OptimaGoal
EN
Championship · Matchday 16

Norwich City vs Cardiff City: Match Preview & Stats

Norwich City crest Norwich City
vs
Cardiff City crest Cardiff City
Carrow Road, Norwich, Norfolk

Our picks

Model predictions are published 48 hours before kick-off

To take in the latest form and rest days, the predictions for this match come out on . (If either team plays another match in between, they come out once that match is over.)

See today's ready predictions →

Our record

  • Norwich City: 4 of 7 right
  • Cardiff City: 4 of 7 right

Our result picks in each club's earlier matches on this site.

Match facts

Competition
Championship, Matchday 16
Kick-off
Venue
Carrow Road, Norwich, Norfolk
Since last match
Norwich City: 14 days (Championship) · Bristol City (0‑5) Cardiff City: 13 days (Championship) · Burnley (5‑4)
Next match
Norwich City: 3 days (Championship) later · Queens Park Rangers Cardiff City: 3 days (Championship) later · Preston North End

Last starting XI

Norwich City 4-2-3-1

  1. 32 Grimshaw
  2. 3 Stacey
  3. 15 McConville
  4. 6 Darling
  5. 14 Chrisene
  6. 26 Field
  7. 16 Wright
  8. 11 Brooks
  9. 25 Maghoma
  10. 49 Musaba
  11. 30 Kvistgaarden

Coach: Philippe Clement at Bristol City, 5-0 · Championship · 7 Nov

Cardiff City 4-2-3-1

  1. 1 Trott
  2. 38 Ng
  3. 2 Fish
  4. 5 Bielik
  5. 3 Bagan
  6. 18 Robertson
  7. 45 Ashford
  8. 11 Tanner
  9. 10 Colwill
  10. 16 Willock
  11. 8 Moylan

Coach: Brian Barry-Murphy vs Burnley, 5-4 · Championship · 7 Nov

Our predicted line-ups come with our picks, 48 hours before kick-off. Until then: each club's last starting XI.

Injuries and suspensions

Norwich City

  • FW Ali AhmedInjured · Late November 2026
  • FW Mohamed TouréInjured · Early January 2027
  • FW Papa DialloInjured · Late November 2026
  • – Gabriel ForsythInjured · Doubtful

Cardiff City

  • DF Dylan LawlorInjured · Late November 2026
  • – Calum ChambersInjured · Doubtful

Players listed as injured, suspended or away with their national team, with their expected return.

Missing Players Impact

Norwich City

Low impact
Missing attack share 3.0%
Missing minutes share 1.0%
4 players out
Key absences:
  • FW Mohamed Touré 3% attack · 1% mins

Cardiff City

Low impact
Missing attack share 0.0%
Missing minutes share 1.0%
2 players out

Share of team playing time and attacking output over the last 10 matches accounted for by unavailable players.

Tactical Profile & Play Quality (0–100)

Norwich City Cardiff City
Box & Territory Pressure 52 62
Set-Piece & Corner Threat 40 53
Finishing Efficiency 91 72
Defensive & Goalkeeper Wall 40 46
Underlying Play Power 45 71
Norwich City Results above play quality (running hot)
Cardiff City Playing above results (positive regression candidate)

OptimaGoal 0–100 performance indices built from the last 10 matches before kick-off.

Game-State Scenarios & Goal Timing

Norwich City

When scoring first 62% won · 62% unbeaten (8 matches)
When conceding first 29% points rescued · 29% won (7 matches)
1st Half: 50% 2nd Half: 50%
First 15': 19% Last 15' (76-90'): 9%

Cardiff City

When scoring first 43% won · 100% unbeaten (7 matches)
When conceding first 38% points rescued · 12% won (8 matches)
1st Half: 63% 2nd Half: 37%
First 15': 15% Last 15' (76-90'): 15%

Reaction to scoring or conceding first and goal distribution across the last 15 matches.

Key Attacking Threats

Norwich City

  1. 1. MF Edmond-Paris Maghoma 4G · 2A
    Team attack 12.0% Team shots 9.0%
  2. 2. MF Jacob Wright 2G · 1A
    Team attack 11.0% Team shots 11.0%
  3. 3. FW Mathias Kvistgaarden 2G · 3A
    Team attack 11.0% Team shots 8.0%

Cardiff City

  1. 1. FW Jack Moylan 9G · 3A
    Team attack 24.0% Team shots 24.0%
  2. 2. FW Ollie Tanner 3G · 3A
    Team attack 15.0% Team shots 16.0%
  3. 3. FW Yousef Salech 4G · 1A
    Team attack 13.0% Team shots 15.0%

Top available players by share of team attacking production and shot volume over the last 10 matches.

