Simon Dalton presents his prediction for the Championship match.
Most bookmakers see these clubs as completely even, despite being separated by 10 places in the standings. Notably, Stoke City are now led by the former assistant manager of Norwich City’s head coach, making this a match of significance for him.
Stoke City
The Staffordshire club is the second in the Championship to have a managerial change this season. Steve Schumacher was dismissed after five rounds, when Stoke sat in 13th place. They are now in 17th. It seems new manager Narcís Pèlach still has little to boast about: four points from four matches. The emphatic 6:1 victory over Portsmouth stands out. Otherwise, they have two goalless matches and a missed opportunity at home against Hull City (1:3). The international break provided the Catalan enough time to prepare the team.
Norwich City
Norwich City appear to be giants compared to their hosts. In the same recent four matches, they have collected 10 points, scored 12 goals, and conceded 4. Particularly impressive is the left winger Borja Sainz—over these four encounters, the Basque has scored five times, including a hat-trick against Derby County. The 23-year-old now has seven goals, already surpassing last season's total across 33 matches. However, there's bad news for Norwich City fans. Even a two-week break wasn’t enough for first-choice goalkeeper Angus Gunn to recover from injury. George Long will replace him. Midfielder Marcelino Núñez, who scored in their last league game, is also doubtful to feature.
Stoke City vs Norwich City Prediction
The hosts will not be able to stop Norwich City at home: Stoke City’s winless streak against the opponents will stretch to eight matches. Even knowing his former team's secrets won't help Narcís Pèlach. Predicting a win is risky, so we’ll opt for a double chance for the visitors.
