Norwich City and Bristol City meet in the Championship on Wednesday evening as two of the form teams in the division.
The clubs, who occupy second and fourth position in the standings respectively, head into the fixture at Carrow Road on five and six-match unbeaten streaks.
Match preview
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When Norwich City begun the season with three games without success in the second tier, Dean Smith would have had concerns about the trajectory of a squad which were comfortably relegated from the Premier League.
However, after the criticism that they received during the opening weeks, the Canaries deserve an equal amount of praise for starting to live up to their billing as the title favourites.
Although Norwich currently sit one point adrift of leaders Sheffield United, keeping three clean in a five-match winning run means that the East Anglian side look the team to beat.
With Teemu Pukki failing to fire on all cylinders, Joshua Sargent has stepped into the breach, the latest of five goals this campaign coming in the 3-0 win over Coventry City last time out.
Smith will not get carried away at this stage, but the Englishman knows that beating each of Bristol City and West Brom would lay down a marker to their rivals.
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Last season, Bristol City would have travelled looking to avoid a heavy defeat, a consequence of their inconsistency throughout the entire 2021-22.
However, Nigel Pearson's team - alongside Reading - are the surprise package of the season and will back themselves to cause a surprise against their next opponents.
Although Bristol City have squandered winning positions this campaign, they just about avoided another instance of dropped points as they held off Blackburn Rovers last time out.
Tommy Conway and Nahki Wells scored in the 3-2 victory at Ewood Park, and the frontmen have now contributed eight goals between them in the league.
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Team News
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Unless any injuries occurred during the extended break from action, Smith has no reason to make changes to his Norwich XI.
Sam Byram has been deputising at left-back and will continue in that role, while Todd Cantwell should remain further down that flank despite not contributing a goal or assist this season.
Antoine Semenyo made his fourth substitute appearance in quick succession against Blackburn, upping his fitness after a spell on the sidelines.
However, Pearson is unlikely to want to disrupt the growing relationship between Conway and Wells, something which could lead to an unchanged team.
Ayman Benarous is expected to be named on the substitutes' bench if he shakes off a knock.
Norwich City possible starting lineup:
Krul; Aarons, Omobamidele, Hanley, Byram; McLean, Dowell, Nunez; Sargent, Pukki, Cantwell
Bristol City possible starting lineup:
Bentley; Vyner, Naismith, Atkinson; Sykes, Scott, James, Dasilva; Weimann; Semenyo, Wells
We say: Norwich City 3-1 Bristol City
As the joint top goalscorers in the division, it would be naive to write off Bristol City ahead of arguably the most daunting trip in the division. Nevertheless, we cannot back against the Canaries, who are playing with confidence at each end of the pitch.
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Darren Plant
