Norwich vs Walsall Prediction: Canaries to progress to the fourth round

Norwich City host Walsall at Carrow Road on Sunday (14:30 GMT, TNT Sports 9) for the third round of the FA Cup. Two divisions separate the two clubs, and they have both been in mixed form of late.

The hosts have lost their last two home games, while Walsall have suffered back-to-back defeats ahead of this contest. Read on for my Norwich vs Walsall predictions, featuring the latest match odds and team news.

Team News

Norwich's forward line is weakened with Ante Crnac's knee injury, which has ruled him out for the rest of the season. The Canaries have moved quickly in the January transfer window by bringing in Ali Ahmed from Vancouver Whitecaps, and the winger could be set to make his debut here.

Papa Amadou Diallo, Shane Duffy (both muscle), Amankwah Forson, Jeffrey Schlupp (both hamstring) and Gabriel Forsyth (knee) are also in the treatment room for the hosts.

Football Odds

Veteran Albert Adomah and Aaron Pressley will be pushing to feature in attack for Walsall as boss Mat Sadler may contemplate alterations following back-to-back defeats.

The Saddlers have added to their ranks this window by acquiring attacking midfielder Alex Pattison from League 1 outfit Bradford City. He is unable to feature on Sunday, though, as he is cup-tied.

Today's Football Fixtures

Norwich vs Walsall Odds

Norwich have won three of their last five home games, and they are 3/5 (implied probability of 62.5%) to prevail inside 90 minutes.

Walsall have drawn two of their previous five matches, and the stalemate is on offer at 3/1. The Saddlers are 9/2 to cause an upset in regulation time.

Six of their past seven outings have featured under 2.5 goals, which is priced at 1/1 for this clash.

Match Result & Over/Under 3.5 Goals - Norwich & Under @ 5/4

There has been some much-needed improvement from Norwich in recent months, so credit has to go to Philippe Clement, who was given a tough task when succeeding Liam Manning at Carrow Road.

The Canaries are now starting to look like a competitive side, and they should be fancying themselves to proceed to the fourth round against a side who are two divisions below them. Walsall cannot be underestimated, however, as they are flying high in League 2 despite a little bump in the road in recent games.

With Norwich still languishing in the relegation zone in the Championship and Walsall tussling for promotion from the fourth tier, a cup run may not be ideal for both. I would expect both teams to rotate their squads here, and in such a scenario, I would back the hosts of having that extra bit of quality in reserve to win this tie.

Each of Norwich's past seven matches have seen fewer than four goals scored, and I suspect this trend will continue here when facing a team that has also been playing quite a lot of low-scoring games of late.

Anytime Goalscorer - Mathias Kvistgaarden @ 7/5

Norwich spent big (around £7m) to sign Mathias Kvistgaarden from Brondby in the summer, and this season has not unfolded as either party would have imagined or hoped for.

The Danish striker had Uefa Champions League clubs tracking him in the summer, but he was drawn to England. He has just four Championship goals to his name so far, and since Clement has arrived, he has been limited to just 85 minutes of football as he has fallen down the pecking order.

This is despite scoring in Clement's first game, a 4-1 defeat at Birmingham City.

In this cup tie, he will likely be given a chance to impress the manager as he tries to secure more game time in the league. Against lower-league opposition, who may also field a weakened XI, I think the attacker is worth backing to get on the scoresheet.

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