Sunderland vs Norwich prediction: ENGLAND: Championship betting tips on match 2022-08-26 11:30.
After ending a four-year stint in League One, Sunderland have made a positive start to life in the Championship (W2, D2, L1), sitting in the top five following the last round and guarding an unbeaten home record (D2). They were impressive in a 1-0 triumph over Stoke City last time out too, with coach Alex Neil highlighting the clean sheet for particular praise.
That shutout was Sunderland’s first this season and despite finishing fifth in League One last campaign – only Sheffield Wednesday (18) conceded fewer home goals than the Black Cats (19) – a defensive resoluteness they need to re-find after already conceding three times at home this term, each time after the 80th minute! However Sunderland have netted in 19 consecutive home encounters, which may trouble their opponents Norwich City, whose leaky defence has conceded at least one in 13 of their previous 14 games.
Despite losing out to Premier League side Bournemouth on penalties in a gripping midweek Carabao Cup encounter, Norwich appear to have regained composure recently by securing back-to-back Championship victories after a limp opening to their season (D1, L2). Talk is now centred around the appointment of Major League Baseball’s Milwaukee Brewers owner Mark Attanasio as director, whose potential investment is capturing the imagination of the Canaries faithful.
There’s more immediate work however, as Norwich have not won an away contest since February (D2, L9) with a questionable goalscoring record away from their own turf. The Canaries have netted more than one goal only once in their previous 12 away attempts – drawing a blank on five occasions – but the form of Josh Sargent, who netted a brace in a recent 2-0 league victory over Millwall after Teemu Pukki was benched, may see Norwich arrive here with a degree of confidence.
Key battle: Sunderland forward Ross Stewart has netted three goals from their five Championship games this season – all of them arriving in games Sunderland have avoided defeat. Looking to thwart him is goalkeeper Tim Krul, who kept his first clean sheet in ten league attempts in Norwich’s win over Millwall, although he holds just one shutout in eight games against Sunderland!
Hot streak: Norwich have not been beaten on matchday six of the Championship since 2010 (W4, D1)!