Norwich City v Sheffield Wednesday: Championship – live!

45+2 min: Hector is adamant he has won a goal-kick after nabbing the ball away from Stiepermann but replays show a corner was the right decision. Leitner delivers, but it is emphatically cleared. And that’s that.

45+1 min: Wednesday smartly turnover possession, and proceed to switch from defence to attack before the move breaks down on halfway. Back come Norwich down the right, through Max Aarons but he cannot get a clean shot away. The teenage full-back seemed to be pulled back by Palmer inside the box after collecting a sublime back-heel by Onel Hernández. But, the referee is unmoved, and Norwich have to go again.

42 min: Liam Palmer does superbly to prevent a corner by going shoulder-to-shoulder with Pukki and ushering the Norwich forward aside. Norwich end up with only a throw-in but nevertheless look to maintain the pressure. Onel Hernández ends up being fed inside the box by Pukki – who is clearly fouled after passing the ball on – but the former gets his legs in a tangle. No foul is given on Pukki after the advantage fades.

41 min: Stiepermann tries to feed Onel Hernández with a gorgeous through ball, but Lees reads it impeccably, sliding to cut it out with his legs. Norwich win the corner, but Dawson punches clear Leitner’s delivery.

39 min: Sheffield Wednesday try to play in Steven Fletcher – but Krul comes out at the crucial moment to intervene. That goal has breathed life back into Wednesday, who were far from done and dusted even at one-goal down.

37 min: Good news: Aarons is back up on his feet. That looked very painful for Aarons, the EFL young player of the year. He has had a fine season.

36 min: Max Aarons and Liam Palmer collide on the byline, and the latter ends up inadvertently trampling on the Norwich teenager. Aarons looks in pain and will require some treatment. Palmer seems fine to carry on.

34 min: Pelupessy is on for Hutchinson, who tried to battle on but clutched his hamstring after intercepting on halfway in the very buildup to that equaliser. Daniel Farke looks totally perplexed on the touchline, presumably stunned by the sheer magnificence of that Forestieri strike.

Crikey, a goal of the season contender! Fernando Forestieri wriggles into a yard of space 25-30 yards out and then just thumps an effort at goal. Once it leaves his right boot, there is only one destination, as the ball zooms beyond a hapless Tim Krul in goal. That is helluva goal – a beauty. And, suddenly, Sheffield Wednesday restore parity. A shock to the system for Norwich. Adam Reach has been partial to a pearling, piercing strike or two from distance but that was something else. A preposterous goal.

30 min: Sam Hutchinson appears to be struggling for Wednesday and Joey Pelupessy is stripped and ready if needed. Bruce is determined to give his midfielder a chance to fight on but it remains to be seen if he can.

29 min: Lewis dinks a ball over the top for Pukki to run on to – but Dawson reads it and surges out of goal to gather. Wednesday try to rebuild from the back. They have done a lot right, but it is Norwich who are in control.

28 min: Ben Godfrey charges forward with the ball, eating up about 30 yards before passing over the baton to Jamal Lewis. Eventually it drops in the box for Pukki, but his effort is dealt with by Dawson in the Wednesday goal. That goal has truly relaxed Norwich, who are beginning to flourish.

25 min: Michael Hector does brilliantly to sweep up on halfway – but his next move is not so finely executed as he passes the ball out of play. And then Norwich hit them at speed, with Boyd chopping down Pukki.

24 min: Jamal Lewis surges down the left flank but Iorfa keeps pace with the full-back to cut out Onel Hernández’s beautifully weighted pass. And Sheffield Wednesday earn a goal-kick to boot. Great defending by the former Ipswich defender.

22 min: Max Aarons marauds down the right, finding space on the overload and cuts the ball inside for Pukki but the striker is unable to trouble Dawson. Norwich are beginning to enjoy themselves. They’re dominating possession.

21 min: Sheffield Wednesday may feel a little hard done by given their positive and proactive approach to this game, but there is no doubting Norwich were slowly beginning to turn the screw. Carrow Road is rocking, safe in the knowledge they are well on the way to the six points they need to seal promotion.

Norwich edge a step closer to the Premier League. Marco Stiepermann plays a give-and-go with Onel Hernández and, when he picks it back up on the edge of the box, he hammers a first-time effort down the middle of goal with his left foot. It was not in the corner, but the power sent it flying beyond Dawson.

16 min: Lees plays Onel Hernández onside and Dawson makes a fantastic save with his right leg! The winger was slipped in, with Norwich suddenly two-on-one. He did everything right, but the Wednesday keeper did well to shut him out, with Pukki lurking for the rebound. Despite a couple of scares, Bruce will be relatively happy with this start. Norwich have not had it all their own way.

15 min: A half chance for the Argos-loving Onel Hernández, but Michael Hector is equal to it. But back come Norwich …

14 min: Boyd has the ball in the net – but the Wednesday forward was a fraction offside. Dominic Iorfa surged forward, threaded Boyd through and he rolled it beyond Krul, but the linesman had his flag up.

13 min: Fletcher heads over for Wednesday! They zip the ball around, it’s a lovely move and it culminates with Fletcher to head over Palmer’s cross from the left. There were a couple of neat triangles outside the box and Matias, who was a substitute at Leeds last time out, has been influential early on.

12 min: Tom Lees, the Wednesday captain, attempts to kickstart a move forward, via Josh Onomah. Liam Palmer is played in down the left flank, putting Max Aarons in a pickle but Norwich clear their lines.

