Norwich City face Watford at Carrow Road on Saturday 31 October in a Championship fixture they desperately need to turn their season around. The Canaries are in 21st place with just nine points from 11 games, having lost their last five matches. Their record of three wins and eight losses from those 11 games has left them 16 points behind leaders Middlesbrough.
Their most recent defeat was a 1-0 home loss to Portsmouth on October 17, a result that extended a miserable run. Before that, they fell 1-0 to Southampton on October 14 and 2-1 away to Swansea on October 10. This sequence of five consecutive defeats also includes a 3-4 home loss to Bolton on September 20 and a 5-0 defeat at Manchester City on September 17. The team has conceded 21 goals this season while scoring 17, leaving them with a negative goal difference.
Watford arrive with mixed form, having beaten Charlton 2-0 but suffered heavy defeats to Cardiff and Burnley in their last three outings. The Hornets' last starting lineup featured a 5-3-2 formation with players like F. Ravaglia in goal and M. Boadu leading the attack.
Norwich's last XI saw D. Grimshaw between the posts, with a back four of J. Stacey, Ruairi McConville, J. Córdoba and B. Chrisene. Jacob Wright and P. Mattsson anchored the midfield behind an attacking trio of A. Brooks, A. Ben Slimane and O. Schwartau, supporting striker J. Makama.
Top scorer M. Touré, with five goals in seven appearances, will be a key figure if Norwich are to find a way past Watford. After hosting Watford, Norwich travel to face 16th-placed Charlton on Saturday 24 October.
