Alex Neil’s Norwich side travel to South London to battle it out against Crystal Palace in the hope of continuing their good form in recent weeks and help the Eagles continue their winless run.
The Canaries come off the back of a change of fate, with back-to-back wins against West Brom and most recently, Newcastle United, and a 0-0 draw against Manchester City before that.
City’s recent 3-2 victory against the Magpies will give Alex Neil’s side a much-needed piece of optimism, with the Canaries fetching their winner three minutes into extra time through a Martin Olsson shot from inside the box. That came after the Canaries suffered seeing their leads leveled through Aleksandar Mitrovic’s goals in the 71st and 86th minute.
Crystal Palace is currently experiencing an identical winless streak to the one the Canaries suffering at the beginning of 2016, with Alan Pardew’s side failing to collect three points in the Premier League since December 19, 2015, despite seeing victories against Southampton, Stoke and Tottenham in the FA Cup over that course.
In the Eagles most recent game, Palace gained a point through a 75th-minute leveller in a 2-2 draw against West Ham, despite being the first to break the deadlock in the 15th minute. It was a goal from the former City target Dwight Gayle following sending off for the Hammers, which gave Palace a needed point, following defeats against Liverpool and Leicester beforehand.
Alex Neil will be hoping to notice a difference between the team he’ll put out tomorrow compared to the one which suffered a 3-1 defeat against Palace in the first fixture of the 2015/16 season where Nathan Redmond’s 69th-minute goal was only a consolation for the Canaries. In that game, the likes of Steven Whittaker, Bradley Johnson, and Lewis Grabban started the game, whereas Gary Hooper featured as a second-half substitute in a lineup with clear variations to the one which defeated Newcastle at the weekend.
The 34-year-old manager has a full selection to choose from tomorrow, with Alex Tettey City’s only absentee. Russell Martin is set to return, whilst the Scotsman is happy with Nathan Redmond’s progress since picking up an injury against Manchester City.
For City’s opponents, Alan Pardew confirmed the absents of James McArthur and Brede Hangeland, whilst striker Emmanuel Adebayor is also a doubt but will be assessed ahead of tomorrow’s fixture. However, Pardew also hinted at the return of Yohan Cabaye and ex-Ipswich man Connor Wickham for the match against the Canaries.
