In their 24th Championship game of the season, Norwich City are set to host Queens Park Rangers at Carrow Road on Sunday.
The hosts are 12th with 29 points and beat Millwall 2-1 on Boxing Day, while their opponents are in 17th place with 25 points and are six points clear of the relegation zone after losing 3-0 against Swansea City on Thursday.
Match preview
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The Canaries thoroughly deserved their win against Millwall considering they created four big chances while facing none themselves.
Boss Johannes Hoff Thorup was delighted with the performance but still said there was room for improvement, saying: "The thing that impressed me most was the way we dominated the match from minute one. We have had a tough run but the players were really on it straight away.
"We scored early, created chances and just importantly we were really solid at the back, never giving them any chances themselves. Our defensive base needs to be more solid, we have seen that in recent games, and today it was much better."
Thorup's side have kept just one clean sheet in their last 14 matches and have conceded 10 times in their six most recent games, scoring on nine occasions in that period.
Norwich's form in the past weeks has been poor given they have lost three, drawn one and triumphed in just one of their last five outings.
The hosts' record at Carrow Road is positive, with the club having won three of their last four matches at home.
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Opponents QPR conceded three goals last time out in the first half between the 12th and 33rd minutes and were in truth dominated, with Swansea preventing them from registering a single attempt on target.
Manager Marti Cifuentes tried to look forward instead of lingering on the defeat, telling reporters in the aftermath of the loss: "It is better to lose one game 3-0 than three games 1-0. Hopefully we can learn from this one. It is about mentality. You can win, you can lose, the most important thing is the next action. We must learn from this one."
Cifuentes signed a new long-term contract with the club in late September, but his side lost five and drew four of the nine games that followed the announcement of his extension.
However, QPR's defeat against Swansea was their first in their last eight matches having won four of their prior six outings.
The visitors' away form has not been as strong as their overall showings in recent weeks considering they have drawn four, lost four and achieved victory in just one of their past nine fixtures on the road.
Team News
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Norwich have three injury absentees, though midfielders Gabriel Forsyth and Liam Gibbs, as well as forward Joshua Sargent, are not expected to be absent beyond January.
Anis Ben Slimane, Marcelino Nunez and Emiliano Marcondes started against Millwall and may retain their places in a midfield three.
Striker Ante Crnac is likely to feature given Sargent will not appear, and he could be flanked by wide players Oscar Schwartau and Borja Sainz.
As for QPR, midfielder Karamoko Dembele has been ruled out of action until March, so perhaps Sam Field and Jonathan Varane will play in a double pivot.
Winger Paul Smyth and striker Zan Celar could return from injury in January, but with both unavailable for selection on Sunday, Cifuentes is likely to start Lucas Andersen, Kieran Morgan and Koki Saito behind forward Rayan Kolli.
Centre-backs Morgan Fox and Liam Morrison will almost certainly start considering Steve Cook will not make his comeback from a foot injury until February.
Norwich City possible starting lineup:
Gunn; Fisher, Duffy, Doyle, Chrisene; Slimane, Nunez, Marcondes; Schwartau, Crnac, Sainz
Queens Park Rangers possible starting lineup:
Nardi; Dunne, Fox, Morrison, Paal; Field, Varane; Andersen, Morgan, Saito; Kolli
We say: Norwich City 2-2 Queens Park Rangers
While Norwich have struggled for consistency in recent times, they have at least picked up good results at Carrow Road.
However, QPR's resurgence under Cifuentes could mean that the visitors will pose a difficult challenge on Sunday, and they may hold their hosts to a stalemate.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Lewis Nolan
