Watfordvs.Norwich

Meanwhile, the Canaries will head into the weekend in a positive mood after brushing past Swansea City in their most recent outing.

Match preview

Watford's playoff bid has lost momentum in recent weeks, with their last seven league games producing one win, one draw and five defeats, leaving them three points adrift of the playoffs in ninth place.

The Hornets have suffered consecutive 2-1 defeats since they recorded a 2-0 away victory over Derby County earlier this month.

They fell short in their most recent home game against Preston North End, before a Victor Torp brace condemned them to a narrow loss in last Saturday's away meeting with Coventry City, amid uncertainty surrounding Tom Cleverley's position as head coach.

Watford released a statement prior to the defeat to Coventry to dismiss speculation that they were making plans to dismiss Cleverley, who will be hoping to guide his team back to winning ways in Saturday's meeting with Norwich.

Having lost their last three matches at Vicarage Road, the Hornets are looking to claim their first home win since recording a 2-1 victory over Portsmouth on Boxing Day.

Watford have won their previous two home games against Norwich, including a dramatic win in their most recent home encounter in November 2023 when they fought back from two goals down to claim a 3-2 victory.

Norwich are just two points adrift of their opponents after recording an emphatic victory in their recent meeting with Swansea City to end a run of three consecutive defeats in all competitions.

Josh Sargent scored either side of Lee Cullen's equaliser, before Lewis Dobbin, Ante Crnic and Emiliano Marcondes all found the net to fire the Canaries to a 5-1 victory, moving them to within five points of the top six.

After extending their unbeaten home run to four league matches, Norwich will be desperate to produce that sort of form on the road, having won just one of their previous 11 Championship away games.

In fact, the Canaries have lost both of their previous two away games since beating Luton Town on New Year's Day, losing 2-0 to Sheffield United at Bramall Lane, before they fell to the same scoreline in their most recent away match against Leeds.

They also failed to score in four of their previous six road trips, highlighting a key area for improvement if they are to spark an upturn in fortunes on their travels.

Johannes Hoff Thorup's charges will head to Vicarage Road with the chance to complete a league double over Watford after cruising to a 4-1 home win in September's reverse fixture.

Watford Championship form:

L

L

D

W

L

L

Watford form (all competitions):

L

L

D

W

L

L

Norwich City Championship form:

D

W

W

L

L

W

Norwich City form (all competitions):

W

W

L

L

L

W

Team News

The hosts are unable to call upon goalkeeper Dan Bachmann and attacker Kwadwo Baah, who are sidelined with ankle and thigh injuries respectively.

Kevin Keben is unlikely to be ready for Saturday's fixture, while Imran Louza could miss a second straight game with an ankle issue.

Republic of Ireland international Festy Ebosele has been recalled from his loan spell by Watford's sister club Udinese.

Meanwhile, Norwich could be without the services of Gabe Forsyth, Amankwah Forson, Liam Gibbs, Marcelino Nunez and Anis Ben Slimane.

Borja Sainz will serve the fifth match of a six-game ban after being punished for a spitting incident in December's clash with Sunderland.

Jack Stacey and Crnac are pushing for starting spots after featuring as half-time substitutes in the dominant win over Swansea.

Watford possible starting lineup:

Bond; Abankwah, Sierralta, Pollock; Ngakia, Sissoko, Chakvetadze, Larouci; Kayembe, Vata; Bayo

Norwich City possible starting lineup:

Gunn; Stacey, Duffy, Doyle, Mahovo; Schwartau, McLean, Marcondes; Crnac, Dobbin, Sargent

We say: Watford 2-2 Norwich City

Written by

Ben Sully

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