Norwich on cusp of Premier League promotion with victory at Derby

Updated: May 17, 2023, 05:08 am
Norwich City are set to return to the Premier League at the first attempt.
Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images

Championship leaders Norwich City moved within two points of securing Premier League promotion with a 1-0 victory over Derby County on Saturday, while playoff chasing Brentford handed a 5-0 thrashing to Preston North End.

Swansea City's 3-0 victory at Millwall meant Norwich could not secure promotion at Pride Park but Daniel Farke's side retained their eight-point advantage at the top after Kieran Dowell scored the game's only goal with a free-kick in the 21st minute.

Norwich next face Bournemouth on April 17 but they could guarantee top-flight promotion before kickoff if fourth-placed Swansea drop points against either Sheffield Wednesday or Wycombe Wanderers and Brentford fail to beat Millwall.

Brentford ended their four-game winless run as Bryan Mbeumo and Marcus Forss, Ivan Toney, Sergi Canos and Emiliano Marcondes got on the scoresheet in an emphatic display at Deepdale Stadium.

Thomas Frank's are now nine points behind second-placed Watford with a game in hand.

Earlier, Swansea ended a run of four consecutive defeats with a commanding win at Millwall to get their promotion charge back on track.

The Welsh outfit scored their first goal in five games when Andre Ayew curled home just before halftime, before Jamal Lowe struck twice in the second half.

The result helped Swansea consolidate their chances of making the playoff, while all but ending 10th-placed Millwall's top-six ambitions.

Meanwhile, basement side Wycombe Wanderers conceded three goals in the final 10 minutes as they lost 3-1 at home to Luton Town, slipping nine points adrift of the safety zone.