Manchester City welcome Norwich City to the Etihad in round 11 of the Premier League as the Sky Blues look to maintain their stay at the top of the League table. Last weekend’s Manchester derby was far from impressive but City got what they wanted, especially without the likes of Aguero and Silva. As for Norwich, the Canaries are without a win in their last three games, two of those losses coming at Carrow Road and that 6-2 drubbing at Newcastle.
However, there were some positive signs of a revival for Alex Neil’s men as Norwich pushed Everton all the way to penalties at Goodison Park, but they will know that they will soon need points more than performances during the tough winter months. Goals are not really the major concern just yet as Norwich have bagged 14 in 10 league fixtures, but they have also conceded a second-worst tally of 21 without managing to keep a clean sheet all season. With a tough fixture list on the horizon which includes facing Arsenal and Chelsea and they’ll have to pick up points if they are to survive in the League.
Team News
For the Citizens, Nasri, Aguero, Silva, Delph and Zabaletta are all out with injury however, Raheem Sterling is expected to be fit after suffering a knock.
As for the Canaries, there are no fresh injury concerns.
Manchester City possible starting lineup: Hart; Sagna, Kompany, Otamendi, Kolarov; Fernandinho, Toure; Sterling, Silva, Bruyne; Bony
Norwich City possible starting lineup: Ruddy; Martin, Bassong, Bennett, Olsson; Brady, Dorrans, Tettey, Redmond; Hoolahan; Jerome.
Match Facts
– Manchester City have lost just two of their 14 Barclays Premier League meetings with Norwich City, winning seven and drawing five.
– Norwich are the only side yet to keep a clean sheet in the top flight this season.
– Joe Hart currently has 100 BPL clean sheets with Man City and is only the sixth goalkeeper to hit that milestone with a single club in the competition. Petr Cech at Chelsea (162), David Seaman at Arsenal (137), Jose Reina at Liverpool (134), Everton’s Tim Howard (112) and Peter Schmeichel at Manchester United (112) are the others.
– Yaya Toure has been directly involved in five goals (two goals, three assists) in his six league appearances against Norwich.
– Kevin De Bruyne has had a hand in six goals in his six BPL matches since joining Man City from Wolfsburg this summer, scoring three and assisting three.
– In his last 27 league appearances across Germany and England, De Bruyne has had a hand in 25 goals (11 goals, 14 assists).
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Key Men
Kevin de Bruyne – Manchester City
The Belgian has had a sublime start to his Manchester City career notching up 6 goals in all competitions as well as three assists. He also has a pass success rate of 78 percent in the league and he averages 2.7 shots per game. De Bruyne was instrumental in City’s important Champions League win against Sevilla, scoring a brilliant last minute winner. However, he was kept in check in the Manchester Derby by Marcos Rojo but De Bruyne should be quick to forget things and move on, especially with David Silva not playing, City will be relying on him to produce more moments of magic.
Wes Hoolahan – Norwich City
Wes Hoolahan is 33 years old. His best days are long gone, you would think. But the Irishman has been proving his critics wrong this season with an impressive five assists and a goal to his name. He also has a pass success rate of 84 percent. He isn’t a star but he does his job, the sort of a player you need for your team. If Norwich are to get away with anything out of this game, everyone needs to be at their best and Hoolahan would certainly be up for the challenge.
Prediction
This could be landslide.
Man City 4-0 Norwich City
Betting Tips
Bwin – 1/4 on a home win
Unibet – 11/1 on an away win
Bet365 – 11/2 on a draw
