Norwich City return to action after the international break with a long trip to face a Preston side which will have former Canaries assistant manager Frankie McAvoy in charge for the first time, following the sacking of Alex Neil. Kick-off at Deepdale is 3pm. We run down all the key points you need to know.
Team news
Central defender Christoph Zimmermann has a hamstring tendon injury which could rule him out for the rest of the season. Another centre-half, Ben Gibson, is already out of the run-in with ankle ligament damage. Head coach Daniel Farke will hope there are no hangovers from the many players who have been on international duty. Lukas Rupp (hamstring) and Adam Idah (hernia) remain sidelined.
Louis Moult (knee), Patrick Bauer (Achilles) and Declan Rudd (knee) are long-term absentees for Preston. Alan Browne is suspended while Jayson Molumby is available after international duty with the Republic of Ireland.
Form guide
Norwich (first): W-W-W-W-D
Preston (16th): L-D-L-L-L
Daniel Farke pre-match
"Right now it is crunch time period and you have to grind out results. We should have won the last game against Blackburn. We had many, many chances, but we won a point and we draw a line under it and we have to try and get as many points as we can from the next eight games. The job is not done yet. We have unbelievable tough games left."
Frankie McAvoy on Norwich
“I will be very mindful of Norwich as a team and very respectful of where they are in the league, but to be brutally honest, most of the focus we have had has been on us and that’s what I think it should be. Norwich have our respect, coming to play us, but we are at home, playing at Deepdale and it is up to us to go and express ourselves as best we can when we get onto that pitch.”
Last time they met
September 19 2020
Norwich City 2 Preston North End 2
City had to come back twice to earn a point in their first home game of the season, in front of 1,000 fans. They went behind to a Scott Sinclair penalty on 14 minutes, Teem Pukki levelling on 31 minutes. Darnell Fisher put the visitors ahead against just before the interval, with Przemyslaw Placheta scoring his first Norwich goal five minutes from the end of normal time.
Referee
Dean Whitestone
In 27 league and cup games this season, has shown 53 yellow cards and three reds. If you want a good omen, his last Norwich game was just up the road at Blackburn in December, when City won 2-1.
How can I watch?
The match is available to watch on iFollow with a £10 match pass. The game will not be free for season ticket holders as it's a weekend away game.
You can follow our live coverage at pinkun.com
Prediction
Tough to call given the injury problems and possible international break issues so it is fence-sitting time - 1-1.
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