Norwich City will be looking to stretch their lead at the top of the SkyBet Championship table ahead of their clash with struggling Birmingham City.

The Canaries currently sit on 64 points, seven points ahead of Brentford in second. Should they beat their West Midlands counterparts on Tuesday, they could go 10 points clear.

Aitor Karanka's side will come into the game with some much-needed confidence. They ended their winless run of six games after beating fellow strugglers Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday, leapfrogging them in the process - climbing out of the relegation zone.

  • Team news

There are no injury concerns for the Blues. Karanka may opt to keep Mikel San José on the bench. The veteran midfielder was dropped at the weekend following his early mistake in the Millwall defeat in midweek.

Daniel Farke could bring striker Jordan Hugill back into his matchday squad, following his spell on the sidelines with a hamstring injury.

Marco Stiepermann and Ørjan Nyland are still doubts at the moment after recovering from Epstein-Barr virus and back surgery, respectively.

Sam Byram (hamstring) and Michael McGovern (hamstring) remain long-term absentees.

 

  • Predicted lineups

Birmingham City:

Etheridge, Colin, Dean, Clarke-Salter, Pedersen, Harper, Sánchez, Gardner, Šunjić, Bela, Hogan.

Norwich City:

Krul, Aarons, Zimmerman, Hanley, Giannoulis, Skipp, McLean, Buendía, Vrančić, Cantwell, Pukki.

  • Form guide

Birmingham have not had the best points return in recent weeks, just one win in seven. However, following their significant win at the weekend they will head into this fixture full of confidence after ending their recent rut.

  • Ones to watch

Birmingham City - Scott Hogan

A real bright spark for the Blues in recent weeks, ignoring their form. He was the match winner at the weekend after he did brilliantly to get in front of his defender and guide Jérémie Bela's shot/cross into the net. This strike brought Hogan's goal tally for the season to six. The forward is currently in the best form he has been in all season.

Norwich City - Emiliano Buendía

The midfielder has been exceptional this season and is crucial to everything Norwich do going forward. He added another assist to his tally at the weekend bringing his current total to nine. The Argentinian has been one of the best players in the Championship this season. He also has nine goals to match his nine assists. There has been much speculation regarding interest in BuendÍa this season. He has been heavily linked with Arsenal and Mikel Arteta is thought to be a huge admirer.

  • How to watch

This fixture is available through Sky Sports via the red button. The game is also available on BluesTV for the hosts and iFollow for the visitors. Match passes are priced at £10.

Kick-off is at 7pm.

VAVEL Logo
About the author