018.

Preston may be a point better off than Saturday's opponents, but they have played one game more and are heading in the wrong direction after winning just one of their previous 11 league games.

In fact, Paul Heckingbottom's charges have failed to win any of their last six matches since recording a 1-0 home victory over Portsmouth on February 7.

PNE head to Carrow Road on the back of three consecutive defeats, including a heavy 3-0 loss in Wednesday's away meeting with Championship leaders Coventry City.

That result represented their third away defeat in five away matches (D2), leaving them without a win on the road since beating Bristol City 2-0 at the start of January.

As a result of their poor form, PNE have slipped to 14th place and are now eight points adrift from the playoffs, knowing they need a quick and signicant upturn in fortunes if they are to rekindle their fading top-six hopes.

Preston will now be focusing on a tricky game against an in-form Norwich side, although they can at least draw inspiration from the fact they have avoided defeat in each of their last three head-to-head meetings (W1, D2), including a 1-1 draw in December's reverse fixture.

The visitors are also targeting back-to-back wins at Carrow Road after claiming a 1-0 victory on their most recent visit to Norwich in February 2025.

Norwich City Championship form:

W W L W W W

Norwich City form (all competitions):

W L W W L W

Preston North End Championship form:

D L D L L L

Team News

Norwich are contending with a lengthy injury list that features Daniel Grimshaw, Harry Amass, Ante Crnac, Jeffrey Schlupp, Mirko Topic, Matej Jurasek, Papa Amadou Diallo and Jovon Makama.

Midfielder Oscar Schwartau and forward Mohamed Toure are aiming to return from their respective injury issues after the international break.

Defender Ruairi McConville is struggling to prove his fitness in time for Saturday's fixture after missing the midweek win over Sheffield United with a knee issue.

As for Preston, they are unable to call upon defender and attacker Callum Lang due to shoulder and hamstring injuries respectively.

Ali McCann will be assessed by Preston's medical staff after picking up an injury in Wednesday's defeat to Preston.

Jordan Thompson will come into the side if McCann is unable to feature, while there could also be a starting spot for striker Lewis Dobbin.

Norwich City possible starting lineup:

Kovacevic; Stacey, Darling, Cordoba, Fisher; Wright, McLean; Maghoma, Slimane, Ahmed; Kvistgaarden

Preston North End possible starting lineup:

Iversen; Offiah, Storey, Hughes; Valentin, Thompson, Whiteman, Devine, Small; Osmajic, Dobbin

We say: Norwich City 2-0 Preston North End

Norwich will be oozing with confidence after winning three league games in a row, and we think they will continue their winning run when they take on a Preston side that has struggled for positive results over the last couple of months.

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