Only two points separate Norwich City and Queens Park Rangers in the Championship standings heading into Wednesday’s matchup at Carrow Road.
Despite conflicting reports about their respective coaches, both clubs are presently in playoff position.
Our Match Preview: Norwich City vs Queens Park Rangers
Dean Smith likely did not see Saturday’s encounter against Stoke City as a must-win, but he knew there may be consequences if his team went seven games without a victory.
Smith was relieved when his Canaries team won 3-1 against the Potters, with the one negative being giving up an injury-time equalizer.
Smith will look at the bright side of Norwich not needing to depend on goal scorers like Teemu Pukki and Josh Sargent after Ramsey’s superb performance in his return to the starting lineup.
Norwich, who have dropped to fifth, may resurrect their season by passing their rivals in third place and making another run at automatic promotion.
Though now in eighth place, the East Anglian club is just three points clear of the eleventh slot, underscoring the need for a continuous run in the next three games before the World Cup.
After Michael Beale rejected an offer to join Wolverhampton Wanderers, it seemed like things were looking up for QPR as they traveled to Birmingham City last week.
The Hoops were just four points ahead of the eighth place before their 2-0 loss at St. Andrew’s, their second consecutive away setback.
Beale may think it’s pointless at this point, but with such a little margin for error, the team, which has also won six of its past nine games, can’t afford to become complacent.
While it’s true that QPR had won all seven of their road games to start the season until their recent double loss, they’ll be well aware of the magnitude of the challenge at hand against a Norwich team that has won 17 of their nine games at Carrow Road so far this season.
Our Team News: Norwich City vs Queens Park Rangers
Smith took the risky choice to make significant changes to his Norwich starting eleven on Saturday, and he may not stick with the same group of players for the match on Sunday.
Sargent is hoping to recover from a calf injury and join the team with Max Aarons, Marcelino Nunez, and Todd Cantwell.
Midfielder Kenny McLean, who was sent off and suspended for three games against Luton Town, has returned to action for Norwich.
After leaving the Birmingham loss with injuries, Jake Clarke-Salter, Stefan Johansen, and Tyler Roberts are all questionable to return for QPR.
Rob Dickie is available in case Clarke-Salter has to be replaced, while Luke Amos seems like the most probable candidate to take Johansen’s position.
Since Roberts’ calf issue flared up again, either Sinclair Armstrong or Taylor Richards will fill in for him.
- Norwich City Possible Starting Lineup: Gunn, Aarons, Hanley, Gibson, McCallum, Hayden, Nunez, Cantwell, Ramsey, Hernandez, Pukki.
- Queens Park Rangers Possible Starting Lineup: Dieng, Laird, Balogun, Dickie, Paal, Amos, Field, Iroegbunam, Armstrong, Dykes, Chair.
Our Prediction: Norwich City 1-1 Queens Park Rangers
Beale is aware that he must rally his QPR players after their recent defeat. While we anticipate that, we think Norwich can improve on their victory over Stoke and end up with a competitive split of the spoils.