Norwich host Manchester City at Carrow Road tomorrow for the Premier League’s midday fixture at 12.45pm, with Alex Neil hoping there’ll be a change of luck for the Canaries after a nine-game winless streak despite improvements since City’s arrival from their trip away to Abu Dhabi.
Whereas, Manuel Pellegrini’s side come off the back of a 4-0 victory against Premier League strugglers, Aston Villa, whilst suffering consecutive defeats against Leicester City, Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool beforehand.
Norwich’s most recent defeat came at the hands of Swansea City, where a 61st minute Gylfi Sigurdsson goal eventually saw the Canaries join Newcastle and Aston Villa in the relegation zone. Alex Neil made six changes against the Welsh side, with Steven Naismith and Gary O’Neil returning to the side.
Whereas, Manchester City were helped to a 4-0 victory against Villa as Yaya Toure, Sergio Aguero and Raheem Sterling all found the net last weekend.
Robbie Brady, Steven Naismith and Sebastien Bassong all face late fitness tests ahead of the visit from Pellegrini’s side, whilst Alex Tettey is unlikely to play again this season after suffering an ankle injury against Chelsea. One change will be definite for the Blues, with Yaya Toure ruled out of the game at NR1. Kevin De Bruyne, Fabian Delph and Samir Nasri will also be sidelined for the game against the Canaries.
There will be plenty of speculation ahead of kickoff, with many hoping for a switch up front for Norwich and to see a start from Patrick Bamford. Whilst how the Scottish manager will work around the absence of Alex Tettey and his best defenders will always remain unclear until midday.
Norwich have already played Manchester City twice this season, with a 3-0 defeat in the FA Cup third round in January and before that, a 2-1 defeat at the Etihad Stadium on October 31, 2015. However, many fans will have City’s thrashings in the past closer to memory with the 2013/14 season seeing a 7-0 defeat, whilst Paul Lambert’s side saw a 5-1 and 6-1 defeat respectively in 2011/12. With Alex Neil’s one thrashing this season against Newcastle, let’s hope it’s not jinxed.
