Norwich City vs Sunderland. Premier League.
Carrow RoadAttendance27,117.
Saturday 16 April 2016 12:22, UK
Sunderland head to Norwich in the Saturday lunchtime kick-off with both clubs scrapping for their top-flight survival.
The Canaries moved out of the relegation zone with back-to-back wins over Newcastle and West Brom, but defeat at Crystal Palace last time out leaves them just four points ahead of 18th-placed Sunderland.
A victory would drag the Black Cats to within one point of their opponents with a game in hand.
Although the match is not a must-win showdown, it is certainly a must-not-lose game for both teams if they are to keep alive hopes of playing in the Premier League next season.
Team news
Timm Klose will face a late fitness test after being carried off in Norwich's 1-0 loss at Crystal Palace last weekend with a knee injury.
Russell Martin should be available having trained all week, but midfielder Alex Tettey remains sidelined with ankle trouble.
Striker Duncan Watmore is back in the Sunderland squad. The 22-year-old has been missing with an ankle ligament injury since the beginning of February, but has returned to training and is an option for manager Sam Allardyce once again.
Allardyce otherwise has no fresh selection problems as he looks to end a six-game wait for a victory and rekindle the relegation-threatened Black Cats' survival hopes.
Opta stats
Norwich City have lost none of their last five Premier League meetings with Sunderland (W3 D2 L0).
There has been a red card in three of the last four Premier League meetings between the Black Cats and the Canaries.
Norwich City have won only five of their last 19 Premier League matches at Carrow Road (W5 D5 L9).
Sunderland have won just three of their last 27 Premier League away matches (W3 D9 L15).
The Black Cats have kept just one clean sheet in their last 17 Premier League away games.
Norwich City's last 13 Premier League goals have been scored by 10 different players - with none of these being own goals.
This match will be Sam Allardyce's 462nd in the Premier League, taking him to outright fourth in the list of most Premier League games managed behind Alex Ferguson, Arsene Wenger and Harry Redknapp and one ahead of David Moyes.
Paul Merson's prediction
Norwich have to make sure they don't lose this game. As long as they don't get beat, Alex Neil will be happy, but if they win, I think Newcastle are pretty much down. It's as simple as that!
For Sunderland, it's a cup final and they have to win it. What score do I go with here? My mate Jeff is a big Sunderland fan so I can't go against him.
I'm going for a draw here because Sunderland have been playing well recently. They've not had much luck in my opinion and that's why the results haven't quite gone their way.
They'll get a point here but Jeff won't be happy.
PAUL PREDICTS: 1-1 (Sky Bet odds 5/1)
Betting
Norwich are Sky Bet's 11/8 favourites for the vital victory, with Sunderland 21/10 to secure the points and 23/10 to earn a share of the spoils. Alex Neil's men are currently 13/8 for relegation with the Black Cats 1/4, while both side to face the drop and Newcastle to stay up is a 13/2 chance. Jermain Defoe heads the first goalscorer betting at 9/2 closely followed by Dieumerci Mbokani at 5/1, with the strike duo 15/2 both to find the net. See all match odds here.
