Norwich vs Leeds predictions: Leggy Leeds vulnerable at Carrow Road

Aaron Ashley

Spotlight

Norwich have lost just one of their last six Championship games under the guidance of David Wagner.

- Norwich are unbeaten in 15 home league outings
- Leeds have won only two of their last eight league matches
- Recommended bet: Norwich draw no bet

The puzzle that is the Championship play-offs gets underway with Norwich hosting Leeds at Carrow Road on Sunday and both sides will believe they have the credentials required to join Leicester and Ipswich in the Premier League next season.

Leeds come into the play-offs as promotion favourites, having finished third in the regular season, missing out on a top-two finish despite racking up 90 points.

Daniel Farke’s visitors finished 17 points above his former club Norwich in the standings, but they also faltered under the title pressure at the back end of the season, dropping points in all but two of their final eight games.

Leeds lost 4-0 at QPR and 2-1 at home to Southampton in their final two Championship encounters and they will have to dust themselves down quickly for a trip to Carrow Road, which the Canaries have turned into a fortress.

The latest Norwich vs Leeds odds are available on LiveScore Bet

Team news

Norwich must manage without sidelined trio Liam Gibbs, Onel Hernandez and Ashley Barnes, but Jonathan Rowe is pushing for a start following a number of substitute outings since returning from injury.

Leeds striker Patrick Bamford is set to miss both legs of this play-off semi-final with a knee injury and, although Daniel James is pushing for a return, this match may still come too soon for him.

Archie Gray is expected to return to the starting line-up, but Darko Gyabi and Pascal Struijk remain sidelined.

Daniel Farke will want to see Leeds impress at the home of one of his former clubs.

The stats

Norwich are unbeaten in 15 home league matches, winning 11 of those outings at Carrow Road.

The Canaries have lost only four of their last 21 Championship clashes and both teams have scored in five of their last eight.

Leeds have won only two of their last eight league matches, suffering back-to-back defeats to QPR and Southampton. They have also failed to score in three of their last five outings.

The Whites have won the last four league meetings between the pair, winning 3-2 at Carrow Road in October and doubling up in a 1-0 victory at Elland Road in January.

Both teams have scored in five of the last six meetings of these two sides.

The latest Norwich vs Leeds odds are available on LiveScore Bet

Prediction

Leeds crumbled under the pressure at the back end of the season, dropping points in six of their final eight matches to eventually fall seven points behind champions Leicester.

Farke’s men also finished six points behind second-placed Ipswich after losing their final two games against QPR and Southampton, and they finished a leggy outfit that now have plenty to prove.

Leeds must have exerted a lot of energy both physically and mentally and to miss out on automatic promotion despite accumulating 90 points has to have hurt.

With that in mind, it could be worth opposing them in the opening leg of their semi-final at Carrow Road, where Norwich have not lost a league game since the beginning of November.

That means they are unbeaten in 15 home league outings and that run of form features high-profile wins over promoted Ipswich and play-off rivals West Brom, while they also drew 1-1 with fourth-placed Southampton.

So with fatigue having potentially kicked in for Leeds, they could be vulnerable against a Norwich side who have two excellent attacking options in creative Brazilian Gabriel Sara and American ace Josh Sargent.

Back Norwich draw no bet at 5/4 with LiveScore Bet