Norwich City v Bristol City
Saturday 23rd February 1500hrs
Football – England – Championship
Pick Both teams to score
Bookmaker William Hill
Odds: 8/11 (odds taken 22.20 GMT, Thursday 21st February)
Carrow Road plays host to the two form teams in the Championship in 2019 as leaders Norwich face Bristol City who have moved stylish into the top six and playoff zone, in what is an eagerly awaited contest.
Championship Betting at William Hill
Norwich City Preview
The old cliché is that the test of a good team is how they respond to adversity and following a defeat. Norwich’s form in recent times has been so good that there has been little in the way of evidence to test that theory but following a surprise 3-1 loss away to Preston last midweek, the Canaries responded in the best possible way by thrashing Bolton 4-0 away from home to reclaim top spot. The loss to Preston was not only their of 2019 and in eight league games, but they were comprehensively beaten and it could well have been damaging. It’s testament to Daniel Farke once again as the head coach continues to lead a team that many believe would have fallen away by now and have been unfancied all season. The teams continue to cluster in behind them, however, and with just three points separating the top four teams it looks like a title race and battle for automatic promotion that will go to the wire. Farke’s men do have a favourable run of fixtures ahead of them with the visit of Bristol City on Saturday appearing to be their most difficult in the next five games. That’s obviously a simplistic way of looking at it, especially in this league, but should they get a positive result this weekend they have a great chance of staying in the top two for the foreseeable.
Key-Facts – Norwich City v Bristol City
- Norwich and Bristol City both have hopes of playing in the Premier League next season
- The home team have failed to score in just one of their 16 home games whilst their opponents have scored in 12/15 away matches
- The first meeting of the season ended 2-2 at Ashton Gate in December
Bristol City Preview
Bristol City may have exited the FA Cup at the hands of Wolves last week, but their priority is very much maintaining their excellent run in the Championship and giving themselves the best possible opportunity of promoting to the Premier League for the first ever time. It would have been a strange feeling for Lee Johnson and his players who have not lost a game in any competition since the end of November and just as Norwich had to prove, Bristol City have to respond to that setback and prove they are capable of continuing to reside in the top six. What has been to their advantage is that since they last played a league game on the 12th of February, the teams below them have all been in action but failed to take advantage. It means Bristol City’s position has been strengthened and also leaves them with games in hand to further cement their place in sixth. They do have some massive games ahead of them facing three of the top four in the next month or so but they have dealt remarkably well with challenges that they’ve been posed in recent times and there’s no doubt they are a dangerous, inform team.
Norwich City v Bristol City Betting Preview
It’s fair to say that neither of these teams would have been amongst the pre-season favourites for promotion but they are right in the mix now. Considering Bristol City have two games in hand over Norwich, it’s not unthinkable that they could yet challenge for the top two and automatic promotion. 10 points behind the leaders heading into Saturday’s match, a win would certainly get the Ashton Gate club dreaming that they could yet overtake their rivals and complete what would be an incredible run to the Premier League.
Barely a week goes by in the Championship without a big game involving teams on the trail of the Premier League and this is another one of those. Norwich have proven to be slightly vulnerable at home of late winning two, drawing two and losing 1 of their last five games at Carrow Road. Bristol City have won their last three on the road without conceding as much of a goal – indeed, it’s four clean sheets in their last five matches on their travels. Norwich have failed to score just once at home all season, however, and with Bristol City scoring in 12 of their 15 away games I’m really keen on both teams to score in this weekend’s fixture.
