Preview: Norwich City vs. Watford - prediction, team news, lineups

Norwich City will clinch the Championship title if they beat Watford on Tuesday.

The Canaries' promotion to the Premier League was confirmed on Saturday and the second-placed Hornets will now be eager to follow them back into the top flight of English football.

Match preview

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Norwich were able to celebrate promotion before they even played on Saturday, as draws for Brentford and Swansea City made them uncatchable in the top two.

Daniel Farke's side then went on to lose 3-1 against Bournemouth in the evening – their first defeat in 14 games and the first time they had been beaten at Carrow Road since October.

Therefore they will be eager to prove that they are not in party mode just yet and make the title safe against a Watford side that currently trail them by eight points.

If the trophy does not come on Tuesday, Norwich have games against Queens Park Rangers, Reading and Barnsley left on their fixture list.

Watford are one of just five teams to beat the Canaries in the Championship this season, as Ismaila Sarr's goal secured a 1-0 win for the Hornets on Boxing Day in Xisco Munoz's first game in charge.

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Munoz has gone on to win 15 out of 22 matches at the helm so far, taking Watford from playoff hopefuls to automatic promotion contenders.

They need eight more points to confirm their return to the Premier League, but their final two games see them face fourth-placed Brentford and third-placed Swansea City.

Therefore a surprise 1-0 defeat to Luton Town on Saturday, in which Kiko Femenia was sent off, was a far from ideal but Watford were deservedly beaten by the Hatters.

It was a first loss in nine games for the Hertfordshire outfit, who have been almost unstoppable since switching to a 4-3-3 system in February.

Watford are the Championship's best defensive side with just 28 goals conceded but away from home no top six side has picked up fewer points; the Hornets have also netted just 18 goals from their 21 matches on the road.

Team News

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Dimitris Giannoulis was sent off just 17 minutes into Norwich's defeat to Bournemouth and is therefore suspended for Tuesday's game.

That will force Farke into changing the starting lineup for the first time in four matches, with Jacob Sorensen expected to come in at the left-back in place of the Greek international.

With promotion won, Farke could look to give more gametime to the likes of Jordan Hugill and Przemyslaw Placheta but that may wait until the title is secured.

Watford were also reduced to ten men on Saturday as Femenia was sent off against Luton; Marc Navarro is likely to replace him at right-back and make only his second league start of the season.

Nathaniel Chalobah will hope to return after failing a late fitness test ahead of Saturday's game, while Adam Masina was taken ill in the warmup at Kenilworth Road so will need to be assessed.

Joao Pedro has not scored in his last nine games but should keep his place upfront ahead of Isaac Success and Andre Gray.

Norwich City possible starting lineup:
Krul; Aarons, Omobamidele, Hanley, Sorensen; Skipp, McLean; Buendia, Dowell, Cantwell; Pukki

Watford possible starting lineup:
Bachmann; Navarro, Sierralta, Troost-Ekong, Masina; Hughes, Chalobah, Zinckernagel; Sarr, Pedro, Sema

We say: Norwich City 1-1 Watford

Despite Norwich's promotion being secured, this is still set to be a really interesting encounter with the league title on the line and Watford's own promotion status far from certain given their remaining games; we think that it will end all square, which will suit the Canaries much more than the Hornets.