Norwichvs.Oxford Utd

The Canaries are sitting in 11th spot in the Championship standings, while the U's will head into the fixture in 18th position.

Match preview

Norwich have found wins hard to come by in recent times, having won one, drawn three and lost one of their previous five Championship matches.

They played out 1-1 draws with Derby County and Hull City, either side of a 1-0 home defeat to Preston North End, before they recorded a 4-2 win in their most recent outing against Stoke City.

The Canaries looked set to clinch back-to-back wins when Ante Crnac scored in the 90th minute of Saturday's away clash against Blackburn Rovers, only for Andreas Weimann to net an equaliser in the sixth minute of stoppage time to deny Norwich all three points, leaving them in 11th spot and four points away from the playoffs.

Norwich are currently the Championship's second-highest scorers with 56 goals in 35 matches, including 41 strikes in 17 home league games.

They will hope to showcase their firepower in their first home game against Oxford United since losing 3-1 in November 1998 - a result which ended a nine-game unbeaten run in home league meetings with the U's.

The hosts will also be looking to stay strong at the opposite end of the pitch, as they search for their first home clean sheet since hammering Hull City 4-0 in October.

Oxford will be low on confidence after failing to win any of their previous seven Championship matches, including defeats in four of their last five league games.

Gary Rowett's side lost to Burnley and played out a goalless draw with Derby County, before they suffered consecutive 2-0 defeats against Portsmouth and West Bromwich Albion.

Oxford ended their four-game wait for a goal in last Saturday's home clash against Coventry City, but they were still left with nothing to show for their efforts despite coming from behind on two occasions.

Ole Romeny and Elliott Moore found the net to cancel out goals from Jack Rudoni and Ephron Mason-Clark respectively, before Coventry's Tatsuhiro Sakamoto scored a 71st-minute winner to condemn Oxford to a 3-2 defeat, leaving them in 18th place and seven points above the drop zone.

Oxford know they will have their work cut out to end their winless run in Friday's fixture, having won just one of their 17 away league matches this season (D6, L10), failing to score in nine of those encounters.

However, the U's certainly had no problems finding the net in August's 2-0 home win against Norwich, meaning they now have the chance to complete a league double over the Canaries for the first time in their history.

Norwich City Championship form:

W

D

L

D

W

D

Oxford United Championship form:

D

L

D

L

L

L

Team News

Norwich boss Johannes Hoff Thorup is unable to call upon the injured quartet of Amankwah Forson, Gabriel Forsyth, Liam Gibbs and Kenny McLean.

January addition Matej Jurasek is also set to miss out after being absent from the last two matchday squads due to a thigh problem.

The Canaries are also expected to be without Aston Villa loanee Lewis Dobbin, who was forced off with a calf injury in the first half against Blackburn.

In positive news, defender Callum Doyle has completed his two-match ban, making him available for selection for Friday's home fixture.

Meanwhile, they are still having to cope without the services of Greg Leigh, Ben Nelson and Tom Bradshaw due to their respective injury issues.

Left-back Joe Bennett is set to miss a second straight game with he picked up a quad issue against West Brom in his first game back from a long-term ankle injury.

Chelsea loanee Alex Matos will hope to earn a recall after dropping down to the bench for the recent defeat to Coventry.

Romeny, who arrived from FC Utrecht in January, is expected to make a third consecutive start after scoring his first Oxford goal last weekend.

Norwich City possible starting lineup:

Gunn; Fisher, Duffy, Doyle Chrisene; Nunez, Sorensen, Slimane; Crnac, Sainz, Sargent

Oxford United possible starting lineup:

Cumming; Kioso, Helik, Brown, Moore; Brannagan, Matos; Placheta, Goodrham, Harris; Romeny

We say: Norwich City 3-1 Oxford United

Written by

Ben Sully

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