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

Both sides come into this clash following disappointing defeats in their last league fixtures and will be keen to get their promotion charges back on track.

Match preview

Slaven Bilic had a perfect start to his reign as Watford boss with a 4-0 victory over Stoke City, but since then has suffered two consecutive defeats to Swansea City and most recently away at Blackpool.

Strikingly, those pair of defeats for Bilic means he has now lost the same number of games as former head coach Rob Edwards did before he was sacked after 10 games of this second-tier season.

Although the ex-West Brom man is by no means under immediate pressure, the new manager bounce associated with a change of coaching setup is yet to be experienced for a club that expect an instant return to the top flight following relegation from the Premier League last year.

The Hornets currently sit a lowly 14th place in the Championship, and are seven points adrift of the automatic promotion places many backed the club to be occupying at this stage in the season.

A poor defensive record will have to be amended if they are to ascend the table, with Watford conceding at least twice in four of their last five matches.

At the other end of the pitch Ismaila Sarr and Keinan Davis are, on paper, a troublesome duo who will be tasked with firing Watford into the promotion spots.

Aston Villa loanee Davis is a direct replacement for Emmanuel Dennis, who departed to Nottingham Forest in the summer, but the 24-year-old is currently being kept out of a starting berth by Ivorian Vakoun Issouf Bayo.

Norwich City saw a nine-game unbeaten run come to an end last Saturday as they lost 3-2 to Preston North End in a dramatic encounter at Carrow Road. The match was the first time The Canaries have let in three goals in a single game, something that will worry Dean Smith heading into this weekend.

The East-Anglia side still find themselves in second despite that recent defeat, with the quality littered throughout the Norwich squad pointing towards another promotion to the Premier League, something that has become a biannual occurence for the club in its recent history.

Key to any success this season will be the form of forwards Joshua Sargent and Teemu Pukki. Smith has found a way to include both into his starting lineups of late and has been rewarded, with the duo scoring 11 times between them so far this campaign.

Norwich have one of the best attacking records in the division this year but have only managed six goals in as many away matches.

Despite this, a cause of concern for Watford will be that Norwich have scored in their last 12 league games, with Cardiff City way back in July the only side to keep out Smith's side in the current season.

Watford Championship form:

D

L

D

W

L

L

Norwich City Championship form:

W

W

D

W

D

L

Team News

With full-backs Mario Gaspar and Jeremy Ngakia both unavailable due to injury, Bilic may be forced to start Dan Gosling in an unfamiliar right-back role once again this weekend.

Exciting Brazilian Joao Pedro has not featured since Watford's 2-2 draw against Sunderland due to a calf strain and remains doubtful to feature on Saturday night, meaning Ken Sema is set for another start alongside Bayo and Sarr in the forward line.

Todd Cantwell is closer to first-team action for Norwich but is a doubt for this game, with Kieran Dowell poised to start behind Pukki and Sargent in attack.

First-team players Adam Idah, Jacob Lungi Sorensen and Isaac Hayden all remain out until late October at the earliest with their respective injuries.

Watford possible starting lineup:

Bachmann; Gosling, Troost-Ekong, Kabasele, Kamara; Choudhury, Louza, Dele-Bashiru; Sarr, Sema, Davis

Norwich City possible starting lineup:

Krul; Aarons, Omobamidele, Hanley, Byram; McLean, Gibbs, Sara, Dowell; Pukki, Sargent

We say: Watford 1-1 Norwich City

Both sides have a host of attacking quality which suggests this clash could be an entertaining one between two promotion-chasing clubs.

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