When the 2022–23 Championship season kicks off for both teams on Saturday afternoon, Norwich City will be traveling to Swansea City, hoping to get back on track.
When the season was suspended for the World Cup, the Canaries were coming off a 2-1 loss to Middlesbrough on November 12, while Swansea had just played to a scoreless draw at Huddersfield Town.
EFL Championship Match Preview: Swansea City vs Norwich City
Swansea hasn’t played since their goalless draw with Huddersfield on December 12, which left them in seventh place with 31 points.
Since their last league win on October 23 against Cardiff City at home, the Welsh club has played to four consecutive draws in the league, splitting the spoils with Bristol City, Wigan Athletic, Birmingham City, and Huddersfield.
Swansea is in a solid position in the standings at this moment, tied with sixth-placed Queens Park Rangers and two points behind fourth-placed Watford.
On December 3, after a week-long training camp in Scotland, Russell Martin’s team played a midseason friendly against Dundee United. Jamie Paterson and Ryan Manning scored for the Welsh squad.
Swansea lost three of their past four Championship meetings against Norwich, but they won 2-0 in February 2021. Norwich lost 2-1 to Middlesbrough in their final match before the World Cup and finished fifth with 32 points.
The Canaries have only won twice in the league since October. Still, they are in a good position in the standings moving into the Christmas break, and it would be a great surprise if they did not push for another Premier League return.
Norwich finished 20th in the Premier League last season, and they haven’t won back-to-back titles since 2014. In 10 Championship away games, Dean Smith’s team won four, drew two, and lost four for 14 points.
Norwich faces Blackburn Rovers next weekend, Luton Town on Boxing Day, and Reading to complete the month.
EFL Championship Team News: Swansea City vs Norwich City
Swansea has sent four players to the World Cup: Joe Allen, Ben Cabango, and Olivier Ntcham made the team, while Ollie Cooper has travelled as a reserve for Wales.
The trio of Cabango, Ntcham, and Cooper should all be ready for this game, while Allen may be out with his lingering hamstring injury.
Joel Piroe has five Championship goals this season and may start up top for the Terriers if head coach Martin sticks with the same XI he used in their most recent game against Huddersfield.
Andrew Omobamidele, Adam Idah, Jon Rowe, and Jakob Sorensen are all still sidelined with injuries and are hence not available for selection by Norwich.
A striker who has scored nine goals in the Championship this season, Josh Sargent is questionable for this match due to an injury he sustained in the USA’s loss to the 2022 World Cup group stage Netherlands.
Because of this, Onel Hernandez might start in the last third of the field with Teemu Pukki, while Joe Hugill is also possible for the front two.
- Swansea City Predicted Starting Lineup: Benda, Darling, Cabango, Wood-Gordon, Latibeaudiere, Fulton, Manning, Grimes, Cooper, Piroe, Ntcham.
- Norwich City Predicted Starting Lineup: Gunn, Hanley, Gibson, Aarons, McCallum, Hayden, McLean, Sara, Ramsey, Pukki, Hernandez.
EFL Championship Match Prediction: Swansea City vs Norwich City
Due to the unusual nature of the season caused by the winter break, predicting the outcome of this match is challenging. Because of the closeness of the teams’ relative strengths, we have decided to play to a scoreless draw.