Norwich v Sheffield United preview
Friday 19 January 2018 13:03, UK
Norwich boss Daniel Farke will assess the fatigue levels of his players ahead of the Sky Bet Championship visit of Sheffield United.
The Canaries took Chelsea to extra-time and penalties in their FA Cup third-round replay on Tuesday night, so the likes of Alex Tettey, Wes Hoolahan and Marco Stiepermann could be in contention after coming off the bench at Stamford Bridge.
New loan signing Marcus Edwards is expected to be involved, following his loan move from Tottenham, while fit-again forward Marley Watkins (knee) is an option and midfielder Tom Trybull (back) will be assessed. Striker Cameron Jerome has left for Derby, while club captain Russell Martin joined Rangers on loan and forward Steven Naismith moved to Hearts for the rest of the season.
Sheffield United's new signing Ricky Holmes is hoping to be included in boss Chris Wilder's plans. Holmes, signed for an undisclosed fee from Charlton this week, plus recent arrivals Ryan Leonard, James Wilson and Lee Evans are all in contention.
Striker Ched Evans (ankle) and defender Keiron Freeman (knee) are closing in on their returns and could feature in next week's FA Cup tie against Preston. Midfielder David Brooks is recovering from a bout of glandular fever as the Blades chase just their second win in 11 league matches.
Opta stats
Norwich have won eight of their last nine home league matches against Sheffield United (L1) including each of the last five.
These sides haven't shared a draw in a league match in any of the last 15 meetings, with Norwich winning 10 and Sheffield United winning five.
Wes Hoolahan scored a hat-trick the last time these sides met at Carrow Road in the league - it remains his only hat-trick in the Football League to date.
Sheffield United have managed just one win in their last 10 Championship fixtures (D4 L5), a 3-0 victory at home to bottom club Sunderland.
Since Christmas, Norwich have picked up 10 points from a possible 12 (W3 D1), winning just one of the previous 10 beforehand (D2 L7).
Blades' striker Leon Clarke has scored just one goal in his last six league appearances, after scoring 10 in the six games previous.
Prutton's prediction
Are Norwich still in play-off contention? They start the weekend in 13th in the table but are only six points off Sheffield United in sixth, meaning this is quite a big game at Carrow Road on Saturday.
It just goes to show how well Sheffield United started the season that they've been on such a poor run lately but still find themselves in the play-offs. Norwich put in a big shift at Chelsea in the FA Cup on Wednesday night, though, and that could take its toll here.
David Prutton predicts: 0-1 (7/1 with Sky Bet)
