Norwich City look to edge closer to Championship survival against League One bound Sheffield Wednesday at Carrow Road with a fourth win in five league games.
Philippe Clement has won nine of his 18 games in charge so far since taking over from Liam Manning in December, and will view the tie as key to securing a place in the second tier for the Canaries.
Advertisement
Their opponents will be preparing for life in the third division, after the Owls suffered the earliest relegation in EFL history at the home of their fiercest rivals Sheffield United last time out.
When Clement took over the Yellows back in November, Norwich were second bottom in the Championship table having lost a record seven home games on the spin under Liam Manning.
Now, they’re five points clear of Leicester City in 22nd and have a favourable run of games, including their pivotal visit to the Foxes next week – making three points from this clash all the more important.
Advertisement
Norwich are still without and are set to lose US striker Josh Sargent after the club reportedly agreed a deal with MLS side Toronto FC eventually totalling somewhere in the region of £20m.
The American had been banished from the first team after refusing to feature against Walsall in the third round of the FA Cup.
Norwich head into the fixture with a slew of injuries and with some more bad news concerning Jovan Makama, after Clement revealed the English forward had surgery on a broken bone in his foot.
Advertisement
As-well as the 21-year-old, loanee Harry Amass, Matej Jurasek, and Pelle Mattson are all absent through injury with slim chances of a return.
Mirko Topic and Ante Crnac are out for the rest of the season, having both sustained anterior cruciate ligament injuries earlier in the campaign.
As for Wednesday, injuries have been the least of the Owls concerns this season however damaging they may have been, having spent five months in administration and seeing a total 18 points deducted.
Advertisement
Henrik Pedersen is still having to rely on Seny Deing after the Middlesbrough goalkeeper joined on an emergency loan, being their seventh goalkeeper to feature for Wednesday in their unforgiving season.
Number one keeper Shea Charles is still injured with a shoulder issue, while Dominic Iorfa and Max Lowe remain out with a groin and calf problem respectively.
England’s single-capped centre back Nathan Chalobah is still side-lined with a hamstring injury, and young defender Di’Shon Bernard is expected to miss the rest of the season with a knee injury.
Advertisement
Add all of this to the suspended Gabriel Otegbayo, and Pedersen’s side face the steepest of uphill battles to at least salvage some dignity in what remains of 2025/26.
Wednesday have scored two goals since boxing day and not picked up a point in 2026, but their fans remain optimistic following the removal of former chairman Dejphon Chansiri.
The Owls’ new target is to avoid the unwanted record of becoming the first side in English history to go down on negative points, and will end the weekend on -4 with an unlikely victory over in-form Norwich.
