Sports Mole previews Saturday's crucial top-of-the-table Championship clash between fifth-placed Norwich City and second-placed Derby County at Carrow Road.

The fascinating Championship title race will take another twist this weekend, with fifth-placed Norwich City hosting second-placed Derby County at Carrow Road.

The top four in the table are incredibly all locked on 66 points, with Norwich just one point further back with 10 matches of the season remaining.

These two have been responsible for some of the more bizarre results in an even more unpredictable period than usual for the Championship.

Who could have foreseen lowly Wigan Athletic, with just two wins in 12, going to Carrow Road and beating a Norwich side that had won six on the bounce last week?

Or Derby not only losing consecutive matches to struggling pair Fulham and Brighton & Hove Albion, but then throwing away a two-goal advantage deep into stoppage time to draw at home to Birmingham City last time out?

Pressure does strange things to teams, and right now, the Wigan blip aside, Norwich appear to be handling it better than the Rams.

Indeed, while the Canaries are just off the pace set by the top four, many may make them favourites for the title. They are one of the league's form teams and have a kind run-in, with Middlesbrough the only of their direct rivals to play.

Compare that to Derby, who play five of the top eight in their next six games, and it is easy to see why Norwich would be optimistic about their chances.

Crucially, Alex Neil's side also have momentum. They have won seven of their last eight matches and nine of 12 in the league since the turn of the year, dropping just eight points from a possible 36 in that time.

Steve McClaren's men were the favourites for many to go up and they remain in the automatic promotion places, but their last three games have been disastrous, providing just one point when fans would have been expecting the full nine.

Even that solitary draw would have felt like a defeat as they somehow let the lead slip against Birmingham last weekend, and McClaren needs to find a way to pick his side up for the crucial stretch of games in front of them.

The Rams are without a win on the road since January, though, and have only managed one point from consecutive matches against the three teams directly above the relegation zone.

They may take some comfort from the fact that Norwich's last home match was that shock defeat to Wigan, and the Canaries have actually amassed more points on their travels this season than they have in front of their own fans.

This match could simply come down to who can hold their nerve at such a crucial time in the season, although Derby may also be driven by revenge having seen Steven Whittaker get an 89th-minute equaliser to rescue a 2-2 draw in the reverse fixture.

Chris Martin was among the scorers against his old club for Derby that day, but the striker is again expected to miss out this weekend as he works his way back to full fitness.

Injuries have struck at a bad time for the Rams, who will also be missing Darren Bent until next month. Tom Ince has taken on much of the goalscoring mantle in their absence, and he could be joined in the starting lineup by fellow loanee Jesse Lingard this weekend.

George Thorne is also in contention having returned to training, and he could replace Omar Mascarell in central midfield.

Norwich are also missing a striker in the shape of Lewis Grabban, but Gary Hooper and Cameron Jerome provide plenty of depth for the Canaries and will both be hoping to start again this weekend.

Jonny Howson netted a brace in the 4-1 victory at Millwall last weekend, a result that cost Ian Holloway his job at The Den, and Neil could be tempted to name an unchanged side despite Nathan Redmond pushing for a recall.

Norwich:

Recent form: WWWWLW

Possible starting lineup: Ruddy; Martin, Whittaker, Bassong, Olsson; Johnson, Dorrans, Hoolahan, Howson; Jerome, Hooper

Derby:

Recent form: DWWLLD

Possible starting lineup: Grant; Christie, Buxton, Keogh, Forsyth; Hendrick, Thorne, Hughes; Ince, Lingard, Ward

Sports Mole says: 3-2