After witnessing their Championship promotion rivals falter around them this weekend, Norwich City have the opportunity to pull clear of the pack in the second automatic promotion place (6/4 Promotion) behind runaway leaders QPR when they entertain Bristol City on Monday evening at Carrow Road.
Neil Warnock’s R’s (1/6 Outright) moved 10 points clear at the top of the Championship thanks to Saturday’s 2-1 win against Crystal Palace, but the rest of the top-seven sides failed to win, which gives Paul Lambert’s men a huge incentive to go three points clear of the pack with just nine games remaining.
Lambert is set to name an unchanged side following last Tuesday’s impressive 3-2 win at Leicester for the game as Norwich chase a first league double over the Robins in 21 years.
However, while Norwich have enjoyed success on the road in recent games, they seem to be struggling to secure points on home soil having been held to 1-1 draws by struggling Doncaster and bottom club Preston in their last two outings at Carrow Road.
Despite those slips the Canaries are still unbeaten in six games and have only lost once in 15 to show they have what it takes to stay the course for a place in the Premier League.
Bristol City will not be a pushover for Norwich as they have virtually banished any relegation fears with a four-match winning run lifting them towards mid-table.
Keith Millen’s side have not won five on the bounce in more than two years, but are more than capable of taking maximum points in East Anglia given that they have won on their last two trips to Carrow Road.
The Robins will hope to be boosted by the return of loan defender Steven Caulker following a hip problem, while Liam Fontaine is battling to shake off an ankle injury.
Nicky Maynard (7/1 First Goalscorer) could be the danger man for Bristol City as he has found the net three times in as many games since returning from a long-term injury problem and he could be one to watch when the action gets underway.
Prediction: Draw @ 13/5
Value Bet: Maynard 1st Goal 2-2 Draw @ 66/1
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