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

Southampton will be looking to continue their rise up the Championship table when they travel to Carrow Road for Saturday’s meeting with relegation-threatened Norwich City.

The Saints are in ninth spot in the Championship standings, while the Canaries are languishing in the relegation zone.

Match preview

Norwich head into the weekend in 23rd position after winning three, drawing five and losing 12 of their 20 league games this season.

The Canaries may be sitting five points adrift from safety, but they shown signs of improvement following the appointment of Philippe Clement.

After starting his tenure with a heavy 4-1 loss to Birmingham, Clement has made his team tougher to beat with just one defeat in the last four matches.

Norwich drew with Oxford United and beat Queens Park Rangers before they fell to a narrow 3-2 defeat away to Watford. 

They managed to avoid another pointless away trip in Tuesday's clash against Sheffield United at Bramall Lane, where a Djibril Soumare own goal cancelled out Danny Ings's opener in a 1-1 draw. 

After competing in consecutive away games, Norwich will now return to the familiar surroundings of Carrow Road, where they will attempt to record back-to-back home league wins for the first time since November 2024, and their first victory over Southampton since November 2021. 

© Imago / IPS

Tonda Eckert has overseen a significant upturn in fortunes since taking over the reins at Southampton following Will Still’s side in November.

Eckert has overseen six wins in his seven matches in charge (L1), representing a significant improvement from Still’s return of two victories in 13 Championship matches (D6, L5).

After initially being appointed interim boss, Eckert guided the Saints to four successive wins over Queens Park Rangers, Sheffield Wednesday, Charlton Athletic and Leicester City, before he suffered his first defeat away to Millwall.

The 32-year-old has bounced back with back-to-back home wins since being named as Southampton’s new permanent head coach, seeing his side beat Birmingham City 3-1 before dispatching West Bromwich Albion via a 3-2 scoreline, thanks to a Leo Scienza opener and an Adam Armstrong brace. 

As a result of their fine run of form, the Saints are now sitting in ninth spot and just a point adrift of the playoffs, while they are nine points away from the top two in their fight to secure an immediate return to the Premier League. 

Southampton are now looking to win at Carrow Road for the second time this season after claiming a 3-0 win over Norwich in the EFL Cup in August.

Norwich City Championship form:

Southampton Championship form:

Team News

© Imago / Pro Sports Images

Norwich are expected to be without Lucien Mahovo, Liam Gibbs, Gabriel Forsyth, Jose Cordoba, Mirko Topic, Papa Amadou Diallo and Ante Crnac.

Kenny McLean and Josh Sargent will have to be assessed after being forced off against Sheffield United, while Mathias Kvistgaarden is unlikely to feature due to a knee problem.

Defender Harry Darling is set to return to the starting lineup after serving a one-match ban for an accumulation of yellow cards.

As for the visitors, Eckert are likely to be without Shea Charles, Samuel Edozie, Elias Jelert, Damion Downs, Mads Roerslev and Ross Stewart.

Jack Stephens could return to the back three after dropping down to the bench for the midweek win over West Brom.

Armstrong, who is the Championship’s leading scorer, will be looking to add to his 11-goal league tally when he leads the line at Carrow Road.

Norwich City possible starting lineup:

Kovacevic; Fisher, McConville, Darling, Springett; Wright, Mattsson; Forson, Marcondes, Schwartau; Makama

Southampton possible starting lineup:

Bazunu; Harwood-Bellis, Quarshie, Stephens; Fellows, Downes, Jander, Manning; Azaz, Scienza; Armstrong 

We say: Norwich City 1-3 Southampton

Norwich may have improved under Clement, but they will face a tough test against an in-form Southampton side, and we think the visitors will use their firepower to cruise to a commanding victory at Carrow Road. 

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