Norwich City vs Sunderland Preview

Article by e-Norwich Correspondent Colin Rowe

Despite a poor season Norwich have a cup final on Saturday. Admittedly it’s the Friendly Cup, a bizarre competition dating back to the camaraderie shared between City and Sunderland during the 1985 League Cup final, but it’s better than nothing.

However, there will be no friendly feelings come 3pm on Saturday as both teams seek a vital in win in their respective campaigns to avoid relegation.

Norwich suffered yet more away day disappointment against Southampton last weekend, but at home is where they have been strongest and, as much as we might loathe the cliché, this is a must win game.

With a couple of very disappointing results recently, namely loosing at Villa and Southampton and only getting a draw at home to Stoke, Norwich must now make the most of their next four games against Sunderland, Swansea (a), West Brom (h) and Fulham (a).

Logic suggests Norwich will now have to win three out of their four next games to be safe before the difficult final four.

Chris Hughton does not seem to share the trepidation about facing Liverpool (h), Man United (a), Chelsea (a) and Arsenal (h) at the end of the season, claiming there is no reason the Yellows cannot get something from those games.

While many Y’Army members will be pleased with his (over)optimism, there is no way the Canary’s can rely on those points, so progress must be made now.

This is not to say Norwich cannot get points in these fixtures, in fact City have been good against the big teams at home, but these are certainly not bankers.

Hopefully Hughton’s ability to win games when he absolutely has to will come to fruition again and Norwich can get some vital points on the road to safety against a Sunderland team who have three games in hand over the Canary’s.

The reverse fixture was a very drab affair over the Christmas period, finishing 0-0 with neither team producing anything of quality, leaving the two-legged Friendly Cup evenly-poised for a winner takes all return fixture.

It is unlikely this fixture will follow the same pattern as it did at The Stadium of Light with so much up riding on it for both teams.

Tactically it is another difficult game to call for Norwich, especially given the number of unexpected changes made by Hughton for last weekend’s trip to the south coast.

Sebastian Bassong’s relegation to the subs bench was the most notable exclusion, but with four goals conceded it is very likely he will return to the starting XI.

Russell Martin, Nathan Redmond, Wes Hoolahan and Ricky van Wolfwinkel similarly will also be pushing for a recall.

The good news on the injury front is Jonny Howson and Ryan Bennett played a full 90 minutes against Southampton in their first return to competitive football and winger Elliott Bennett trained this week after a lengthy absence.

Do not expect Bennett, E, to feature at the weekend, but any help he can give in the final run-in will certainly be welcome, while Michael Turner and Jonas Gutierrez and available again.

Leroy Fer continues his absence, but is apparently making good progress according to the manager.

On the plus side for Norwich, their defensive record at home is actually rather good, with just one conceded in the last five at Carrow Road and a season long average of 0.8 goals per game in home fixtures, so Sunderland will be forced to work hard.

Overall do not expect anything revolutionary in Hughton’s tactics. A similar layout to the team who faced Stoke two weeks ago is the most likely direction and given the teams home record it is hard to argue.

This is a now-or-never game for the Yellows and is one of those games where you feel there is no need for any additional motivation, which means it is another afternoon of hiding behind the sofa for many City fans.

Predicted Line-Up: Ruddy, Martin, Bassong, Yobo, Howson, Tettey, Redmond, Snodgrass, Hoolahan, van Wolfswinkel

On The Ball City!

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