Middlesbrough v Norwich City: top-six starters face resurgent visitors | OneFootball

Middlesbrough host Norwich City in the Championship at the Riverside Stadium on Saturday, 12 September 2026, with a top-six start on the line for the hosts and the visitors seeking to extend back-to-back league wins.

Middlesbrough are sixth on 10 points from five games, while Norwich City are ninth on nine from six. The hosts edged the last Riverside meeting 1-0.

Boro have won three of their five league matches, drawing at Burnley before beating QPR away. The Canaries have found momentum, winning 3-1 at Sheffield United and 2-1 against Birmingham.

Boro are without Jeremy Sarmiento through injury. The Canaries miss midfielders Mirko Topić and Ali Ahmed, while defender Lucien Mahovo is also sidelined.

Boro average 59% possession with 88.06% pass accuracy and have swung 88 open-play crosses at 18.18% accuracy, so deliveries into the box could be a route for Will Lankshear, who leads the Championship scoring chart with five goals. The Canaries have scored 10 in six but are yet to keep a clean sheet. Canaries forward Mohamed Touré has three league goals.

A win would move Boro to 13 points and could tighten their grip on the play-off places. Victory would take the Canaries to 12 points and could lift them into the top six picture.