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Swansea vs Norwich Odds & Prediction – EFL Championship Round 28

John Dillon

by John Dillon in Soccer News

Updated Feb 5, 2021 · 12:49 PM PST

Swansea vs Norwich
Norwich City's head coach Daniel Farke, centre, reacts during the English Premier League soccer match between Norwich City and Burnley at Carrow Road Stadium in Norwich, England, Saturday, July 18, 2020. (Julian Finney/Pool via AP)
  • Leaders Norwich travel to meet third-placed Swansea in Wales at 3:15 pm ET on Friday
  • Table-toppers have stuttered with two goalless draws while hosts have the division’s best defense
  • See the odds and best bets for Swansea vs Norwich on EFL Championship Round 28

English EFL Championship leaders Norwich City travel to meet third-placed Swansea City in a crucial promotion battle on Friday.

After two successive goalless draws, Norwich are faltering with their lead over second-placed Brentford cut to four points.

In-form Swansea, meanwhile, are enjoying an impressive run with five wins and two draws since their last defeat in mid-December.

Despite those recent results, the oddsmakers at DraftKings still make Norwich the favorites for an away win at +160.

Swansea are priced at +185 with the draw the most attractive offer at +205. Kick-off is at 3:15 pm ET on Friday.

Swansea City vs Norwich City Odds

Matchup Spread Moneyline Total
Swansea City vs Norwich City SWA – 0.25 (+143) | NOR + 0.25 (-180) SWA +185 | NOR + 160 | DRAW +205 Ov 2.5 (+105) | Un 2.5 (-130)

Odds taken from DraftKings Feb 4

The gap between the two sides is only five points as they battle for the automatic promotion places with Norwich on 55 and Swansea on 50 – with a game in hand on the leaders.

The goalless run for Norwich in fact extends to three matches because it also includes a 1-0 defeat by Barnsley in the FA Cup Fourth Round on January 23.

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Since then they have drawn 0-0 away at home against Middlesbrough and 0-0 at Millwall although those unimpressive outcomes have made it six games unbeaten in the Championship for coach Daniel Farke’s team.

That means Norwich have maintained the position they have held at the top of the table since a 1-0 win at Middlesbrough on Matchday 12 on November 21.

Norwich’s two recent goalless draws have come despite the return from a brief injury break of Norwich’s leading goal-scorer Teemu Pukki

The away win at ‘Boro came amid a run of 11 victories in 15 games – with two draws and two defeats before the current mini-stutter.

Those two recent goalless draws have come despite the return from a brief injury break of Norwich’s leading goal-scorer Teemu Pukki who has been on target 11 times in 23 Championship appearances this season.

But goals have been sparse for the team, anyway, with a failure to score more than twice in league games since a 3-2 win at Stoke City on November 24.

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That lack of sustained fire-power may be a factor again on Friday as Norwich come up against a Swansea side with the best defensive record in the division after conceding only 15 times in 26 games.

Just six of those goals have been allowed at Swansea’s Liberty Stadium HQ in south Wales where they were beaten only once in the Championship in this campaign.

They have won seven times and drawn five times on their own patch.

Swansea City vs Norwich City Stats

Swansea City
VS
Norwich City
14 Wins 16
8 Draws 7
4 Losses 4
33 Goals 35
15 Goals Against 21
44 Yellow Cards 40
1 Red Cards 3
14 Clean Sheets 10

Against that, Norwich have the best away record in the competition with eight wins, two draws and three defeats.

That record is slightly deceptive because they have not performed well on the road against the division’s better sides.

They lost at Bournemouth and Watford and required a late equalizer to secure a draw at Brentford.

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Swansea’s last outing in the league was a 3-1 win away against struggling Rotherham United. Before that, there was a 1-1 draw at home against promotion rivals Brentford.

They have also advanced to the Fifth Round of the FA Cup after a 5-1 home thrashing of fellow Championship side Nottingham Forest on January 23.

Swansea have scored slightly more on the road with a total of 17 against 16 at home.

While they are defensively strong and very well-organised by coach Steve Cooper, they are not particularly prolific with only 33 goals scored so far.

Indeed, they have scored slightly more on the road with a total of 17 against 16 at home.

With Norwich having kept clean sheets in four of their last five league fixtures, it is unlikely to be a high-scoring affair on Friday.

Their midfield playmaker Emi Buendia will be serving the second part of a two-match suspension so service to the Norwich forwards may be limited.

Swansea striker Andre Ayew has hit eight goals in 25 Championship appearances this season but has not been on target in the last five league games.

The leading scorer is Jamal Lowe who has found the net nine times in the league but has also hit a slight dry patch without a goal in the most recent two games.

There was a 1-0 home win for Norwich the last time these teams met on November 7 last year.

Pick: Draw +205

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