Norwich v Ipswich preview: East Anglian derby live on Sky Sports
Sunday 26 February 2017 12:32, UK
Steven Naismith is available again as Norwich prepare for Sunday's East Anglian derby against Ipswich at Carrow Road.
The Scottish forward has missed the last five matches with a hamstring injury but has trained this week.
Defender Ivo Pinto has also returned to training having sat out the last two games with a foot injury. Midfielder Youssouf Mulumbu could be in contention after a thigh problem but striker Nelson Oliveira is still sidelined with a foot injury.
Live EFL
Ipswich will be without on-loan midfielder Tom Lawrence as he completes a two-match suspension for collecting 10 yellow cards. Captain Luke Chambers and midfielder Toumani Diagouraga, who missed last week's match against parent club Leeds, have been battling a sickness bug but are expected to be involved at Carrow Road.
Forward Freddie Sears will be assessed on a groin problem, while midfielder Luke Hyam has stepped up his recovery from a knee injury and is set to travel along with winger Danny Rowe, who has been carrying a hip/groin problem following his transfer from Macclesfield.
Defenders Steven Taylor (hamstring), Adam Webster (ankle) and on-loan Reading forward Dominic Samuel (broken toe) all continue their rehabilitation, along with midfielders Luke Hyam (knee), Jonny Williams (shoulder) and Giles Coke (knee).
Opta stats
Norwich are unbeaten in their last seven games (all comps) against rivals Ipswich (W5 D2); their longest ever unbeaten run versus them.
In fact, on the date of this match it'll be 2871 days since Ipswich Town last enjoyed a victory over their rivals Norwich City (19th April 2009).
Ipswich Town have failed to win their last six trips to Carrow Road in all competitions (D2 L4).
Cameron Jerome has scored in the last two derby games between Norwich and Ipswich.
Norwich City have scored a league-high 11 goals in the opening 15 minutes of Championship matches this season.
Prutton's prediction
Norwich were flailing a little bit at one point this season, but they have really turned it around recently. They have quietly gone about their business and have been really effective, the result against Burton notwithstanding.
Of course it's a derby and these games are normally very close, so I'm going for Norwich to shade it by a single goal.
David Prutton predicts: 2-1 (7/1 with Sky Bet)
