With just seven games left to play in the Championship this season, two teams at opposite ends of the league table will be looking for vital points on Friday afternoon, as promotion-chasing Norwich City visit Brighton & Hove Albion.

The Canaries are just three points behind league leaders Bournemouth and can enhance their Premier League aspirations with a win at the Amex, while Brighton still have work to do to avoid dropping down to League One.

Brighton & Hove Albion

© Getty Images

It has been a frustrating and largely underwhelming season for Brighton, but they are within reach of keeping their place in the Championship.

On their last outing before the international break, they picked up a crucial 1-0 victory away to Blackburn Rovers that moved them up to 15th in the table and 10 points clear of the relegation zone.

Former Norwich manager Chris Hughton deserves much of the credit for improving the fortunes of a team who had won just one of their opening 18 league games.

He replaced Sami Hyypia at the end of December with the team 21st in the Championship and has guided them to impressive wins over Ipswich Town and Derby County.

They still have vital clashes against Wigan Athletic and Rotherham United to come, but with their new-found confidence they can start to look up the table and not over their shoulders.

Recent form: LWLDDW

Norwich City

© Getty Images

There are few teams in the Championship who are in better form than Norwich as the season edges towards a dramatic conclusion.

The Canaries have claimed eight victories in their last 11 outings, including a five-game winning run in February that saw them beat fellow playoff hopefuls and bitter rivals Ipswich Town.

A shock defeat against Wigan Athletic at the start of March and two successive draws threatened to derail their promotion bid, but they bounced back with a 3-1 win over Nottingham Forest just before the international break to keep in touch with the top two.

Manager Alex Neil has given the club a renewed sense of belief since his arrival in January and this week he has said that there is no reason why they can't finish inside the automatic promotion places.

Recent form: WLWDDW

Team News

© Getty Images

Albion will be buoyed by the return of Lewis Dunk, who is available after completing a two-match suspension.

There could also be a debut for Mustapha Carayol, who joined the club last week from Middlesbrough until the end of the season.

However, injured duo Sam Baldock and Solly March have both been ruled out for the remainder of the campaign.

Norwich have been boosted by the news that that Graham Dorrans will remain at the club on loan from West Bromwich Albion until the end of the season.

Hooper and Kyle Lafferty will be pushing for starts, but Lewis Grabban is still ruled out after undergoing ankle surgery.

Brighton & Hove Albion possible starting lineup:
Stockdale, Bruno, Dunk, Greer, Bennett, Ince, Kayal, Stephens, Carayol, O'Grady, Teixeira

Norwich City possible starting lineup:
Ruddy, Whittaker, Martin, Bassong, Olsson; Howson, Tettey, Dorrans, Johnson, Hooper, Jerome

Head To Head

These teams both served up a thriller when they met back in October, as a late goal from Gary Hooper earned Norwich a 3-3 draw.

It extended the Canaries' unbeaten run against Albion to six games and helped them to avoid falling to a third successive league defeat.

Whenever these teams play it also seems that there will be plenty of excitement, with 25 goals scored in those previous six fixtures.

Video Preview

Hit play below to see what the Sports Mole Sofa had to say about this encounter:

We say: Brighton 1-3 Norwich

Although Brighton have been in good form since the turn of the year, Norwich should have enough quality to claim the three points. They have far more attacking power than their opponents and will be desperate to remain firmly in the promotion hunt, so it's hard to look beyond an away victory.

Previews by email