Norwich vs Cardiff Prediction: Sargent to sign off in style?

Ah, let’s all relax. We’ve got the rarity of a game with nothing riding on it to look forward to now as mid-table Norwich City host already-relegated Cardiff City (12:30, Sky Sports+). The Welsh side are preparing for League 1 football next campaign, while the Canaries are aiming to appoint a new manager that can lead them back towards the Premier League after the exit of Johannes Hoff Thorup.

Below you can find my Norwich vs Cardiff predictions, as Jack Wilshere faces off against Aaron Ramsey, and I search for some late value in the Championship season.

Football Odds

Team News

Angus Gunn is set to play his final game for Norwich in goal after his departure was announced, while modern cult hero Onel Hernandez will also depart this summer. I’d expect him to get some minutes off the bench as a final farewell, but there’s a game to be won and Wilshere wants to prove he has what it takes to get the permanent job. 

Last weekend he picked 19-year-old Ruairi McConville at the heart of defence and fellow teenager Jacob Wright in midfield, showing he has faith in youth, while Josh Sargent and Borja Sainz kept their places. Callum Doyle started at left-back with Jack Stacey on the other side of the defence and I’d expect a similar XI to turn out here as the season comes to a close.

Cardiff are down but they got a creditable draw with West Brom, and so Ramsey may stick with that XI. He’ll want more from Yousef Selach and Alex Robertson in the final third, while Chris Willock hasn’t hit the heights expected of him this term. Rubin Colwill should be starting games in this side and could leave this summer, while Perry Ng was taken off at half-time and may have played his last game for the club. 

A summer of change is coming up for Cardiff, and this could be the last chance to show they deserve a move, or a spot in the squad next summer. 

Norwich vs Cardiff Odds

Norwich are priced at 8/13 to win this one, giving them an implied win probability of 61% for their final home game of the campaign. A draw can be backed at 100/30 while Cardiff are out at 4/1 to record just their third away win of the season. 

Over 2.5 goals is 4/7 having come in during 51% of Norwich’s games, while BTTS is 8/13, meaning that Betfred are expecting plenty of goalmouth action. Sargent is unsurprisingly the favourite to score first at 4/1.

Over 4.5 goals @ 7/2 

Now, I know what you are thinking. Two teams with nothing to play for may not deliver a spectacle on the final day. But I’m going to take an alternative view to that and I expect both teams to play with a level of freedom we haven’t see so far this term. Cardiff aren’t very good, and they’ve only scored one goal in their last four outings - but now relegation has sunk in we could see a different team. 

Ramsey, just like Wilshere in the other dugout, is trying to prove he is capable of being a first-team manager in the near future, and he will want to give his team some attacking impetus. There’s not point playing for a 0-0 anymore, while Norwich love to score goals and could tear Cardiff apart. 

Only Leeds have scored more goals than Norwich this term, but the Canaries have been dreadful at the back, conceding 66 goals - only three fewer than the rock-bottom Bluebirds. You certainly get entertainment in East Anglia, so let’s back them to go wild on the final day. 

Josh Sargent to score 2+ @ 7/1

Sargent’s final game in yellow? Possibly. He seems destined for bigger things, especially with the World Cup in the United States of America coming up in 2026, so a move could be on the cards. Perhaps a reunification with former boss Daniel Farke at Leeds? 

Anyway, that’s a discussion for another day, I want to back the best striker in the Championship to score two or more goals against Cardiff on Saturday. Sargent has scored 15 goals in 31 appearances this term and would have won the Golden Boot had it not been for the 14 games he missed through injury. 

Thorup may not have lost his job if his star striker hadn’t spent a third of the season on the sidelines, but he’s back fit now and should fancy his chances against this ropey Cardiff back line. Good value on offer in my eyes. 

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