With just seven games left to play in the Championship this season, two teams at opposite ends of the league table will be looking for vital points on Friday afternoon, as promotion chasing Norwich City visit Brighton & Hove Albion.
The Canaries are just three points behind league-leaders Bournemouth and can enhance their Premier League aspirations with a win at the The Amex, while Brighton still have work to do to avoid dropping down to League One.
Team News: Brighton & Hove Albion vs Norwich City
Lewis Dunk of Brighton during the pre season friendly match between Brighton & Hove Albion and Norwich City at The Amex Stadium on July 30, 2013
Albion will be buoyed by the return of Lewis Dunk, who is available after completing a two-match suspension.
There could also be a debut for Mustapha Carayol, who joined the club last week from Middlesbrough until the end of the season.
However, injured duo Sam Baldock and Solly March have both been ruled out for the remainder of the campaign.
Norwich have been boosted by the news that that Graham Dorrans will remain at the club on loan from West Bromwich Albion until the end of the season.
Hooper and Kyle Lafferty will be pushing for starts, but Lewis Grabban is still ruled out after undergoing ankle surgery.
Brighton & Hove Albion
Brighton & Hove Albion manager Chris Hughton prior to the FA Cup Third Round match between Brentford v Brighton & Hove Albion at Griffin Park on January 3, 2015
It has been a frustrating and largely underwhelming season for Brighton, but they are within reach of keeping their place in the Championship.
On their last outing before the international break, they picked up a crucial 1-0 victory away to Blackburn Rovers that moved them up to 15th in the table and 10 points clear of the relegation zone.
Former Norwich manager Chris Hughton deserves much of the credit for improving the fortunes of a team who had won just one of their opening 18 league games.
He replaced Sami Hyypia at the end of December with the team 21st in the Championship and has guided them to impressive wins over Ipswich Town and Derby County.
They still have vital clashes against Wigan Athletic and Rotherham United to come, but with their new-found confidence they can start to look up the table and not over their shoulders.
Norwich City
Norwich City manager Alex Neil looks on prior to the Sky Bet Championship match between AFC Bournemouth and Norwich City at Goldsands Stadium on January 10, 2015
There are few teams in the Championship who are in better form than Norwich as the season edges towards a dramatic conclusion.
The Canaries have claimed eight victories in their last 11 outings, including a five-game winning run in February that saw them beat fellow play-off hopefuls and bitter rivals Ipswich Town.
A shock defeat against Wigan Athletic at the start of March and two successive draws threatened to derail their promotion bid, but they bounced back with a 3-1 win over Nottingham Forest just before the international break to keep in touch with the top two.
Manager Alex Neil has given the club a renewed sense of belief since his arrival in January and this week he has said that there is no reason why they can't finish inside the automatic promotion places.
H2H Comparison Brighton and Hove Albion - Norwich City
Direct Comparison of the Performance, Estimations and Results for both Soccer Teams Brighton and Hove Albion and Norwich City.
The last Game of Brighton and Hove Albion at Home on 14/03/2015 was against Wolverhampton Wanderers with the Result 1 : 1 and
the Team Norwich City played last time away on 17/03/2015 against Huddersfield Town Result 2 : 2.
The last 5 matches of Brighton & Hove Albion
21.03.2015 Blackburn Rovers - Brighton & Hove Albion 0:1 W
18.03.2015 Millwall - Brighton & Hove Albion 0:0 D
14.03.2015 Brighton & Hove Albion - Wolverhampton Wanderers 1:1 D
11.03.2015 Reading - Brighton & Hove Albion 2:1 L
04.03.2015 Brighton & Hove Albion - Derby County 2:0 W
The last 5 matches of Norwich City
21.03.2015 Norwich City - Nottingham Forest 3:1 W
18.03.2015 Huddersfield Town - Norwich City 2:2 D
14.03.2015 Norwich City - Derby County 1:1 D
07.03.2015 Millwall - Norwich City 1:4 W
05.03.2015 Norwich City - Wigan Athletic 0:1 L
Tag :
Championship
