Ball in Norwich’s court as Championship promotion race heats up:: All Nigeria Soccer

The biggest reward for a top two finish in the Championship is a place in the prestigious Premier League. As things stand, Norwich and Brentford are in prime positions to win that race.Things could change very fast though, but in the short term, it would be Brentford to feel the heat, as Norwich can only take the hit.

The two sides face off in what may not be the top two decider, just yet, but will go a long way in deciding the face of the Championship summit in a few matches to come.

For starters, the two sides are separated by seven points. Norwich are top of the pile, with 70 points, while Brentford are second on 63 points ahead of their clash.

Norwich would take a hit here in the sense that a loss would cut their lead significantly. On the other hand, Brentford feels the heat, being just three points above third placed Watford, who have been doing superbly.

While a number of matches with great impact to the promotion race will be up in the Championship, this will definitely be the most followed.

A number of bookmakers as availed on SportyTrader, tip Norwich as favorites with 22Bet placing a Norwich win at 2.26.

It may be easy to pick on Norwich as favorites here but we must also put in regard that they’ve had a much easier run of fixtures compared to Brentford.

Bet365 has a Brentford win at 3.4 but the best odds for a win by the away side are found on Marathon Bet (3.54).

Odds of 3.4 fronted by Bet365 are the best for a draw in this game and having registered 1-1 draws in their last two meetings in the Championship, this also remains a big possibility.

As the most focus in the Championship is reserved for this game, third placed Watford will be taking on relegation threatened Wycombe Wanderers in another key match.

Watford will hope for at least a draw, or in the worst case scenario, a Norwich win so they can close in on automatic promotion.

Meanwhile, Wycombe need the points to push their survival ambitions as they are currently bottom, and 12 points below the safety line.

Watford and Norwich are eyeing immediate returns to the Premier League, and AFC Bournemouth shares the same ambition, though for them, the playoffs route seem the most realistic.

Bournemouth are only outside the playoff slots by a point. They face Bristol City and will hope they can register a win to push closer to their target.

Apart from Norwich, Brentford and Watford, who occupy the top three positions respectively, a congested top six also has Swansea, who have the league’s best defence, Reading, and Cardiff City. Seven points separates the top two sides, and a further seven separates the third to the sixth.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel

Photo Credit : canaries.co.uk