Norwich Vs Oxford Preview, Prediction, Team News And Predicted Lineups

Friday’s EFL Championship clash sees playoff-chasing Norwich City welcome Oxford United to Carrow Road.

Scroll down for the Norwich vs Oxford preview, prediction, latest team news and predicted lineups.

Norwich Vs Oxford Preview

Norwich will be aiming to get back to winning ways after their 1-1 draw against promotion rivals Blackburn last week. Rovers levelled with their only shot on target in the 96th minute via Andreas Weimann.

The Lancashire stalemate means the Canaries have won just once in their last five outings. However, that solitary victory did come in the last home game against Stoke.

Lewis Dobbin opened the scoring before Josh Sargent (2) and an own goal from Junior Tchamadeu completed a 4-2 rout in Norfolk.

As it stands, Johannes Hoff Thorup’s men are 11th in the table and four points off the top six. A win on Friday will reignite their Premier League hopes ahead of the weekend’s fixtures.

City did manage to secure a playoff berth last season but were eventually beaten by Leeds in the semi-final. They’ll be hoping for better fortunes this year if they do finish in the top six.

Friday night football 🔜 pic.twitter.com/C08Jt80z0d

— Norwich City FC (@NorwichCityFC) March 3, 2025

Despite having the third-lowest EFL Championship wage bill in 2024/25, Oxford have held their own in England’s second tier this season.

The U’s have fought valiantly and find themselves in a respectable 18th position. Which the Kassam Stadium faithful would definitely have taken at the start of the season with 35 games played.

However, manager Gary Rowett has entertained some bad results in recent weeks. January’s Manager of the Month hasn’t overseen a victory since the 3-2 win against Luton on GW28.

In the reverse fixture, Mark Harris and Cameron Brannagan netted in a fine 2-0 win on the opening day of the season. That was the U’s first victory at this level in 25 years.

Ahead of Friday’s match, the best football betting sites in the UK price Norwich as the 3/5 favourites. Oxford can be backed at 5/1 with the draw 16/5.

Norwich Vs Oxford Team News

Amankwah Forson, Gabriel Forsyth, Liam Gibbs, Kenny McLean and Matej Jurasek are all ruled out for Norwich. Lewis Dobbin is also likely to miss out after picking up an injury against Blackburn.

Defender Callum Doyle is expected to be named in the starting XI after serving a two-game suspension. In attack, top scorer Borja Sainz will once again lead the line.

Meanwhile, Oxford will have to make do without Greg Leigh, Ben Nelson and Tom Bradshaw. The same will likely apply to Joe Bennett who missed last week’s defeat to Coventry.

Alex Matos is set for a recall to the starting lineup. The Chelsea loanee was on the bench for the 3-2 loss to Frank Lampard’s Sky Blues on March 1.

👀 @BurnleyOfficial close the gap on the top two

⬆️ @BristolCity eyeing those Play-Off spots

🐯 @HullCity pull FIVE points clear of danger#EFL | #SkyBetChampionship pic.twitter.com/fxfmTnXsYR

— Sky Bet Championship (@SkyBetChamp) March 4, 2025

Norwich Vs Oxford Predicted Lineups

Norwich (4-3-3): Gunn; Fisher, Duffy, Doyle Chrisene; Nunez, Sorensen, Slimane; Crnac, Sainz, Sargent

Oxford (4-2-3-1): Cumming; Kioso, Helik, Brown, Moore; Brannagan, Matos; Placheta, Goodrham, Harris; Romeny

Norwich Vs Oxford Prediction

Norwich will be out to exact revenge for the opening day defeat and that’s exactly what we are predicting at Carrow Road on Friday night.

Oxford haven’t won since January 21 and we believe the Canaries will be far too strong for Gary Rowett’s side.

Prediction: Norwich 3-1 Oxford