Norwich Away Day! Preview by Simon Mack!

Norwich vs Leicester City

Friday 28^th February 2020 8pm

Carrow Road

Brendan Rodgers rings in his first year anniversary as Manager of the foxes with a trip east to face bottom of the table Norwich City.

The canaries have stayed true to their football philosophies in their first season back in the big league and whilst they have received deserved credit for their honest approach ultimately it has seen them struggle to earn the points sometimes their performances have deserved. In the reverse fixture back in December at King Power Stadium honours were even in a match where it felt a little like Norwich’s performance defied their league position and you can be sure that in this Premier League weekend opener the canaries will be a test for the league’s surprise package this term.

In recent times Norwich’s fortunes in terms of results have not improved. Last Sunday they were well beaten at Molineux 3-0 by Wolverhampton Wanderers who are in fine form, and prior to that a home tie against Champions elect Liverpool ended in a 0-1 defeat. With the last 2 matches devoid of a goal for the canaries the drought in front of goal achieved hat trick status with a goalless draw up on Tyneside against Newcastle United. To find a league win for Norwich you need to look back to the 18^th January when a 1-0 win at home to Bournemouth saw both sides lose a player to a red card with referee Paul Tierney using the pitch side monitor to send off the canaries Ben Godfrey for a reckless challenge having initially only given him a yellow.

For Norwich centre back Timm Klose will be absent from this one with a Knee injury that will keep him out until the spring whilst fellow central stopper Christoph Zimmermann is a major doubt with thigh trouble. Full back Sam Byram is out for the season having had an operation on his leg and Cuban wide man Onel Hernandez could also be out for the rest of the term having had an operation on his knee.

Seven points adrift of safety the canaries will be desperate to jump start their season ASAP before they lose touch with the pack and their fate ending in relegation. With a run of games against top 6 dwellers in the shape of Spurs and Sheffield United up next there will be no time like the present. The home side have won just a single game in their last 10 at home making it a labour of love for the home support of late, and with their last 2 goals coming from the penalty spot and no goal in open play since New Year’s Day pesky Fin Teemu Pukki will need to find his scoring boots fast if the canaries have any hope of survival.

Whilst Leicester still sit in 3^rd place in the table their recent form makes for similar reading. Jamie Vardy’s scintillating form seems to have deserted him since his minor injury back in January and the foxes post-Christmas performances have produced some bright flashes without the return of results that had gone before. It’s over a month since Leicester secured a resounding 4-1 victory at home to West Ham and the following draws against Chelsea and Wolves were followed up with a home defeat last Saturday to fellow 2nd spot contenders Manchester City. The match against the sky blues produced  one of the foxes better games in recent times and on balance of play Leicester were good for at least a point and it was to Brendan Rodgers credit that he navigated the lack of all 3 defensive midfielders by selecting a 3-5-2 system that gave last year’s champions a stern test.

Fortunately for the Northern Irishman Hamza Choudhury’s  1 match ban was served against Man City and there are rumours that Wilfred Ndidi could be back in the match squad having improved after a recurrence of his knee problems. Nampalys Mendy won’t be ready for a week or two but is recovering steadily from his knee injury whilst Kelechi Iheanacho’s nasty coming together with sky blues goalkeeper Ederson last weekend should not prevent him from playing at least a part in this evening clash. It’s also great to report that Matty James in fully fit and ready to play his part in the remainder of the season and there’s every chance the midfielder will be on the bench as the foxes look to ensure a maximum return from their efforts.

Brendan Rodgers alluded to Vardy’s baron spell in his pre match media work and suggested that it had taken a few weeks for the foxes hero to get himself back up to full battle speed. Rodgers said that against Manchester City the former England marksman had been back to his pacey best and as Vardy is not ‘The nervous type’ Rodgers predicted his goalless spell will come to an end imminently .

For the foxes one win in their last six league outings will not be good enough to retain their current status if it continues for too much longer, and Rodgers will see this one as a chance to reaffirm their Champions League intentions. Canaries boss Daniel Farke alluded pre match to Leicester’s love of “overloading the midfield” and he went on to say he felt his side negated that threat in the reverse fixture. Whether this will form part of Brendan Rodger’s tactical planning remains to be seen but I suspect with Pukki to keep quiet down the middle a revert to 4 at the back with a holding central midfielder is a highly likely proposition.

Norwich City’s possible line up:

Krul, Aarons, Godfrey, Hanley, Lewis, Tettey, McLean, Buendia, Duda, Cantwell, Pukki

Leicester City’s possible line up:

Schmeichel, Ricardo, Evans, Soyuncu, Chilwell, Choudhury, Tielemans, Maddison, Perez, Barnes, Vardy