Cardiff City vs Norwich City Prediction: Two goalscorers provide value

Two of the most in-form teams in the Championship right now meet in south Wales on Saturday as Cardiff City face Norwich City at 15:00. Omer Riza has done a superb job since taking charge of the first team after the departure of Erol Bulut and although he hasn’t been given the permanent job yet, surely it is only a matter of time. 

Meanwhile, Johannes Hoff Thorup has already made quite the impression on the Norwich faithful, and his side came from 3-1 down at Carrow Road on Saturday to rescue an improbable draw against a fantastic Middlesbrough outfit. Now he takes his troops over the border to try and stop Cardiff in their tracks. Below you will find my Cardiff City vs Norwich City predictions featuring team news and betting tips. 

Team News

Perry Ng is missing through suspension this weekend while the experienced Aaron Ramsey is still out with a hamstring issue. Will Fish or midfielder Emmanouil Siopis could slot in at right-back, but they will have a big test against Borja Sainz on Saturday. 

Elsewhere, the team picks itself for Riza at the moment. Callum Robinson will continue to provide the energy up top, with Rubin Colwill, Anwar El Ghazi and Ollie Tanner in behind him. They failed to find the net at the Hawthorns, but that was up against a fiercely stubborn West Brom side, so I’d expect them to be given another run out on home soil. 

Calum Chambers and Dimitrios Goutas will continue their solid partnership at the back, while goalkeeper Jak Alnwick is targeting his fourth consecutive clean sheet. 

Norwich will be without Kenny McLean after he was sent off late on against Boro, and searching for the right replacement for him could be a tough task. The primary contender is Jacob Sorensen, but he has only just returned from injury and asking him to complete a full 90 minutes may be too much at this stage. Oscar Schwartau is another option but may be considered too attacking for an away game. 

With Marcelino Nunez also currently sidelined, Thorup could choose to sidestep this issue by changing to a formation featuring three defenders, rather than his usual 4-3-3. Anis Ben Slimane and Emiliano Marcondes could work as a pairing in the middle while Jack Stacey and Ben Chrisene are suited to playing as wing-backs. Callum Doyle is a left-footed centre back who has been deployed at left-back for the majority of the season, so shuffling him to the centre may be the best option to cater for McLean’s absence.

Whatever Thorup chooses to do in his captain’s absence, he will not want to disrupt the sparkling form of Sainz, and he will still need energy from the front in the form of Josh Sargent. 

Cardiff City vs Norwich City Odds

Both Cardiff and Norwich are priced at 6/4 to win this one, giving them each an implied win probability of 40%. That’s how difficult this one is to call. A draw can be backed at 23/10, over 2.5 goals is 4/5 and BTTS is 8/13. Borja Sainz is the favourite to score first at 11/2. 

Borja Sainz to score @ 15/8

I mean this is a really easy selection. Sainz isn’t just the best player on show in this game, he’s the best player in the Championship by a country mile right now. He scored two absolutely unbelievable strikes v Boro to rescue a point, and he looks full of confidence. I don’t know how Cardiff are going to stop him, especially when we consider their natural right-back Ng is going to be watching from the stands. 

Sainz now has 10 goals to his name this season and will have his eyes set on the Golden Boot already. Thorup is getting the best out of him and the way he dovetails with Sargent makes the duo difficult to stop. Despite three clean sheets in a row, I think Cardiff won’t be able to stop Sainz from scoring yet again. 

Anwar El Ghazi to score first @ 10/1

More goals please. Cardiff have hit seven goals in their last two home games and I’m expecting them to come out of the blocks again quickly in a match I believe should contain a decent number of chances. I also think El Ghazi is being overpriced again in the goalscorer market, so think it is worth taking a punt on him to open the scoring. 

He recently scored in the 5-0 win over Plymouth, has locked down that left-wing spot and is a reliable penalty taker if called upon. He’s got Premier League experience and so I wouldn’t be surprised if he opens the scoring against a Norwich defence that took a bit of a hammering last weekend.

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