Southampton and Norwich City are now two of the Championship’s top teams, and they will square off at St Mary’s on Wednesday night.

This match was initially set for March 7th, but it was rescheduled owing to the Saints’ and Norwich’s FA Cup progression, after both teams had mixed results in the fifth round the previous weekend.

Tonda Eckert’s team will be hoping to extend their unbeaten run in all competitions to 13 games and cut the distance on the play-off positions even further with a victory, as well as avenge a 2-1 loss to the Canaries at Carrow Road on December 13th.

City’s comeback under Philippe Clement has been widely documented, with the Yellows now in the top half on 51 points with nine games remaining.

However, both head coaches appear to be without several key performances for this midweek encounter, and Football League World has examined each of the 18 players that fall into that category.

Southampton’s Alex McCarthy

Alex McCarthy has only played seven games for Saints this season and has been left out of the previous six Championship matchday squads following wrist surgery last month.

Although it would take unusual conditions for the veteran to replace Daniel Peretz as Eckert’s first-choice goalkeeper right now, it is unclear when he will return to Eckert’s 20-man roster.

Mads Roerlev

Mads Roerslev had been playing with a recurring achilles injury for Saints since November, and he has been out of action since Eckert’s full-time appointment the following month.

The former Brentford player is out for the season after undergoing surgery for the problem, but the German is hoping that his recovery will allow him to return in fine shape to play regularly again.

Welington

Welington, a left-back, has likewise had a slow start to his Saints career, missing the last seven games in all competitions.

It was confirmed that the Brazilian had incurred a muscle injury and would be out for at least two weeks, beginning against Charlton Athletic on February 21.

However, his recent absence continued on Saturday with a key 2-1 away win over league leaders Coventry City.

Jay Robinson

The highly-rated Jay Robinson has not kicked a ball since January 23rd, with Eckert recently announcing that the 19-year-old was getting closer to returning from a wrist injury.

However, his absence against the Sky Blues persisted on Saturday, so some will be skeptical of his chances of making the forthcoming match against Norwich given the short turnaround.

Norwich City
Daniel Grimshaw

Goalkeeper Daniel Grimshaw is the first of Clement’s 14 absentees.

The 28-year-old collided with Ruari McConville during City’s 3-0 FA Cup defeat to Leeds United before being replaced in the 46th minute due to a calf injury, which is expected to keep him out of this game.

Ruari McConville

McConville also sustained a knee injury in the aforementioned collision and has missed recent matches against Sheffield United and Preston North End as a result.

Prior to the 2-0 victory over the Lilywhites, Clement spoke on the Northern Irishman’s injury: “I don’t think it’s going to be long term, but he wasn’t available today, probably not for the weekend, and we will assess further.” I’m not one to take chances with those things.”

Shane Duffy

Shane Duffy, an experienced defender, has not played for Norwich since Clement’s third game in charge against Queens Park Rangers on November 29th due to a hamstring injury.

With his absence now more than three and a half months, the 34-year-old is unlikely to play against the Saints on Wednesday.

Harry Amass

Harry Amass only played 15 minutes for the Yellows against Coventry on his debut in January, before suffering a catastrophic hamstring injury in training.

However, there is hope that the Manchester United loanee will play in the remaining stages of the season after returning to his parent club to further assess his injuries.

Lucien Mahovo

Lucien Mahovo, a fellow left-back, has been sidelined since the turn of the year due to a muscular issue.

Prior to Amass’ arrival, Clement announced that the 20-year-old would be out for the lengthy period, with it unclear whether he will return to health by the conclusion of the season.

Mirko Topic

Mirko Topic will not be involved in Norwich’s late play-off run.

Clement, a summer acquisition from Familicao, suffered a catastrophic ACL injury against Oxford United on November 25th, in his debut match at Carrow Road.

Gabriel Forsyth

Gabriel Forsyth has been out since November 2024 and is still on a hard rehabilitation program to regain full fitness.

There is no clear return date for the highly touted Scottish midfielder, who has been out of action for nearly 15 months.

Jeffery Schlupp

Jeffrey Schlupp is also a long-term absentee, having suffered a hamstring injury on November 5 against Sheffield Wednesday.

As a result, it remains to be seen whether the veteran figure will be available to Clement in the final stages of the season after being sidelined throughout his stay thus far.

Matej Jurasek

Matej Jurasek is currently rehabilitating from a foot bone fracture sustained during last month’s 3-0 away triumph at Oxford.

As a result, the midfielder, who was sidelined with a hernia last year, is in the midst of a recovery that was initially expected to last eight to ten weeks.

Oscar Schwartau

Oscar Schwartau is now speeding up his recovery from a hamstring injury sustained during their FA Cup victory over West Bromwich Albion at Carrow Road.

The Dane has missed the last five Championship games, but if Clement’s latest admission goes as planned, he might be back in contention to face Portsmouth on Good Friday.

Papa Diallo

Papa Diallo is yet another Norwich player to be sidelined, this time with a thigh injury after being out for a considerable period earlier in the season.

The Senegalese winger was injured during a warm-up against Blackburn Rovers on February 7th, but Clement revealed that there is hope he may be able to return before the conclusion of the season after consulting with a specialist.

Muhammad Toure

Mohamed Toure enjoyed a scorching start to his City career, scoring four goals in four games since signing from Randers on February 1.

However, the Australian suffered a groin injury in the 2-0 victory over Sheffield Wednesday last month.

The 21-year-old hopes to return to action after the campaign’s last international break.I expect Oscar (Schwartau) and Mo to return after the international window and join a squad. “Any earlier would be surprising,” Clement remarked.

Ante Crnac

Ante Crnac is another player who will not be wearing yellow and green for the rest of the season.

The Croatian is currently recovering from a catastrophic ACL injury sustained against Derby County in October, during Liam Manning’s ill-fated tenure as City manager.

Jovan Makama

Jovon Makama, Norwich’s top scorer with ten goals, is the final name on the club’s ever-growing injury list.

The 22-year-old, like Diallo, suffered a blow against Blackburn and has since had surgery on his foot. The bad news is that City are anticipated to be without their highly rated striker for the rest of the season.