Aston Villa v Norwich City Sunday 2[SUP]nd[/SUP] March; Kick-off 4:30 Following on from the surprise victory over Champions League chasing Tottenham Hotspur, the Canaries make the arduous journey cross country on to the dreaded M6 to play Paul Lambertâs Aston Villa. Of course, Mr Lambert needs no introduction to Canaries fans, with some still idolising him and others despising the mere sight of him or mention of his name. Regardless of personal opinions, Norwich City and its supporters should still thank Paul for dragging the club back to the Premier League, where our presence makes our near neighbours lives just that little more unbearable, and will thank him more at about 6.15pm on Sunday, if his Villa side produce another terrible home performance, thus handing three points to Chris Hughton. Norwich City manager Chris '9 lives' Hughton, appears to have survived another threat of a sacking last weekend, and stick from City fans, as he pulled an unexpected rabbit out of the hat on Sundayâs game with Spurs, a game in which Norwich began to show some cohesion and belief in themselves. More of the same is needed this weekend, as another three points would see Norwich well clear of 18th place (at least 6 points clear). The return from injury to Alex Tettey looks to be making all the difference in the world, as he tidies up in front of the defensive unit that has been tighter than a gnats chuff at Carrow Road in recent weeks. On the road however, lady luck has been a bit of a bitch towards Norwich City, with the last two away games generating 40 chances resulting in just two goals, whereas out of the 25 chances on their net has 4 goals against! Two games where results went seriously against the run of play, so letâs hope that run does not continue. Chris Hughton has at least two tricky decisions to make for this weekendâs game. Does he start with Gary Hooper this week, and leave Ricky Van Wolf on the bench? Will Jonny Howson return, possibly at the expense of a âborn againâ Bradley Johnson? As for Villa, who frankly cares! Last season, Benteke was âtheâ man to fear, but this season he has failed to replicate anything like the same kind of form. However, although they have had their struggles, they still have a reasonably decent defence, something which Norwich have to find a way through, which may prove to the Achilles heel for Hughtonâs Green & Yellow Army.
Last 6 results for Norwich City [TABLE="width: 310"] [TR] [TD]Norwich C[/TD] [TD]1-0 [/TD] [TD]Hull C[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]Norwich C[/TD] [TD]0-0[/TD] [TD]Newcastle[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]Cardiff C[/TD] [TD]2-1[/TD] [TD]Norwich C[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]Norwich C[/TD] [TD]0-0[/TD] [TD]Man City[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]West Ham Utd [/TD] [TD]2-0[/TD] [TD]Norwich C[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]Norwich C[/TD] [TD]1-0[/TD] [TD]Tottenham Hotspur[/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE] Last 6 results for Aston Villa [TABLE="width: 310"] [TR] [TD]Liverpool[/TD] [TD]2-2[/TD] [TD]A. Villa[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]A. Villa[/TD] [TD]4-3[/TD] [TD]West Brom[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]Everton[/TD] [TD]2-1[/TD] [TD]A. Villa[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]A. Villa[/TD] [TD]0-2[/TD] [TD]West Ham Utd[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]Cardiff C[/TD] [TD]0-0[/TD] [TD]A. Villa[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]Newcastle Utd[/TD] [TD]1-0[/TD] [TD]A. Villa[/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE]
Great effort Thai, would be very happy if we could take a point, and three would be fantastic. Do feel we've got a real chance of a result too, so looking forward to it!
Although there are no easy games, especially away, this is as good a chance as we have (possibly the last one) to get another away win again this season. A draw, or even a loss may not be a disaster, but if we play well again, and throw it away with silly mistakes, I will be just a little unhappy. Why do the vast majority of these mistakes happen away from CR?
That made me out loud - partly because of the terminology used and partly because earlier in the season (think Liverpool and the Etihad) anyone saying such a thing would probably have been sectioned under the mental health act
Great work Thai. Makes a big difference to those of us who can't get to the game when someone really goes to town on doing a match thread! I believe our away shooting is even worse, btw - only one goal from 40 shots! The real killer for me though is the shots on target one goal scored from 12 on target compared to four goals conceded from 11 on target - throughout the season we have conceded from one in every three or four shots on target, often more, whereas to score we need more like 8-10! Is that partly Ruddy's wavering form as well? I'm not sure, but we really need to be burying the chances we are given. Unsurprisingly, Hooper's conversion rate is very respectable, but that's about it.
Sorry, RvW has had long enough to establish himself and has cost NCFC £8.5m per goal. IMO Hooper should start in a one-up-front role. Snodgrass could be expected to support along with Howson. Expect a score draw or hopefully a rare away win.
Assuming fitness, I can't see Hughton changing the side for Villa. Van Wolfswinkle will get more confidence from starting again (he played well against Spurs despite not scoring) and Hooper looked an ideal replacement as his energy levels were very dangerous against a tiring defence. Howson could be a useful player to bring on later in the game and the same with Hoolahan & Pilkington.
Half decent read here. I didn't realise we were 12th in the league for total shots: http://www.premierleague.com/en-gb/...s-supply-in-demand-for-norwich-strikers.html?
One paragraph that speaks volumes is...... Using two "inverted wingers" who like to drift inside on to their favoured foot, usually Nathan Redmond and Robert Snodgrass, Norwich's play often gets drawn into congested areas rather than out wide, where the opposition get stretched. This suggests that Norwich are not getting to the byline and teeing up their strikers anywhere near often enough. Oh so true, the only time the ball comes in from that area of the pitch is when we get a corner!
Good little article here: http://www.premierleague.com/en-gb/...cs-supply-in-demand-for-norwich-strikers.html Statistics galore, but also some reasoned analysis. Surprised to see that RvW's shot conversion rate barely differs from Pilks, Snodders or Fer, but then he should definitely do better as a striker (and with more shots, which his where he has fallen short, that will look healthier). Hooper's conversion rate is very healthy, as we know.
Injury updates from a Villa perspective. http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/aston-villa-v-norwich-westwood-6756174?
Fer's injury is now on PhysioRoom. http://www.physioroom.com/news/english_premier_league/epl_injury_table.php
