Eng. Championship
2026-08-15 - Norwich City vs West Brom
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football: English Championship
Saturday 15th August 2026 - Kick Off 3pm
Norwich City
One of the recent yo-yo clubs between the Premier League and Championship are now spending a fourth season in the second tier of English Football and Norwich City fans will be envious of rivals Ipswich Town. The Canaries had finished as the title winners of the Championship in 2019 and 2021, but finished 20th in the Premier League in 2020 and 2022 and have since only made the top six of the Championship once.
This season 8th will be a Play Off place and that has to be the minimum expectation for Norwich City where expectations have been raised thanks to the form shown under Philippe Clement. The manager came in after Norwich City had lost 10 of 15 League games to begin the season and Clement guided them into 9th place when all was said and done, while the side finished 5th in the 'second half' table.
Norwich City finished with a 9-3-11 record at Carrow Road in the Championship last season, but they have lost 1 of the last 8 games here in all competitions. Last weekend they were thumping MK Dons 4-1 in the League Cup First Round here and Norwich City have won 5 of the last 8 games at home.
Injuries hurt Norwich City last season and they will be hoping for a healthier campaign all around.
West Brom
Relegation from the Premier League was confirmed at the end of the 2021 season and West Brom have struggled to find their feet back in the Championship. They will have learned how much harder it becomes to try and push for promotion the longer you spend time outside of the Premier League and teams like Stoke City are other examples of that.
The Baggies have only made the Play Offs once in the last five seasons in the Championship and they came worryingly close to relegation into League One last season. They finished 21st in the Championship table and 4 points clear of the relegation places, which was mainly thanks to the performances under James Morrison who has been made permanent manager. Improving the 5-4-14 away record will be the challenge for West Brom over the next nine months.
West Brom have lost 1 of the last 12 games in all competitions and so it is no surprise James Morrison has been retained as manager. Last weekend they crushed Rotherham United 1-4 away from home in the League Cup First Round, and that means West Brom have won 3 of the last 5 matches played on their travels going back to last season.
Head to Head
Both clubs beat the other away from home in the Championship last season, although Norwich City did get the better of West Brom at Carrow Road in the FA Cup.
Norwich City have won 3 of the last 4 at home against The Baggies.
Prediction
The Championship looks really competitive this season and the likes of Norwich City and West Brom will be enticed by the top eight all having a chance of playing Premier League Football in twelve months time.
Both played well under managers who took over at some point during the course of the 2025/26 season and that has given both momentum.
Norwich City and West Brom matched one another by crushing lower League opponents by the same 4-1 scoreline in the League Cup First Round last weekend and so confidence should not be an issue for either squad.
Home advantage does tend to be a big factor in the second tier of English Football and that is where the edge has to be with Norwich City, who also come into the campaign with greater expectations than West Brom.
Philippe Clement's coaching experience also helps Norwich City and that showed in the strong form shown in the second half of the season. The Canaries look capable of pushing for a return to the Premier League and they may do just enough to earn the three points on the opening weekend in front of the home fans.
The Pick :
Norwich City 2-1 West Brom
