Preview: Norwich City vs. Luton Town - prediction, team news, lineups

Championship leaders Norwich City host Luton Town on Saturday afternoon for the first time since 2006 and will be looking to consolidate their place at the summit with another victory at Carrow Road.

The Hatters, meanwhile, have picked up seven points from their last three matches and having already beaten the Canaries earlier this campaign, will be hoping to cause another upset this weekend.

Match preview

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Norwich took another huge step towards an immediate return to the Premier League as they secured a narrow 1-0 victory against their nearest challengers Brentford at Carrow Road on Wednesday night.

Another standout performance from Emiliano Buendia, who scored in the 26th minute, helped the Canaries claim all three points and their six consecutive league win.

Daniel Farke's men are now 10 points clear of the Bees at the summit of the Championship table with just 12 league games left to play.

However, Norwich will still have one eye on Swansea City – who left it late to beat Stoke City in midweek – as they could move to within five points of the league leaders if they were to win their two matches in hand.

The Canaries will fancy their chances of further league success in the coming weeks as they now face a run of seven fixtures against sides currently in the bottom half of the table.

Victory on Saturday would see Norwich win seven league games in a row for the first time since April 2019 and move them one step closer to clinching their second Championship title in three years.

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Luton claimed their 12th victory of the campaign as they beat Nottingham Forest 1-0 away from home on Wednesday evening.

Ryan Tunnicliffe scored his second goal in successive matches when he tapped in from close range just after the hour mark to seal a narrow win at the City Ground.

After a run of just one win from six league games, the Hatters have since picked up seven points from their last three matches, which has moved them to within one point of the top 10.

Nathan Jones's side face a huge challenge when they take on Norwich this weekend, but they are one of only five Championship teams who have beaten the Canaries this season, winning 3-1 on home soil back in December.

Luton have actually won each of their last three meetings against Norwich in all competitions, including a 3-1 home success in the League Cup in September last year, as well as their last trip to Carrow Road, while they won 1-0 in an FA Cup fourth-round tie back in January 2013.

Another surprise victory against the league leaders would see the Hatters win three successive league matches in the same season for the first time since February 2019.

Norwich City Championship form: WWWWWW

Luton Town Championship form: WLLDWW

Team News

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Norwich midfielder Todd Cantwell, who missed the match against Brentford, remains a major doubt due to a calf problem.

Lukas Rupp and Przemyslaw Placheta are both in contention to feature on the left flank, but Farke may decide to keep Onel Hernandez in his starting lineup.

As for Luton, defender Tom Lockyer remains out with an ankle injury but could return to first-team training later this month.

Jones is unlikely to make many changes from the starting lineup that beat Forest in midweek.

Striker James Collins, who has scored four of Luton's six goals against the Canaries this season, is one player who could come into the side and lead the line with either Harry Cornick or Elijah Adebayo.

Norwich City possible starting lineup:
Krul; Aarons, Hanley, Gibson, Giannoulis; McLean, Skipp; Buendia, Vrancic, Hernandez; Pukki

Luton Town possible starting lineup:
Sluga; Clark, Pearson, Naismith, Potts; Rea; Tunnicliffe, Mpanzu, Dewsbury-Hall; Cornick, Collins

We say: Norwich City 2-0 Luton Town

The resilient form of Norwich has put them in a very strong position to clinch promotion to the top flight and even though Luton have improved in recent weeks, we expect the home side to have learnt from their last meeting with the Hatters, and they should have enough quality to secure another three points.