Norwich will take on Mourinho’s Chelsea at home on Sunday this weekend with much determination from both sides, as both have won only 2 of their previous 5 matches in the Premier League. Chelsea have played some tricky away fixtures against Everton, Manchester United and Tottenham already this season. Jose Mourinho will be aiming to try a build some momentum by putting a run of wins together starting with Norwich this weekend. Norwich and Chris Hughton will be full of confidence after managing a 0-1 win away from home at the Britannia a game in which they managed to keep a clean sheet.
In the past week, we saw Juan Mata stake his claim back into being in the starting 11 for Chelsea after he was able to have a decisive impact in the game against Tottenham after coming on at half time. He also delivered the ball for John Terry’s equalizing goal, providing the assist. Last season, Mata was arguably Chelsea most important player; creating 95 chances in the league and managing 12 assists, thus highlighting his creative influence. Chelsea fans will welcome his inclusion to the team after Mata became a fans favourite and onto becoming the Chelsea player of the season in consecutive seasons at the club. Mourinho is hoping that Juan can become a more complete player who can hassle opposition defences and make decisive tackles.
New signing for Norwich Ricky van Wolfswinkel has only managed to score 1 goal so far this season as he looked to adapt from Portuguese football. So far this season in the premier league he’s played 526 minutes which has only resulted in one goal. Norwich will be hoping that he can find some form as the season continues as they invested heavily in the striker. They also have the highly rated Gary Hooper in their squad who is known for his goal scoring.
Key Players
Norwich City’s Robert Snodgrass could be vital for them against Chelsea this weekend especially as Norwich may look to get behind Chelsea on the counter as Chelsea push forward. Snodgrass possess good pace with tidy technical ability. Last season, Snodgrass was Norwich’s most creative player creating 66 chances, however these chances only resulted in 6 assists. This season he is also the most creative in the team leading the chances created with 8. To many peoples surprise, Snodgrass is extremely useful in his defensive performances managing to make 99 tackles last season, the highest out of all of his team mates.
Chelsea’s key man is definitely Ramires, he has played the most minutes in the Chelsea squad this season in the league completing 540 minutes. Only Cech, Ivanovic and Terry have played the same amount. Against Spurs on the weekend, Ramires was asked to play in the wide areas primarily to track the runs of Walker and Sigurðsson, however when he was moved into the centre of midfield he was able to have a real impact on the game. Ramires has been Chelsea’s highest tackler this season with a total of 21 tackles winning 19. Last season saw Ramires manage a total of 112 tackles winning 85 of them, the highest of the Chelsea squad..
Team News
Fernando Torres is suspended for this game after his suspension against Tottenham. He picked a injury in Chelsea Champions league fixture against Steua which is expected to keep him out for up to 3 weeks.
Marco Van Ginkel could be out for the whole season after injuring his knee against Swindon Town in the league cup.
Norwich have a full squad and fit squad with no notable injuries.
Prediction
I expect quite a tight game this weekend against the two sides. Both teams strikers have been struggling to score goals and as a result of this, set pieces and runners from midfield could become crucial to create opportunities to score goals. Chelsea are extremely gifted in their attacking midfield positions and have several players who can score. I expect the game to be close but for Mourinho to come out on top winning 1-2.
