Norwich City vs Chelsea Match Analysis and Prediction

2 years ago 376

Chelsea will travel to face Norwich City on Thursday looking to further strengthen their hold of third position in the Premier League.

Bottom-placed Norwich have lost four games in a row, while the Blues head to Carrow Road boasting a three-match winning streak in the English first tier.

Norwich welcoming Chelsea to Carrow Road has arguably come at the wrong time with five defeats having been recorded in succession.

While Norwich had been outsiders in the first four of those games, they were favourites to defeat Brentford last weekend, only to be beaten 3-1 on their own turf.

Dean Smith would be aware that the tripple-header after Thursday’s fixture could prove pivotal, with Leeds United, Brighton & Hove Albion and Burnley all coming in a row.

However, the Canaries need to build confidence ahead of those games, the pressure being to deliver one of their best performances of the season against a team on a high, despite the ongoing situation regarding Roman Abramovich’s sale of the club.

Meanwhile, even the most optimistic Blues supporter will accept that they are no longer involved in the top flight title race, the current gap to league leaders Manchester City being 16 points with no games in hand.

However, Chelsea have been required to put together a three-game winning run to reaffirm their hold of third spot, moving six points clear of fifth-placed Manchester United having played two games fewer.

With a frantic schedule in front of them ahead of the upcoming international break, Tuchel may be prepared to rotate his squad on Thursday, but most of his men can claim to be match-fit given the matches recently played in various competitions.

Chelsea won 7-0 in the reverse fixture back in October, and the West Londoners are currently on an 18-game unbeaten run against their upcoming opponents.

Norwich City vs Chelsea head to head

The two clubs have previously met on 42 occasions across all competitions, where Chelsea have taken 19 victories while Norwich have won 10, and they have drawn in 13. Norwich have scored 43 goals and conceded 65. In their last five meeings, Chelsea have won four and they have drawn once.

Norwich City 0-0 Chelsea 06/01/18

Chelsea (P)1-1 Norwich City 17/01/18

Norwich City 2-3 Chelsea 24/08/19

Chelsea 1-0 Norwich City 14/07/20

Chelsea 7-0 Norwich City 23/10/21

Norwich City latest home form

Norwich have recently been on a relatively poor form at home, having won just one of their seven most recent matches. They managed to defeat Everton 2-1 on January 15. In their last five matches, they have won one, drawn one and lost three, scoring four goals and conceding 14.

Norwich City 0-5 Arsenal 26/12/21

Norwich City 2-1 Everton 15/01/22

Norwich City 1-1 Crystal City 09/02/22

Norwich City 0-4 Manchester City 12/02/22

Norwich City 1-3 Brentford 05/03/22

Norwich City latest away form

Norwich have recently been on a poor run of form on the road, having lost in each of their three most recent away matches. However, they managed to defeat Wolverhampton Wanderers 1-0 in the FA Cup. In their last five away matches, they have scored six goals and conceded seven.

Watdord 0-3 Norwich City 21/01/22

Wolverhampton Wanderers 0-1 Norwich City 05/02/22

Lverpool 3-1 Norwich City 19/02/22

Southampton 2-0 Norwich City 25/02/22

Liverpool 2-1 Norwich City 02/03/22

Chelsea latest home form

Chelsea recently lost to Liverpool through penalties after a goalless draw in the League Cup. However, they have been on a good run of form at home so far. They recently defeated Lille 2-0 in the Champions League. In their last five matches, they have scored eight goals and conceded two.

Chelsea 2-0 Tottenham Hotspur 23/01/22

Chelsea (E)2-1 Plymouth Argyle 05/02/22

Chelsea (E)2-1 Palmeiras 12/02/22

Chelsea 2-0 Lille 22/02/22

Chelsea 0-0(P) Liverpool 27/02/22

Chelsea latest away form

Chelsea have recently been on good run of form on the road, as they have been unbeaten in their five most recent away matches. They recently managed to defeat Luton Town 3-2 in the FA Cup. In their last five matches, they have scored 10 goals and conceded just three.

Brighton & Hove Albion 1-1 Chelsea 18/01/22

Al Hilal 0-1 Chelsea 09/02/22

Crystal Palace 0-1 Chelsea 19/02/22

Luton Town 2-3 Chelsea 02/03/22

Burnley 0-4 Chelsea 05/03/22

Norwich City news

Billy Gilmour will be absent and is unable to face his parent club, while Ozan Kabak will return to the backline if he recovers from injury.

Ben Gibson, Sam Byram and one of Milot Rashica or Josh Sargent may feature as replacements, with Jonathan Rowe potentially earning his first Premier League start.

Chelsea news

Despite returning to training, Cesar Azpilicueta may not be risked for this match, and the same could also apply to Marcos Alonso who has had coronavirus.

Tuchel may choose to take Thiago Silva and Reece James out of the starting lineup on Thursday, alongside N’Golo Kante and Kai Havertz.

Prediction and Odds

Norwich enter the contest looking to respond to the defeat against Brentford, and we feel this match could be much closer than many anticipate.

Chelsea head to Carrow Road with much confidence among the players and will want to cement their position in the standings by taking all the three points.

Odds: 1 2.65 X 2.20 2 1.70