Birmingham City vs Norwich City prediction, preview, team news and more

Norwich City have a great chance to cement their position at the top of the EFL Championship table as they travel to take on Birmingham City on Tuesday.

Birmingham City survived a few late scares to pick up a win against Sheffield Wednesday in the weekend. This was just the Blues' second win in their last 15 matches. Scott Hogan scored the winner for Aitor Karanka's side in the 63rd minute.

🙌 The Gaffer praised the attitude of his players after #SHWBIR.
— Birmingham City FC (@BCFC) February 21, 2021

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Gary Gardner was their best player on the pitch and Karanka will want him to deliver more of the same when they take on top of the table Norwich City. Teemu Pukki was on target for the Canaries as they saw off Rotherham United in a hard-fought encounter.

Brentford and Swansea lost their respective games at the weekend giving Daniel Farke's men the opportunity to pull away and they will be glad to have pocketed all three points. But Norwich will need to be sharper in front of goal as they were rather wasteful against Rotherham.

Daniel Farke stressed on the importance of not resting on their laurels at this point of the season despite their seven point lead at the top and said:

"We are three points closer, but there’s still a long way to go. The table is not important at the moment, points are. Right now with 64 points, we wouldn’t even make it into the play-offs. So we have to make sure we win 80 points to secure our place in the play-offs and then we’ll try and pick up some more points to improve our position.

Birmingham City vs Norwich City Head-to-Head

Norwich City have been the dominant side between the two in their last 10 encounters. The Canaries have lost just once in their previous 10 outings against Birmingham City and have won five. Birmingham City have won just once while four matches have ended as draws.

The last time these two sides locked horns was in October in the corresponding league fixture and Norwich City won the game 1-0.

Birmingham City form guide: D-L-L-L-W

Norwich City form guide: D-L-L-W-W

Birmingham City vs Norwich City Team News

Birmingham City

Sam Cosgrove wasn't involved against Sheffield Wednesday and is a doubt here. Harlee Deen returned and started the game against Sheffield Wednesday. Aitor Karanka does not have any other injury concerns.

Injuries: None

Doubtful: Sam Cosgrove

Suspensions: None

Norwich City

🗣 DF: "Jordan Hugill has been back in team training since Tuesday."Marco Stiepermann is right now on the pitch for the Under-23s, so close to returning to our group."#NCFC pic.twitter.com/YkIhzCHRXV
— Norwich City FC (@NorwichCityFC) February 19, 2021

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Michael McGovern and Sam Byram continue to be unavailable for the Canaries. Jordan Hugill was available for selection against Rotherham United. Marco Stiepermann has been training with the u-23s and could make a return to the matchday squad on Tuesday.

Injuries: Michael McGovern and Sam Byram

Doubtful: Marco Stiepermann

Suspensions: None

Birmingham City vs Norwich City Predicted Lineups

Birmingham City Predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Neil Etheridge (GK); Kristian Pedersen, Harlee Deen, Clarke-Salter, Maxime Colin; Ivan Sunjic, Gary Gardner; Ivan Sanchez, Alen Halilovic, Jeremie Bela; Scott Hogan

Norwich City Predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Tim Krul, Max Aarons, Christoph Zimmermann, Grant Hanley, Dimitris Giannoulis, Lukas Rupp, Kenny McLean, Emiliano Buendia, Mario Vrancic, Todd Cantwell, Teemu Pukki