"Look unstoppable right now" - Sky Sports pundit issues Norwich City v Southampton prediction | OneFootball

With Ipswich Town dropping points once more on Friday night, the gap is closing between the Tractor Boys in second position in the Championship table and Southampton, who are chasing in third.

Earlier on in the evening, the Saints welcomed Plymouth Argyle to St Mary's Stadium, and immediately after the Pilgrims had a goal wrongly chalked off for offside, Carlos Alcaraz slammed in an opener for Russell Martin's side, with the lead quickly doubled by Che Adams.

Southampton ran out 2-1 winners in the end, closing the gap to Ipswich to just two points, but that extended back to three as Kieran McKenna's side struggled against Queens Park Rangers at Portman Road in Suffolk with a goalless draw.

Attentions for Southampton will turn to the other East Anglian county though on New Year's Day, as they will make the lengthy trip to Norfolk to take on a Norwich City side that have seen their results slide once more.

David Wagner eased the pressure on his job somewhat a month ago with three wins in four matches, but he has seen the Canaries now lose back-to-back away games against West Brom and Millwall to leave them in 13th position heading into 2024.

Prutton predicts New Year's cheer for Southampton

Sky Sports pundit and presenter David Prutton, who played for the Saints between 2003 and 2007 as a midfielder, believes that their lengthy unbeaten run is set to continue at the expense of the Canaries, whose form is now starting to drop off again after recovering somewhat in November and earlier in December.

"Just when it looked like Norwich were building a bit of a head of steam, they have suffered a bump in their last two to fall away from play-off contention again," Prutton wrote in his Sky Sports predictions column.

"And this is not the game they would have wanted to run into.

"Southampton look unstoppable right now and have Ipswich in their sights. Away win here. 1-2."

Early Norwich City and Southampton team news

Whilst it's more likely that he will start again from the bench once more, Josh Sargent could be in line for his first Norwich start since August after recovering from ankle surgery.

The USA international striker came off the bench against Millwall at The Den and will be pushing for more minutes to pick up where he left off in-front of goal in the opening month of the season.

Spanish winger Borja Sainz will return to contention following a one-match suspension for his red card against West Brom, whilst Jon Rowe will be pushing for a start after being dropped by Wagner against the Lions on Friday.

Southampton meanwhile could welcome back midfielder Flynn Downes from an illness issue, but there are no fresh injury issues for Martin to be concerned about when it comes to picking his team for January 1.