All eyes will be on East Anglia this Wednesday night as under-pressure Liam Manning looks to claim his first home points at Carrow Road as Norwich City head coach against Ryan Mason’s West Brom.
It’s not been the start that everyone connected to Norwich City would have been wanting this season, as the club sit 14th in the Championship after seven games of the season. To be honest, it should be a lot worse. Lucky results away from home, contributing to an unbeaten away record so far this season, accompanied with poor performances and the second worst home record in the division thanks to goal difference mean that there is unrest and displeasure amongst city fans. The Canaries have lost all four home fixtures this season and it feels like a massive opportunity is being missed in a Championship season that appears to be wide open so far.
Recent Form
Norwich come into this fixture sitting 14th, only three points behind Ryan Mason’s baggies, who occupy 8th before the latest gameweek gets underway. City have won two and drawn another two games so far this season, losing the other three games, all of which were home defeats. West Brom on the other hand have won three games out of seven this season, drawing two and losing the other two.
The below table is a summary of both sides’ league fixtures so far this season:
| Gw | Norwich City | West Bromwich Albion |
| 1 | Norwich City 1-2 Millwall | West Brom 1-0 Blackburn |
| 2 | Portsmouth 1-1 Norwich City | Wrexham 2-3 West Brom |
| 3 | Norwich City 1-3 Middlesbrough | West Brom 1-1 Portsmouth |
| 4 | Blackburn Rovers 0-2 Norwich City | Stoke City 0-1 West Brom |
| 5 | Coventry City 1-1 Norwich City | West Brom 0-1 Derby County |
| 6 | Norwich City 2-3 Wrexham | Middlesbrough 2-1 West Brom |
| 7 | Stoke City 1-1 Norwich City | West Brom 1-1 Leicester City |
Both sides have the same record in their last 5 games, winning one, drawing two and losing the other two, while dealing with late heartbreak recently too, as Coventry City scored in the sixth minute of injury time to deny the Canaries of a perhaps undeserving three points despite defending superbly throughout the match. West Brom on the other hand were denied cruelly last time out as an unfortunate own goal from Nathaniel Phillips denied the baggies all three points at home against Leicester City in injury time last Friday night
Last Time Out
Both sides played out a 1-1 draw in their last games. Wednesday’s hosts visited Stoke City last time out, as Liam Manning made 5 changes to the side that lost to Wrexham the week before in search of positive results. Jovon Makama gave the canaries an undeserved lead in the 38th minute at the Bet365 Stadium following an extended spell of Stoke dominance thanks to a good spell of play, something Canaries fans want to be seeing more of.
The second half was déjà vu for Liam Manning’s side, as they conceded early on yet again, with Sorba Thomas converting in the 48th minute to bring the Potters level. Stoke continued to dominate but just could not the all-important winning goal on the day.
As for Wednesday night’s visitors, they hosted Leicester City last time out, as both sides searched for yet another three points to back up a good start to the season. Summer signing Samuel Iling-Junior gave the Baggies the lead in the tenth minute, holding off challenges from three players before scoring a great solo goal.
Unfortunately, it was heartbreak for Ryan Mason’s side, as Bobby De Cordova-Reid’s volley deflected off the poor Nathaniel Phillips and in for an own goal, greeted with scenes of jubilation from the packed out away end.
Head-To-Head
Norwich tend to have the upper hand in the head-to-head against West Brom in recent times, as they haven’t lost at home against Wednesday night’s visitors since a 4-3 thriller at the start of the 2018/19 season in which both sides finished in the top six, with the Canaries going on to win the league that season while the Baggies lost to Aston Villa in the playoffs that season.
West Brom’s last win against the hosts came at the Hawthorns on Boxing Day in 2023, with Brandon Thomas-Assante scoring the winner early in the second half after Borja Sainz was sent off for receiving two yellow cards in the pace of three minutes.
Injury News
The injuries have already begun to pile up for Liam Manning’s side, with out-of-favour Anis Ben Slimane joining Gabriel Forsyth, Mathias Kvistgaarden, Papa Diallo, Amankwah Forson and Ben Chrisene on the sidelines as mid-to-long-term absentees. Young left back Lucien Mahovo is not completely match-fit yet, but is nearing a competitive return. Out-of-favour Shane Duffy is also sidelined.
As for Ryan Mason’s side, Josh Maja is getting minutes under the belt following a lengthy spell out, while Daryl Dike and Tammer Bany are set to return to action after the international break.
Norwich City vs West Brom Prediction
No Championship game is easy, and Norwich have certainly found that easy with a massive reality check. Historical records don’t seem to be relevant this season, as Millwall won at Carrow Road this season for the first time since 1970.
The Canaries have had an extremely poor start to the season in front of a home crowd as previously mentioned and with the East Anglian derby against Ipswich coming up before the international break, there’s a lot of pressure to put in a good performance.
I can’t see the home form turning around for the hosts, and I’m going to predict a toxic Carrow Road alongside a comfortable win for the Baggies.