Norwich City Cardiff City
Over 1.5 goals 8/10 8/10
Over 2.5 goals 8/10 7/10
Over 3.5 goals 7/10 5/10
Both teams scored 5/10 7/10
Clean sheet 2/10 1/10
Failed to score 3/10 2/10
Goals per match (scored / conceded) 2.2 / 2.0 2.1 / 1.8

Last 10 matches, all competitions, results after 90 minutes.

Form guide

Norwich City

  • W 5-0 at Bristol City (A) Championship · 7 Nov
  • W 4-0 at Derby County (A) Championship · 3 Nov
  • W 3-2 vs Watford (H) Championship · 31 Oct
  • W 3-1 at Charlton Athletic (A) Championship · 24 Oct
  • L 0-1 vs Portsmouth (H) Championship · 17 Oct

Cardiff City

  • W 5-4 vs Burnley (H) Championship · 7 Nov
  • D 3-3 vs West Ham United (H) Championship · 4 Nov
  • L 0-3 at Wolverhampton Wanderers (A) Championship · 31 Oct
  • W 1-0 vs Birmingham City (H) Championship · 24 Oct
  • D 2-2 at Middlesbrough (A) Championship · 17 Oct

Last five competitive matches before kick-off, all competitions, results after 90 minutes.

When the goals come

ScoredConceded

Norwich City

Cardiff City

Goals in each 15-minute period, Championship this season. Stoppage time counts with its half.

Top scorers

Norwich City

Player G A
Mohamed Touré 5 0
Mathias Kvistgaarden (1 pen) 4 4
Edmond-Paris Maghoma 4 2
Andre Brooks 3 2
Anthony Musaba 3 2

Cardiff City

Player G A
Jack Moylan (3 pens) 10 3
Yousef Salech 5 1
Ollie Tanner 3 4
Cian Ashford 2 3
Callum Robinson 2 0

Goals and assists in the Championship this season.

Corners and yellow cards

Norwich City Cardiff City
  • 4.7 Corners won 6.4
  • 4.1 Corners conceded 5.1
  • 1.7 Yellow cards 1.9
  • 1.6 Opponents' yellow cards 2.4

Per match in the Championship this season. Average per club and match: 5.2 corners, 1.9 yellow cards.

Attack and defence ratings

Norwich CityCardiff City
Attack 83 70 2.1 goals per match this season1.8 goals per match this season
Defence 43 4 1.6 conceded per match this season1.8 conceded per match this season

0 to 100 against this season's Championship clubs (100 = best). The rating is our model's long-run strength before this match: it uses the last three years and counts recent matches most, so a few results do not move it at once. Under each rating: this season's actual goals per match.

1715Elo #219 Elo rating 1683Elo #251

Head-to-head

12Norwich City wins
2draws
6Cardiff City wins

20 meetings since 2010, results after 90 minutes.

  • 25 Aug 2026 · EFL Cup Cardiff City 1-2 Norwich City
  • 3 May 2025 · Championship Norwich City 4-2 Cardiff City
  • 2 Nov 2024 · Championship Cardiff City 2-1 Norwich City
  • 17 Feb 2024 · Championship Norwich City 4-1 Cardiff City
  • 11 Nov 2023 · Championship Cardiff City 2-3 Norwich City

Table

#Team PWDLGoalsGDPts
1 Birmingham City 15 852 28:14 +14 29
2 Middlesbrough 15 852 30:19 +11 29
3 Stoke City 15 924 24:18 +6 29
4 Southampton 15 843 29:15 +14 28
5 Wolverhampton Wanderers 15 843 26:18 +8 28
6 West Bromwich Albion 15 843 23:15 +8 28
7 Swansea City 15 825 22:18 +4 26
8 Queens Park Rangers 15 663 24:18 +6 24
9 West Ham United 15 654 37:23 +14 23
10 Sheffield United 15 645 21:19 +2 22
11 Portsmouth 15 645 20:18 +2 22
12 Norwich City 15 708 32:24 +8 21
13 Blackburn Rovers 15 636 22:23 -1 21
14 Cardiff City 15 465 27:27 0 18
15 Wrexham 15 465 18:20 -2 18
16 Millwall 15 537 23:27 -4 18
17 Bristol City 15 537 16:24 -8 18
18 Bolton Wanderers 15 528 20:29 -9 17
19 Charlton Athletic 15 456 13:23 -10 17
20 Watford 15 438 13:23 -10 15
21 Lincoln City 15 438 15:26 -11 15
22 Burnley 15 177 22:31 -9 10
23 Derby County 15 249 14:30 -16 10
24 Preston North End 15 2211 13:30 -17 8

Our table from the results; the two clubs of this match are highlighted. Full table

Season projection

Members

Where these two clubs are projected to finish in the Championship: average points, likely range and chances.

ClubPts Avg ptsLikely TitlePromotedPlay-offsRelegated
Norwich City 21
Cardiff City 18

For members

Every club's chance of every place, from our simulated seasons, updated daily.

Become a member

Every Championship club's projection →

More Championship matches

All fixtures

Times are UTC.