Norwich City vs Liverpool e-Football Preview

Article by e-Norwich Correspondent Colin Rowe

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It is ridiculous to think Norwich can go into home games against the likes of Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City with at least a little bit of confidence, but mention the team from the red part of Merseyside and a certain Uruguayan and we have horrible flashbacks.

Since Norwich’s well deserved 1-1 draw at Anfield in 2011, memorable for John Ruddy’s miraculous last minute save to deny the aforementioned South American, things have not gone well when we play Liverpool.

The subsequent results have been 0-3, 2-5, 5-0 and 5-1, with ‘he who shall not be named’ scoring 11 in four games, including a hat-trick of hat-tricks in the last three.

Of all the big teams, Liverpool remain the only team Norwich have failed to beat since their return to the top-flight three-season ago.

John Ruddy in particular must have a special loathing for the Liverbirds and nobody would blame him if he had Louis Suarez’s picture attached to a dart board.

Oh well, our luck against Liverpool has to change at some point and there would be no better time for this than the game on Sunday and surely the vampiresque forward cannot get four hat-tricks in a row against the Canary’s.

So are there any positives for Norwich fans to hold on to?

Well, our defensive record at home is actually better than Liverpool’s and we have already held the free-scoring Manchester blues to a goalless draw.

Liverpool also look vulnerable at the back, especially away from home, so there may be openings for the boys in yellow.

Otherwise there is little to give any optimism to the Y’Army.

The last time Liverpool scored less than two goals was in mid-February against Arsenal in the FA Cup and you have to go back to the start of February to find the last time they only scored once in a league game.

Simultaneously, Norwich are still struggling in front of goal, all of which does not bode well for the oddly scheduled midday kick-off on Sunday.

However, enough of this doom and gloom about the Pride of Anglia’s prospects.

With Manchester City only getting a draw midweek against Sunderland, Merseyside Reds would still be three points clear of the Citizens even if they win their additional game-in-hand.

Chelsea are only two points behind the table leaders, but still have to go to Anfield for what could essentially be the title decider the following weekend.

This means a little of the pressure has been taken off Liverpool in terms of the title race, so we can but hope their minds will be elsewhere when they visit Carrow Road, despite Steven Gerrard calling for the ‘Pool to treat Norwich like AC Milan when they faced them in the 2003 Champions League final in Istanbul.

On the injury front there are no new worries for the Canary’s, who can boast an almost full-strength squad, although it is still unlikely Elliott Bennett will feature.

What will be interesting to see are Neil Adams choices at the back, having dropped Sebastian Bassong and Joseph Yobo for last weekend’s fruitless visit to Craven Cottage, which was followed by speculation of a dressing room bust-up between the new manager, the club captain and the Galatasaray Loanee.

Tactically, goodness knows what Adams has planned because currently there seems to be no way of playing the Anfield team, although clearly a solid defensive line is a must.

Given Liverpool’s defensive frailties, particularly on the road, expect to see some fast counter-attacking football from Norwich, trying to take advantage of Liverpool’s often over-attacking style of play.

Overall, it is hard to see Norwich getting anything out of this game, but then again we were not expecting anything from the Man City game and we walked away with a well-earned point.

Keep the faith and believe we can win because stranger things have happened.

Predicted Line-Up: Ruddy, Martin, Bassong, Turner, Olsson, Tettey, Fer, Howson, Remond, Snodgrass, van Wolfswinkel

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