Norwich vs Sunderland prediction: ENGLAND: Championship betting tips on match 2024-03-01 15:00.
A point at Ewood Park last weekend saw Norwich City extend their unbeaten run to five games (W3, D2) and keep on sixth-placed Hull City’s coattails in the Championship play-off race. However, after going 1-0 up, manager David Wagner bemoaned that his side “were not ruthless and clinical enough”, something they will need to be in future, as they have kept just one clean sheet in their last 14 matches (W6, D4, L4).
Wagner’s team host Sunderland this weekend and have been scoring goals for fun at home, netting eight in their last two and 12 in their last four (W4). In fact, ahead of this round, only the top three sides in the division had won more league matches on their own patch than Norwich this season, who have not lost in Norfolk since early November (W7, D3), when a 3-1 defeat to Blackburn left them in 17th place.
Sunderland were up in sixth three weeks ago, but have since slipped out of the play-off reckoning after three successive losses. The managerless Mackems went 2-0 down inside half an hour last Saturday at home to Swansea City and, although they got one goal back, could not prevent their sixth defeat from their last nine games across all competitions.
With only one victory from their last 16 Championship away fixtures on a Saturday, and with talisman Jack Clarke expected to be out injured, Sunderland fans will make the ten-hour round trip this weekend more in hope than expectation. But Carrow Road could be the place to turn that poor run around, as the Black Cats have won on their last three visits and have a strong overall recent record against Norwich (W4, D1, L1), including a 3-1 home win in October.
Players to watch: Norwich are yet to lose this term when Josh Sargent has scored (W6, D3), with the American already on seven goals in 2024 having found the net in his last six home league appearances. Abdoullah Ba got the winner in last season’s corresponding fixture, but has been booked in each of Sunderland's last four away matches.
Hot streak: Sunderland have failed to score more than once in each of their last 12 away encounters (W1, D4, L7).