Norwich vs. Sheffield United: Prediction, Preview & Betting Tips

Sheffield United have a very strong head-to-head record against Norwich, winning three and drawing two of the last five meetings.

Norwich ended last season poorly and are now coming into this game winless in their last seven Championship games.

Sheffield United have conceded the second-lowest expected goals per game average in the league so far, 0.64xG against, meaning they've been very solid defensively.

This will likely be a very competitive encounter, but the visitors have more quality on the pitch and are a more settled side at present, so we fancy them to pick up a big away win. Norwich 1-2 Sheffield United.

Two sides coming off the back of frustrating results lock horns at Carrow Road this weekend as Norwich City take on Sheffield United.

• Date: 24/08/2024
• Kick-off time: 15:00
• Location: Carrow Road, Norwich

Norwich City currently sit 19th in the Championship with one point from their opening two games. The Canaries came into the new season under the guidance of a new manager following David Wagner’s exit in the summer, and there was an initial hope that the team would kick on after a 6th place finish and a play-off semi-final exit last season. However, the summer transfer window has not been kind to them, with star player Gabriel Sara leaving for Galatasaray and attacker Jonathan Rowe, another one of the team’s best players, withdrawing himself from the team as he tries to seal a move away from the club.

Those two players are extremely difficult to replace for Norwich, and as things stand they’re set to tackle the season as a significantly weaker team on paper. The Canaries haven’t looked great in the early portion of the campaign, so there’s still a tonne of work to do for manager Johannes Hoff Thorup.

There is going to be significant pressure on striker Josh Sargent, last season’s top scorer, to shoulder much of the attacking burden given the makeup of the team this season and he’s started the campaign with one goal in his first two, so if he can maintain that rate he’ll be giving his side the best possible platform to build from.

Sheffield United currently sit 14th in the Championship with two points from two games. The Blades came into this season off the back of a disastrous campaign in the Premier League where they managed just three league wins, resulting in a very miserable relegation.

Despite the relegation, the Blades have kept manager Chris Wilder in charge and have done some impressive business in the summer, so there is an expectation that they will contend not only for the play-offs but push for automatic promotion. The start of the season has brought mixed performances, with plenty of positives but also some negatives.

Chris Wilder’s men were also slightly hampered by the fact they started the season with a two-point deduction due to prior financial breaches, so they have slightly more ground to make up on their peers.

Sheffield United had such a poor campaign, devoid of so many memorable moments, last season that there is a need for them to put a run of wins together early doors to bring an air of positivity into the club. Losing quickly becomes habitual, and if they suffer a poor run of results in the next few weeks it could be mentally difficult for them to drag themselves out of the rut given how long they've spent in the mire since the start of last season.

This game will not be televised live to U.K. audiences but full radio coverage will be provided by BBC Radio Norfolk and BBC Radio Sheffield.

Norwich Team News:

It's unlikely that Jonathan Rowe will play for Norwich again until at least after the transfer window shuts. If he can't strike a deal with another club it's going to take a significant reintegration effort from everyone involved.

Ashley Barnes remains the team's only unjury absentee.

Predicted lineup: Gunn; Stacey, Duffy, Doyle, Córdoba; Núñez, McLean; Hernández, Forson, Sainz; Sargent.

Sheffield United Team News:

Sheffield United are entering this game without the services of Femi Seriki and Jamie Shackleton, both of whom miss out through injury.

The Blades are unlikely to make any changes to the starting lineup here after a very good first half performance last time out.

Predicted lineup: Davies; Gilchrist, Ahmedhodžić, Robinson, Burrows; Brooks, Arblaster, Souza, Hamer; O'Hare; Moore.

Norwich City’s season began with a tricky away fixture at newly promoted Oxford United. Freshly promoted opponents are tough to play away from home early in the season because there is usually a raucous home crowd and a very motivated opposition, and unfortunately for Norwich that very much turned out to be the case for them as they fell to a 2-0 defeat, a very fair result on the day.

Norwich then faced League One team Stevenage in the EFL Cup in midweek and played out a very entertaining encounter in a 4-3 win. To concede three goals to lower-league opponents certainly wasn't on Norwich's agenda, but goals from Abu Kamara, Onel Hernández (X2) and Borja Sainz eventually gave them the three points.

Norwich then welcomed Blackburn Rovers to Carrow Road as they looked to make up for the opening weekend defeat to Oxford, but the Canaries were held to a frustrating draw. Norwich fell behind in the first half to a Ryan Hedges goal but were the better side for much of the game, with Josh Sargent missing a host of good chances.

Sargent did, though, eventually get on the scoresheet as he drew his side level in the 65th minute before setting up his teammate Sainz to put the team ahead just 8 minutes later. However, the lead lasted only 14 minutes, as substitute Yuki Ohashi scored a fine header to draw Blackburn level in the 87th minute.

Sheffield United’s campaign kicked off with a cruising 2-0 win over Preston North End, where goals from Ollie Arblaster and Gustavo Hamer sealed a very comfortable victory. Preston offered very little in what was a one-sided game deprived of much action.

Just a few days later the Blades took on Wrexham in the EFL Cup and produced an impressive performance with a very young and inexperienced team, running out 4-2 winners amidst some impressive performances from a number of youngsters. Auston Trusty, Louie Marsh and Anis Ben Slimane got the goals for the Blades, with a Wrexham own goal adding to the tally.

At the weekend, Chris Wilder’s side took on Queens Park Rangers and started the game excellently, taking a 2-0 lead through Hamer and Kieffer Moore in what was a very good first half performance. The Blades’ level dropped in the second half, though, and Jimmy Dunne pulled a goal back in the 55th minute.

QPR pushed for an equaliser but Jack Colback was sent off in the 83rd minute, an event that very much eased the nerves in Bramall Lane. However, that relief was misplaced, as Lyndon Dykes produced a shock equaliser just five minutes later to knock the wind out of Sheffield United’s sails.

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