Norwich City made it four successive league wins with a 2-0 victory over Preston North End, a result that reflected the clubs' sharply contrasting recent form. Ali Ahmed set the tone in the first half, and Kenny McLean's excellent free-kick gave the hosts a cushion they never seriously surrendered.
Preston did have an early opening when Daniel Jebbison beat Harry Darling to a high ball and tried to lob Vladan Kovacevic, only to find the side netting. After that, Norwich carried the greater threat, almost added a third before the break through Liam Gibbs, and then defended their advantage through a more broken, combative second half.
An early scare before Norwich took control
The visitors' best route into the game initially came from a Norwich mistake. Darling misjudged a high ball in the sixth minute, Jebbison reacted first, and his attempted lob beat Kovacevic but drifted just off target, an escape that prevented Preston from turning a bright start into a lead.