11 min: Forestieri has a crack from distance – all of 30 yards – and Tim Krul ends up nodding it away with his head, as it bounced up dangerously in front of him. Sheffield Wednesday have settled but Norwich remain in the ascendency.

9 min: Stiepermann bludgeons it towards goal, but it is hammered straight at Dawson, who gladly gathers the free-kick after his error.

7 min: Cameron Dawson handles the ball outside the box – and earns a yellow card for his misdemeanour! Dawson rushes out of goal to collect a high ball by Stiepermann and is penalised for deliberate handball. Just as well it is only a yellow for Wednesday, who have no goalkeeper on the bench at Carrow Road following an injury to Keiren Westwood in the warm-up. Dawson was promoted to the starting lineup at the last minute, and looked decidedly rusty there. Stiepermann shapes to shoot …

6 min: Pukki jinks inside George Boyd and blasts over! Marvellous foot-work from the Finn, after Norwich countered at speed. Some pinball in the Norwich box gave Wednesday some promise, with Matias again lurking but the hosts did well to turn over possession and pour forward, following a daisy-cutter by Steven Fletcher.

4 min: Marco Matias shuffles into the box, but Leitner makes a timely interception. Moments earlier Trybull clattered Forestieri but Sheffield Wednesday failed to do anything with the initial free-kick. But they recycled possession and Matias weaved his way into the box unchallenged. As promising as Norwich’s start was, Sheffield Wednesday have not turned up to merely roll over. They, too, have shown some early intent.

2 min: Moritz Leitner, making his first start since December, wins the ball back in the engine room to kickstart another move. Norwich have missed Buendia – but Leitner’s return is a big plus.

1 min: Pukki wins the ball on halfway and immediately drives forward. But, unusually, was a little selfish and ran into trouble, with Stiepermann in space to his left. His backheel doesn’t come off and the move breaks down. There’s already a great party atmosphere inside the stadium.

Norwich get things started at Carrow Road.

A blow for Sheffield Wednesday on the brink of kick-off: Keiren Westwood has injured his knee and Cameron Dawson will replace him in goal. Westwood was absolutely phenomenal at Elland Road last weekend and has been superb since being recalled.

A sun-drenched Carrow Road is looking gorgeous. Kick-off will be on us in no time. A quick reminder that Mo Leitner is back in for Norwich, while Josh Onomah, the Tottenham loanee, makes his first Sheffield Wednesday appearance since February.

Teemu Pukki is closing on the Championship golden boot. The Finnish striker, a free transfer last summer, has netted 27 goals and counting this campaign. “It has been an unbelievable year,” Pukki said earlier this month, after picking up the EFL player of the year award. “We have played some quality football and we have some brilliant young guys coming through. It’s a pleasure to play in this team because I know I will get chances in every game. To go up as champions is a lot more than just going up. When I came we didn’t talk much about targets but you could see the potential.”

Daniel Farke speaks. “All the other results do not matter, we are just fully concentrated on our game,” the Norwich head coach says. “Sheffield Wednesday are a very good team and we have a difficult task. Moritz Leitner was crucial for many, months and we got the opportunity to bring him back in tonight. We can play full of self-confidence but under Steve Bruce they have had just two losses so they hard to beat. Each and every point is important.” Bruce adds: “It is a long, long time since I played here [1987] but it’s a great little club and I’m delighted they are where they are.”

Some pre-match reading to digest:

This Norwich team has been a breath of fresh air, a spine comprising of invaluable experience – Tim Krul, Marco Stiepermann, Mo Leitner, Teemu Pukki and co – and, beyond that, they possess a youthful exuberance. Max Aarons and Jamal Lewis (who were both picked up from Luton in their mid-teens) have been revelations at full-back, while the classy Ben Godfrey, who spent last season on loan at Shrewsbury, has excelled since coming into the defence in December. Then there’s Todd Cantwell.

Norwich City: Krul; Aarons, Zimmermann, Godfrey, Lewis; Trybull, Leitner; McLean, Stiepermann, Hernandez; Pukki

Subs: Oxborough, Vrancic, Klose, Tettey, Hanley, Srbeny, Cantwell

Sheffield Wednesday: Westwood; Lees, Hector, Iorfa; Palmer, Onomah, Hutchinson, Boyd; Forestieri, Fletcher, Matias

Subs: Dawson, Fox, Pelupessy, Bannan, Winnall, Nuhiu, Joao

Referee: Geoff Eltringham

Having done the hard part, the rest is simple for Norwich City. Well, relatively: if they can turn over Sheffield Wednesday and beat Stoke City on Monday then they will seal not only promotion but also the Championship title. Win tonight and Daniel Farke’s side will move seven points clear of second-placed Sheffield United with only a remaining nine up for grabs. In short, Norwich are very nearly there, almost over the line. Victories at this stage of the season are not a given however: just ask Marcelo Bielsa. Steve Bruce was all but resigned to Wednesday’s season being over after defeat to Leeds last weekend and, if they are beaten at Carrow Road, then the play-offs will almost certainly be beyond them, even if not mathematically. In terms of team news, Emil Buendia serves the final game of a three-match suspension, while Jordan Rhodes is ineligible to face his parent club. Adam Reach is touch-and-go for Wednesday after picking up an achilles injury.

Kick-off: 7.45pm (BST)