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

Watford welcome Norwich City to Vicarage Road on Tuesday evening for their EFL Cup first-round clash.

While both teams suffered defeats in their Championship openers, with the Hornets falling 1-0 to Charlton Athletic and the Canaries losing 2-1 at home to Millwall, they will each be eager to bounce back with a morale-boosting cup victory.

Match preview

Watford finished 14th in the Championship last season, recording 16 wins, nine draws and 21 defeats for a total of 57 points.

They exited the EFL Cup in the third round last season after a 2-1 loss to Manchester City, with their best run in the competition coming in 2004-05, when they reached the semi-finals.

Paulo Pezzolano’s men suffered late heartbreak in their league opener on Saturday when Harvey Knibbs netted a 94th-minute winner for Charlton.

The club have added several new faces over the summer, bringing in Bayern Munich’s Nestory Irankunda as their headline signing, while Joao Ferreira and Mileta Rajovic were among the departures.

Recent history favours Norwich, with the Canaries winning the last three meetings between the sides, while Watford have taken the other two in the last five encounters.

Norwich also ended last season on 57 points, finishing 13th on goal difference, which reflected a mixed campaign.

The club parted ways with Johannes Hoff Thorup in April and appointed Liam Manning in the summer, tasking him with leading a full rebuild.

Norwich exited the EFL Cup in the second round last season after a 4-0 loss to Crystal Palace - their last triumph in the competition came in 1984-85, while their best recent showing was a quarter-final appearance in 2012-13.

The Canaries sold Borja Sainz and Jonathan Rowe for a combined £28.1m but have backed Manning’s overhaul by bringing in 11 new players.

Manning’s team started the new campaign with a 2-1 home defeat to Millwall, despite dominating early possession; Camiel Neghli and Macaulay Langstaff struck for the visitors, with Josh Sargent scoring a consolation goal.

Both clubs were relegated from the Premier League in 2021-22 and have remained in the Championship since.

Watford form (all competitions):

Norwich City form (all competitions):

Team News

Watford have no injury concerns, so Pezzolano could start new signings Irankunda, Marc Bola, Hector Kyprianou, Luca Kjerrumgaard and Max Alleyne, all of whom made their debuts against Charlton.

Irankunda may replace Kwadwo Baah on the right wing, while Edo Kayembe could come into midfield for Imran Louza.

Norwich have also been busy in the market, signing Mathias Kvistgaarden, Mirko Topic, Jacob Wright and Jakov Medic among others.

Marcelino Nunez could start ahead of Amankwah Forson in midfield, while Kellen Fisher may replace Topic.

Manning is expected to stick with a back three of Medic, Harry Darling and Jose Cordoba.

Watford possible starting lineup:

Selvik; Bola, Abankwah, Keben, Ngakia; Kyprianou, Kayembe, Sissoko; Doumbia, Kjerrumgaard, Irankunda

Norwich City possible starting lineup:

Kovacevic; Medic, Darling, Cordoba; Stacey, Wright, Fisher, Schlupp; Nunez, Crnac; Sargent

We say: Watford 1-2 Norwich City

Norwich appear to have the greater attacking quality heading into this contest, with their fluid forward line likely to cause problems for a Watford defence still settling - the visitors’ strong record in this fixture could give them the edge.

While Watford should make a game of it on home soil, their lack of cutting edge in the final third may prove costly.

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