Preview: Norwich City vs West Bromwich Albion - prediction, team news, lineups

Aiming to record their first victory in over a month, Norwich City host West Bromwich Albion at Carrow Road in a Championship clash on Wednesday night.

The Canaries shared the honours at the base of Stoke City on the weekend, whilst the Baggies suffered last-minute heartbreak against Leicester City last Friday night.

Match preview

After finishing 13th in two of the last three seasons since returning to the Championship following relegation from the Premier League, Norwich are in danger of blurring into second-tier obscurity following a period in which they were regular contributors at the top table of English football.

The struggling Canaries went through their entire September schedule without a victory, picking up a single point at the bet365 Stadium against Stoke on the weekend, when Jovon Makama's second of the term was cancelled out by Wales international Sorba Thomas.

Victorious in just one of their last six matches across Championship and EFL Cup action, Liam Manning's troops languishing down in 14th spot in the second-tier standings ahead of a midweek clash with the Baggies, four points behind Preston North End in sixth.

Slowing down on an individual note during the month of September, Joshua Sargent has failed to score in his last three appearances for Norwich, although the American marksman remains top of the division's Golden Boot race with Coventry City duo Victor Torp and Haji Wright.

Unbeaten across four away matches in the Championship this season, the Canaries have struggled to show up in front of their East Anglian faithful so far, losing all three of their league matches at Carrow Road, with Millwall, Middlesbrough and Wrexham all enjoying successful trips.

As is the case with Wednesday night's hosts, West Bromwich Albion did not manage to pick up a victory in September, although the Black Country club came mightily close to doing so on Friday night, when recently-relegated Leicester were the high-profile visitors to The Hawthorns.

Playing just 17 minutes of Championship action for the Baggies prior to last time out, Aston Villa loanee Samuel Iling-Junior announced himself to the Albion faithful with a brilliant solo goal in the first half, before a last-minute Nathaniel Phillips own goal salvaged a point for the Foxes.

After collecting just the single point from their last three second-tier matches, West Brom have fallen out of the top six and currently occupy eighth spot in the league rankings, although they remain in striking distance of second-placed Coventry, who are just two points better off.

Ryan Mason's troops should take confidence from the fact that each of their last two league victories have arrived on the road, with the promotion-chasing Baggies picking up wins at the Racecourse Ground and the bet365 Stadium versus Wrexham and Stoke City respectively.

Norwich have enjoyed the better of the recent matchups between the two sides at Carrow Road, where West Brom have failed to win across three Championship visits following a 4-3 triumph in East Anglia under the stewardship of Darren Moore in August 2018.

Norwich City Championship form:

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West Bromwich Albion Championship form:

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Team News

Norwich City are operating without an experienced option at the heart of their backline owing to a calf injury suffered by Shane Duffy.

There are also problems further up the pitch for the Canaries, who are battling on without the services of summer signing Mathias Kvistgaarden (knee).

West Brom are close to welcoming both Daryl Dike and Tammer Bany back to action, with the pair commencing first-team training over the past week.

On a less positive note, Karlan Grant remains on the sidelines and in the medical room of the Baggies because of a leg injury picked up in September.

After missing a gilt-edged chance to put the game beyond Leicester last week, Josh Maja is set to play second fiddle to Aune Heggebo once again in attack.

Norwich City possible starting lineup:

Kovacevic; Stacey, Medic, Darling, Fisher; Mattsson, McLean; Makama, Gibbs, Schwartu; Sargent

West Bromwich Albion possible starting lineup:

Griffiths; Campbell, Phillips, Mepham, Taylor; Molumby, Mowatt; Iling-Junior, Price, Johnston; Heggebo

We say: Norwich City 1-1 West Bromwich Albion

After four straight defeats at Carrow Road this season, Norwich need to start picking up results on home soil to prevent the gap to the top six from growing.

West Brom were impressive during the draw with Leicester and should be good enough for a point on their East Anglian travels this Wednesday.

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