please log in to view this image please log in to view this image Kick off 3pm Staurday 31 August. OK so lets try and keep momentum going with another away win on Saturday in what should be an open attacking game. We have a reasonable record against Norwich darwing away 0-0 there last season and winning 2-0 in our previous game back in 2010. Norwich have brought in a lot of new players over the summer and look especially strong up front with Van Wolfswinkel and possibly Gary Hooper if fit. On our side I'm just glad I'm not MP after yesterday as he has some real selection posers especially in midfield if Morgan is fit. Here's my starter for 10 Boruc Clyne Lovren Fonte Shaw(if fit) Victor Morgan (if not ft Cork) JWP Jrod Rickie Osvaldo Subs KD, Maya, Cork, Davis, Adam, Gaston, Mayuka COYR!
Boruc Chambers Fonte Lovren Shaw Schneiderlin Wanyama Rodriguez JWP Ramirez Osvaldo Subs: Davis, Clyne, Yoshida, Davis, Lallana, Mayuka, Lambert. Thought I'd be unique! Edit: swapped Yoshida and Lovren around as I thought Lovren started against Barnsley. Keeping Fonte for his goal. Keeping Chambers to avoid disruption and Clyne may be slightly rusty. Ramirez deserves a start, despite being out of position as Lallana hasn't been great. Lambert hasn't played brilliant in the last two games and think he'll be more effective off the bench, plus I reckon Osvaldo will score on his debut start and his goal may be crucial. Davis over Cork based on the Barnsley game.
Position is important when you haven't got the ball. When you're in possession, if you're not the player on the ball you should be running into space, wherever that is. When you lose the ball, the team has to get it's shape back, fast.
Remember borucs last minute penalty save last year - what a moment that was. I don't think it will be another 0-0 this season. Would like to see Davis rewarded with a midfield position but there is no one I would want to drop
Curious how Norwich sets up. Hughton seems to favour a pretty open setup at home, and a very defensive one away...my fear is that they start with the former, get a goal, and adopt the sort of defensive posture that we tend to struggle against. I'll say 2-2, with it being our turn to surrender points in the final ten minutes.
It's highly unlikely you will score more than a single goal. Still enough to win, of course. Draw seems by far the most likely result.
Everton scored two and created a tonne of chances, did they not? And yes, my prediction here differs from my 1-1 pick in the prediction league...feel that a draw is most likely as well, and thus I have all the bases covered (it'll thus be 0-0 or 3-3).
Everton scored a screamer from range and got a lucky rebound off a save. They had one other chance. Other than that, all their efforts were long range and totally comfortable for Ruddy. A good conversion rate. With all due respect to your team, I think Everton are slightly better while Fellaini and Baines are with them. We also had a much weaker team against them than we will against you, with Snodgrass, Bassong, Pilkington and possibly Hooper all with a chance to play, which is basically all our most senior players. I was more going on the basis that we only conceded more than one goal to a team in the bottom half of the Prem twice last season, and both were away matches. I think you've got good attacking players, so I do think you'll probably score, but it would be unusual for you to score more than one based on our record. Not to say it won't happen, but if it does, my guess is it'll either be deflections or penalties, like against Hull. As I said though, one goal is enough for you to win and your defence looks stronger than last season, so even though we might be back to full strength I think we'll struggle to score (particularly as Snodgrass and Pilks won't be 100% sharp). Most likely result is therefore 1-1. Of course, (given football's illogical nature) it will now be a 6-4 thriller or something, but I'm confident my logic is sound.
Still think that it really depends on how Hughton sets you up. The reason that most of the bottom half didn't score more than once is that you're well-organized, and most such teams tend to be reticent about attacking away from home. For better and worse, we aren't shy; we scored in all but five of our away games last season, and scored 2+ seven times...but we also conceded 2+ in ten of our away contests. So it could well be a tight, low-scoring match, as the two meetings last season were. I'm just hoping that Hughton turns loose your new forwards in search of a win and we get a good spectacle...frankly, our first two games have not been stunners (West Brom tried to play on the counter but didn't do much, especially in the first half, and Sunderland parked the bus for 87 minutes), and I'd like to see how we acquit ourselves on both ends against a team willing to trade chances.
Eh? Everton was an aside in response to the query about us conceding two to them. You boys weren't 6th. I think you'll be a place or two ahead of us at the end of the season, but still just about bottom half.
