Lansbury’s corner, it’s gone all the way through, CHAAAAAANCE!!!! Blocked on the line, but it’s gonna go in, it’s gonna go in!! That was what happened last time Derby County visited Carrow Road, but I am sure you guys don’t need to be reminded. With the stakes even higher this time, here are five things to look out for this Saturday.
1. The Atmosphere
There was some talk that the Derby County fans would boycott this match due to high ticket prices. Whether or not Derby fans will be at Carrow Road this weekend remains to be seen, but that doesn’t mean we can’t create an atmosphere. The players have said that they feed off the crowd. We saw the difference between the Ipswich and the Wigan match, and we need an atmosphere closer to the former to give us the best chance of winning.
2. Facing Jake Buxton
In our 2-2 draw at Pride Park, Derby centre back Jake Buxton did not play because of suspension. He had been sent off in the league cup vs. Chelsea, and the Canaries did not face him. The Derby defense has been poor of late, and after being dropped last game the Rams conceded twice, so he could be back in the team. With many things going wrong for the Rams right now, they might try some new things that we did not see in the December meeting. At that in to the fact that we could be facing a centre back we did not see last time and we have a whole new chess match between the Norwich attack and Derby defense.
3. The First Half Hour
As stated earlier, Derby have lost two out of their lost three matches and are in rough form. Norwich have also taken a while to get out of first gear in a lot this season, and it is what derailed us against Wigan. I’m sure Derby will be a little timid and trying not to make a mistake after conceding twice in stoppage time last time out. We need to pounce on them early while they are low, because when they do start to grow into a game they can be one of the most dangerous sides in the division. I think whoever scores first will win this match strictly off of momentum.
4. Defensive Derby Scheme?
Derby will likely be a little less likely to go attacking early in the match after their defensive frailties last match as I stated, but will they stay like this the entire match? Wigan came to Carrow Road with an early goal and closed up shop for the win, and it has not been uncommon strategy at Carrow Road this season. We saw Charlton, Leeds, and Rotherham all knick points off of us going defensive this season. With Chris Martin and Darren Bent expected to miss the match with injury, this provides more of an incentive for the Rams to “park the bus”. With Middleborough, Wolves, and Watford the upcoming fixtures Derby might try just get a draw away and gamble on playing their promotion rivals at home as two of those three matches listed above being at Pride Park. We could see a defensive setup from Derby this week at Carrow Road.
5. Who will start up top?
While Derby have well established who their main striker is, it remains to be seen who our main man will be. With Lewis Grabban injured, that leaves us with one less option. Cameron Jerome scored last time vs. Derby, but he also fluffed a big chance late on and was off the pace in the first half. Gary Hooper scored against Millwall at the weekend and should be buoyed by that. In addition to who will be up top (if not both) we have to figure out what formation we will play. Will we go with the 4-4-2 or the 4-2-3-1 that has an attacking midfielder in behind the striker? If we go with the latter, Hoolahan might get the nod in that CAM spot after his goal at the weekend, which would only leave one spot for Jerome or Hooper. A midweek trip to Huddersfield also looms which means squad rotation will be key, making the attack selection even more intriguing for this week.
Alright, that’s it for me. Hopefully that article “takes the biscuit” and “the place will be going bananas” on Saturday afternoon. OTBC!
