Fifth will face seventh in a Championship playoff battle this weekend as Norwich City host Brentford at Carrow Road.

The Canaries go into the match knowing that a third straight victory would see them leapfrog the Bees and move into the top six due to their goal difference being vastly superior to that of their opponents.

A win would also maintain Alex Neil's 100% record in charge of the club despite the inexperienced manager having faced a tricky start to life at the helm.

His opening match saw him topple league leaders Bournemouth at Dean Court, while they were forced to hold off a second-half fightback from Cardiff City last time out having taken a three-goal lead into the break.

As a result, they now sit just one point behind sixth-placed Watford, who take on lowly Blackpool at Vicarage Road on Saturday.

The Canaries can take confidence from their home form, which has seen them lose just twice at Carrow Road all season, winning the last three and scoring 14 goals in the process.

Indeed, no Championship ground has seen more goals this season than Carrow Road (47), and the recent form of both Gary Hooper and Cameron Jerome has contributed to that tally.

Hooper has scored six and provided five more assists in his last nine league appearances for Norwich, while Jerome has hit five in his last six. Jerome also netted a brace in Norwich's 3-0 win at Griffin Park earlier this season.

Those two are once again expected to start, but Neil will be without Jonny Howson for the second consecutive game as he continues to serve his suspension.

Martin Olsson is also expected to be included despite speculation linking him with a move to Swansea City this week.

Brentford travel to Carrow Road with a terrible record there over the years, losing 10 and winning none of their last 11 trips.

However, they also enter the match having won their last two outings, although the entertainment factor in their back-to-back 1-0 victories was not as great as Norwich fans have seen recently.

Even so, the Bees continue to challenge for the playoffs in their first season back in the Championship, and another victory this weekend would take them above Derby County and to within two points of the top, with the teams above them not in action.

Their position is made even more surprising by the fact that no team in the top 10 has conceded more goals, while none in the top seven has scored fewer.

Mark Warburton called on his side to be more clinical following their 1-0 win over 10-man Brighton & Hove Albion last week, a match that saw Andre Gray get his 10th league goal of the season.

His goals have earned Brentford 11 points in the current campaign, a tally that no other player in the division can match.

He will, therefore, once again lead the line and, despite a couple of new additions in the transfer window so far, Brentford could be unchanged.

Norwich:

Form in Championship: WDWLWW
Form in all competitions: DWLLWW

Possible starting lineup: Ruddy; Martin, Whittaker, Turner, Olsson; Johnson, O'Neil, Redmond, Hooper, Lafferty; Jerome

Brentford:

Form in Championship: WWLLWW
Form in all competitions: WLLLWW

Possible starting lineup: Button; Odubajo, Tarkowski, Dean, Bidwell; Diagouraga, Douglas, Jota, Pritchard, Dallas; Gray

Sports Mole says: 2-1