Hoping to make it back-to-back wins in the Championship, Norwich City will welcome Millwall to Carrow Road on Friday.
Dean Smith’s side put up their first league victory of the season on Tuesday after a slow start, while their visitors salvaged a draw away at Swansea City in dramatic fashion to move onto seven points from four outings.
After finishing at the bottom of the Premier League table last term, Norwich City came into the new Championship season with the hopes of again making an immediate return to the top flight, but they did not make a strong start.
Dean Smith’s side began with a defeat away at Cardiff City and were only able to share the points in the following contest at home to newly-promoted Wigan Athletic thanks to Max Aarons’s second-half equaliser in a 1-1 draw.
Hoping to build on a penalty shootout win over Birmingham City in the EFL Cup first round after a 2-2 draw in normal time, the Canaries made the trip to Hull City at the weekend, but they left empty-handed, as Marcelino Nunez’s goal was not enough to spark a turnaround after Oscar Estupinan had given their hosts a 2-0 lead.
Still in search of a first three-point haul of the new term, Smith’s men were finally successful on Tuesday, beating Huddersfield Town 2-1 at Carrow Road as Joshua Sargent and Danel Sinani hit early goals before the Norfolk outfit defended a one-goal lead in the final 10 minutes following Pat Jones’s finish.
On the back of their slow start, Smith and his team will be hoping Tuesday’s victory acts as a turning point and will look to make it back-to-back home wins on Friday to kickstart a climb up the division.
They face a tough test, though, as Millwall arrive having made a relatively positive start to the new term under Gary Rowett after a ninth-placed finish last season.
The Lions began with a 2-0 home win over Stoke City, thanks to Charlie Cresswell’s brace, but would go on to drop out of the EFL Cup and lose away at Sheffield United in their second league outing.
Rowett’s side would quickly bounce back at the weekend, coming from two goals behind to beat Coventry City 3-2 at The Den as Jake Cooper and George Honeyman drew them level before George Saville hit an 85th-minute winner.
Returning to action on Tuesday, Millwall made the trip to take on Swansea City, and, after looking set to fall to a defeat with early finishes from Ryan Manning and Michael Obafemi having the hosts 2-0 up in injury time, they forced a share of the spoils as Ben Cabango and Nathan Wood both scored own goals in the final four minutes.
Looking to continue their gradual improvement in the Championship and mount a playoff push this season, the Lions will aim to take an impressive scalp at the weekend and move onto 10 points from five outings.
Norwich City Championship form:
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Norwich City form (all competitions):
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Millwall Championship form:
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Millwall form (all competitions):
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We say: Norwich City 1-1 Millwall
Tuesday’s win could trigger a hot run of form for Norwich, and they have the quality to hurt any side in the league, but we anticipate a tough test against a resilient Millwall outfit.
Rowett’s men have shown their steel so far this season and could do enough to leave Carrow Road with a share of the spoils.