Norwich City face a tricky task in their fight for Premier League survival as Dean Smith’s Canaries host Manchester City at Carrow Road.
Victory would see Norwich climb out of the relegation zone until Sunday teatime at minimum, whereas Man City can extend their lead over Liverpool to 12 points with a win.
Team News
Lukas Rupp could return for Norwich after recovering from a hamstring injury despite a brief setback side-lining him in their midweek draw against Crystal Palace.
Josh Sargent (illness) is also expected to be in contention for selection.
Tim Krul (shoulder), Jakob Sorensen (knee), Ozan Kabak (illness) and Andrew Omobamidele (back) remain ruled out.
Man City could welcome Gabriel Jesus back into the matchday squad if he is fully match fit after the Brazilian missed their last two matches with a knock.
Cole Palmer (unspecified) and Benjamin Mendy (personal) remain absent.
Stat Attack
- Norwich have won just one of their last seven league meetings against Manchester City (W1, D2, L4).
- Man City are winless in their last three league visits to Carrow Road (D2, L1).
- Norwich have lost each of their last two matches against Man City by 5-0 results, albeit at the Citizens’ Etihad Stadium.
- Pierre Lees-Melou has played more through balls in the league this season than any other Norwich player, having provided five through balls for his teammates in 18 appearances.
- Eight of Man City’s 57 league goals have been scored from outside of the box.
Prediction
Having snatched an early lead in midweek against Crystal Palace, Norwich will be disappointed in how they failed to wrap up a win despite dominating the first half but couldn’t do anything defensively to stop Zaha’s equaliser.
Man City meanwhile delivered a controlled yet dominant display in their win over Brentford but their defence at times were sloppy in their backward passes, which surely has to be a concern because there has been a slip in standards at the back lately.
Goals at both ends on that note has to be a good bet but this is a difficult game for Norwich, so I expect them to potentially try and go for a tighter defensive approach to limit their losing margin if Man City quickly dominate.
Pep Guardiola’s Citizens though have failed to win in their last three visits to Carrow Road so if Norwich play like they did on Wednesday, they might get lucky and snatch something.
Prediction: Norwich 1-1 Manchester City
Result: Norwich 0-4 Manchester City
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