The Match
Norwich are threatening to turn a corner, and have won three of their last five - including an impressive away win at WBA last time out. Chris Hughton hasn't been able to get Norwich ticking like Lambert did, but he'll no doubt be heartened by their record against the Swans in the Premiership. Yet to lose against the South Walians since both sides gained promotion three years ago, they'll be looking to continue that trend tomorrow lunchtime.
Swansea once again fell short away at St Gallen and while I didn't see the game, the general reaction would seem to indicate that the level of performance was far short of what we can legitimately expect from a Swansea side with mutli-million pound players in the lineup. With certain players seemingly rested despite the game containing a semblance of importance, I'm unsure whether rotation can be used as an excuse, as we've spend good money on players now and there's a sizeable squad of players to choose from. Hopefully we'll break our PL duck against the Canaries and secure a win, which would be just the third in the last twelve outings for Laudrup's men.
Prior Form (Most recent at top)
Team News
Norwich have their fair share of injury problems, with Anthony Pilkington (hamstring), Alex Tettey (high ankle), Elliot Bennett (knee) & Robert Snodgrass (knee) all out of contention, with Snodgrass the only player listed who has any chance of featuring before the New Year. It's better news for Mark Bunn and Ricky Van Wolfswinkel though, as they could feature after recovering from ankle and toe injuries respectively.
Swansea should have Michu back to more or less full fitness, but Bony is likely to be rested given his Europa exertions. Britton looks likely to remain sidelined with a reported broken toe, but Angel Rangel could return after recovering from a hamstring injury. Garry Monk will be out for a while after undergoing knee surgery, while Vorm also looks set to go under the knife for a similar complaint. With Alvaro Vazquez out with a groin injury, and Chico serving a one match suspension (those dives look a bit bloody stupid now don't they?), I'm wondering why we let Ki go out on loan, as another central midfielder would be pretty handy about now.
Completely guessed lineups
Statistics & Trivia
- There have been 20 goals scored in just four Barclays Premier League meetings between Norwich and Swansea.
- Swansea forward Michu scored three goals in two games against Norwich City last season.
- Robert Snodgrass scored in both Premier League games for Norwich against Swansea last season and also assisted two goals for the Canaries.
- Martin Olsson has cleared more shots off the line that any other player in the Premier League this season (3), while Norwich have made more clearances off the line than any other side (7).
- Norwich have allowed their opponents more shots on target against them than any other team in the Premier League this season (91).
- Gary Hooper has scored in each of Norwich's last two Premier League home games.
- Last weekend John Ruddy became only the fourth different goalkeeper to record 10+ saves in a Premier League game this season (plus Krul, Begovic & Marshall twice).
- Norwich are looking to win three successive Premier League home games for the first time since five in a row last season, a run that ended on December 15 (exactly one year ago).
- Swansea have conceded in 14 of their last 20 away games, going on to win 3, draw 1 and lose 10 of these matches.
- Swansea have failed to score in 55% of their last 20 away games.
- Norwich have scored in 14 of their last 20 home games, going on to win 8, draw 3 and lose 3 of these matches.
- Geographically this is the widest east-west fixture ever to feature in the English top-flight.
Straight from the horse's mouth
Michael Laudrup is looking forward to being able to focus exclusively on the Premier League - for a while at least:
"It will be the seventh game in 20 days with some players playing in four, five or six of those, but we have to get everything we can out of this game and then on Monday we can enjoy the Europa League draw and then park that competition until the end of February.
"After that we can think exclusively about the Premier League as from here to the next Europa League game there are 10 or 11 games in the league. It is always easier to focus on one competition, especially if you are not experienced in playing in Europe.
"This is the first time in the Europa League for us and we are only in mid-December but we've already had 10 games in this competition. That's a lot of games. Last year we thought we'd played a lot of games, but we've played more this year at a similar stage."
http://www.football365.com/swansea/9072891/-?
Chris Hughton was asked how he dealt with rotation for European football, during his time in charge of Birmingham:
“We felt it helped us. We rotated the squad for those games and certainly at home we had full houses and great atmospheres and it motivated us for the league form. It was definitely more of a help than a hindrance, but I can understand those who have the opposite view. It certainly stretches a squad and your resources. Where Swansea is fortunate is they do have a big and good squad. You would have to ask them how much it has been a hindrance.
“You can really take that any way you want. It could be a situation that actually galvanises the players. They’ve had a tough week and they are going to need to dig deep for another game but the fact they have qualified makes it a successful one. I will focus on our business. We are on the back of a good win, we are at home and this is an opportunity to put back-to-back wins together. We have to show a burning desire to want to get three points.”
http://www.pinkun.com/norwich-city/fate_and_fatigue_are_not_part_of_the_equation_for_norwich_city_boss_chris_hughton_1_3111359
Analysis
Despite their good record against the Swans, I've got no ill-feeling toward Norwich and I view them as a club very much like ourselves - a bit out of the way and definitely in the "plucky upstart" category. I can also forgive their good record against us - I don't know what it is... I think I've got a bit of a soft spot for them. Having said that, I'd take Huw over Delia any day.
Moving swiftly on, it seems Michu is set to lead the line once again. He'll be up against (probably) Turner & Bassong, but I'm confident he'll be a bit too hot to handle for these too. If you can say one thing about Michu it's that he's unorthodox, and given how hot/cold the Swans have been of late it's difficult for Norwich to know what to expect - other than rotation and a 4-5-1 system.
Johan Elmander could partner Gary Hooper up front with Van Wolfwinkel facing a fitness test, and if I'm honest I didn't even know he'd signed for Norwich. Slipped right past me, that one. I rate the Swede, so Ash & Amat will need to communicate well and ensure they're not overrun by the two centre forwards at the head of Norwich's 4-4-2. They'll have good service, too, with Leroy Fer and Nathan Redmond both capable of causing problems for the Swans fullbacks, and defence in general. Whether Rangel is fit could be key - as will Ben Davies' performance. He's been caught out of position for a number of goals now, and while he's an outstanding, outstanding talent I do have to keep reminding myself how young he is, and how much he's going to learn over the next few years.
In midfield, as mentioned earlier, I'm really starting to miss Ki. Right now he's just what we need. Instead, he's plying his trade for a rival. Makes sense, that. With that in mind, and Britton injured, there isn't really any rotation available unless we abandon our 4-5-1 or play with a winger or Pozuelo at CAM (although that is where I prefer to see the Spaniard operating). It's likely to be Shelvey, De Guzman and Canas in the middle, and hopefully the Dutchman can match the efforts of his teammates. If he put in as much of a shift as Shelvey he'd be a much, much better player.
Am I confident? No. That's not going to stop me envisaging a win though, because that's what we need. Despite pressure surrounding Chris Hughton after a poor start to the season, they've pulled away from the relegation zone and can actually go above the Swans with a win tomorrow. You wouldn't have seen that coming a few weeks ago, but that's where we are and three points would be very, very handy right about now. Swansea to break their duck against Norwich, and win 2-1.