Stoke vs Norwich Prediction: Sainz to strike again

Stoke City boss Narcis Pelach welcomes his former employers Norwich City to the bet365 Stadium on Saturday (15:00) in the EFL Championship. The Potters are unbeaten in their last two matches but have lost three from their previous five.

The Canaries are in excellent form at the moment with three wins from four. They are seventh in the table and just one point outside the play-off spots. Below you will find my Stoke vs Norwich prediction, featuring match odds and team news.

Stoke vs Norwich Odds

Stoke are 6/4 to win this match, which gives them a theoretical chance of 40%. Norwich are valued at 7/4 to take the three points, giving them an implied probability of 36.4%. The draw can be backed at 12/5 (29.4%).

Both teams to score is on offer at 8/13 and over 2.5 goals is available at 4/5.

Norwich's Borja Sainz is the joint-top scorer in the division with seven goals to his name. He is 7/1 to open the scoring, or 9/4 to score anytime. His teammate Josh Sargent has four for himself, and he is 15/8 to find the back of the net at any stage of this clash.

Stoke's Tom Cannon also has four goals in the league, and he is 23/10 to score anytime.

Football Odds

Team News

The hosts have no fresh injury concerns heading into this match, which will give Pelach a boost as he looks to get one over his former employers. Sam Gallagher and Cannon are developing a fruitful partnership up front but the former is going to be absent this weekend, putting more responsibility on the latter's shoulders.

Another impressive relationship has been building at the back between Ben Gibson and Michael Rose, and they will shield Viktor Johansson in goal. In the middle of the park, Wouter Burger and Andrew Moran are likely to continue operating in the engine room.

Norwich's Jose Cordoba was a surprising feature in the team against Hull City after he had been struggling with a knee problem. He looks likely to maintain his place in the heart of defence alongside Shane Duffy for this one.

Jacob Sorensen, Liam Gibbs and Ashley Barnes are in the medical bay for the Canaries.

Norwich to win @ 7/4

It's taken a while for Norwich boss Johannes Hoff Thorup to get things going at Carrow Road, but it feels as though things are starting to click now with their excellent form in recent weeks.

Norwich have rapidly climbed the table with three wins from their last four, and they will chasing another three points in the Potteries this weekend. They face a Stoke side who are further behind them in their own evolution under a new boss, so the hosts could be there for the taking.

Pelach is hoping to transform the Potters but it won't happen overnight. He may have the inside track of how the Canaries operate but getting his players to stop them from doing it is another matter entirely.

Norwich have a lot of quality in attack with Sargent and Sainz getting plenty of joy in front of goal at the moment, and I feel as though they will be the difference in this match because both show signs that they can make the step up to the Premier League.

Stoke have a good Championship striker in Cannon, but I feel as though his supporting cast is not as strong as the one Norwich's attackers have. I have the Canaries to pick up their third away win of the campaign, and I think we could be in for a few goals at the bet365 Stadium.

Borja Sainz anytime goalscorer @ 9/4

One of them I fancy to come from this man. Sainz's game has reached a new level this season for Norwich and he is arguably their most important player right now, which feels crazy to say when they have Sargent, but it's true.

Seven goals already in the league and the Spaniard appears to be getting better with each game that passes. He has five goals in his last four league outings, including one against Hull last time out. Sainz is heading into this game full of confidence and is facing a Stoke side that are still figuring things out with their new boss.

I believe he can capitalise on this by bagging his eighth goal of the campaign on Saturday, to help Norwich land another valuable three points that should see them move into the top six.

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