West Bromwich Albion – Norwich City

In a match between direct rivals, the visitors will not allow their opponents to score three points

While many teams have successfully tackled the tournament in recent rounds, West Bromwich have been only sad witnesses to these 'celebrations'. In the round before last, Sunderland, their direct rival, secured a place in the play-off zone at the expense of the Thrashers. Last weekend, Sheffield United won a direct entry to the Premier League following their encounter with West Bromwich, joining Burnley as one of the fortunate winners. In fact, over the past five seasons, the Thrashers have changed "habitat" three times, playing in the Premier League and then in the Championship. Before the penultimate round, West Bromwich could still be in contention for another place in the league, because the playoff zone is not so far away. Norwich are in a similar situation. "The Canaries are the most experienced 'lift team' of England's top two divisions. Norwich have spent five of their previous ten seasons each in the Championship and Premier League, rarely failing to switch divisions following their opening seasons. Wagner's side are on roughly equal footing with their upcoming opponents, so their encounter promises to be a game of principle. Bookmakers have identified the home side as the favourites, offering odds of 2.03 on their victory. Prior to the defeats in the last two rounds described above, West Bromwich had lost just one of their eight league fixtures since the first decade of March. However, the level of opponents defeated by the Thrashers is noteworthy: three of the four worst teams in Championship and a mid-table side in Stoke City. The last time West Bromwich beat a club from the top half of the table was over two months ago. Norwich, too, have not had much to be proud of recently. "The Canaries were considered clear favourites for a play-off spot by early March, but then there has been a blackout in their results. Wagner's side are now just three points adrift of sixth place, but have so many rivals that the gap in question looks critical. The Canaries have won just once in the last nine rounds, but have not lost to their opponents in two consecutive meetings since the first half of February. Norwich lost with a bang at home to Swansea last time out, so they must pick up at least a point on Saturday.