Norwich vs Swansea Prediction: Sargent to get Canaries off the mark against Swans

A couple of draws in their last three matches have put Norwich City's play-off plans on ice, with the Canaries just three points in front of seventh-placed Hull City, who are seeking to usurp the Canaries in the top six.

David Wagner's side have a presentable fixture in front of them at Carrow Road on Saturday, though, as they host a Swansea City side with little to play for. Read on for my Norwich vs Swansea prediction, where you can also find out all the latest team news and match odds ahead of this 15:00 kick-off in Norfolk.

A 1-1 draw at home to Bristol City last time out was a disappointing result for Norwich, who will be desperate to get back on track with a win on Saturday to avoid having to go away and beat relegation-threatened Birmingham City on the final day.

Swansea secured their Championship status a couple of weeks ago and are now on a three-game winning streak, having beaten Stoke City, Rotherham United and Huddersfield Town, all to nil.

The south Wales side are now just three points behind 12th-placed Bristol City and will be eyeing a top-half finish to the campaign.

Team News

Dimitrios Giannoulis, Liam Gibbs and Onel Hernandez are all out injured for the hosts, who could hand a first start since January 24 to 20-year-old attacker Jonathan Rowe, who has missed back-to-back substitute appearances after returning from a two-month injury absence.

There are no new injury concerns for Swansea, who are still without Joe Allen, Harrison Ashby, Josh Ginnelly, Kyle Naughton and ex-Norwich forward Przemyslaw Placheta.

Match Odds

Norwich are 4/6 to pick up three points on Saturday, giving them an implied win probability of 60%, while the visitors can be backed at 4/1 (20%). The draw, meanwhile, is available at 3/1.

Both teams to score is 4/6 and over 3.5 goals is 13/8.

Norwich to win to nil @ 15/8

This is a monumental match for Norwich, who can pretty much secure a top-six spot - and therefore a place in the play-off semi-finals - with a victory on Saturday. The Canaries are currently three points ahead of Hull and have a +16 goal difference, compared to the Tigers' +9, so it would take a huge goal swing on the final day for Wagner's side to drop below them.

Swansea can still finish in the top half, but that's a very small prize compared to the one Norwich are competing for, and at home, with a 16-point lead over their opponents, the Canaries should be confident of dispatching the Swans.

Only Leeds United (53), Leicester City (52) and Ipswich Town (51) have picked up more points at home than Norwich (48), and before Bristol City held them to a stalemate, they had won eight in a row at Carrow Road, keeping a clean sheet in four of them.

Swansea have been scoring for fun in recent weeks, hitting four past Huddersfield and three past Stoke, but those are sides beneath them in the table.

Norwich represent a very different level of opposition, and 20 goals conceded in 22 home games shows just how resolute they are on their own patch.

Josh Sargent to score first @ 9/2

Fifteen goals in 24 Championship appearances is a fantastic return from Norwich striker Josh Sargent, who has had to contend with injury issues this season.

He hasn't quite hit the heights you would expect recently, scoring just once in his last five games, but he is still a man to be relied on.

His last strike was the opening goal in a 2-2 draw with Sheffield Wednesday, and he has been first on the scoresheet a further two times this calendar year.

Check out the rest of our Football Betting Tips here.