HomeFeatured ArticlesManchester City Vs Norwich City | Team News, Key Players & Stats

Manchester City Vs Norwich City | Team News, Key Players & Stats

Chris Hughton’s Norwich City side faces a difficult away trip to the Etihad Stadium, with Manchester City losing just one at home in their last five, which was against Champions League winners Bayern Munich.

Manuel Pellegrini’s Manchester City side have looked comfortable at home so far in their four home games at the Etihad, scoring 13 goals with just two goals conceded, beating Everton 3-1, Man Utd 4-1, Hull City 2-0 and Newcastle United 4-0 on the way.

Norwich’s away form, on the other hand, sees them in the bottom three based on points picked up away from home; with just 3 points picked up on the road, after losing three.

Manchester City Vs Norwich City

Team News

Stevan Jovetic picked up a knock in the game at St James Park on Wednesday night, while Vincent Kompany is in the race to be fit for the game versus Norwich City.

Nathan Redmond and Robert Snodgrass picked up slight knocks in their 4-0 loss at Old Trafford, but could be available. Alex Tettey, Ricky van Wolfswinkel and Elliot Bennett are slight doubts for the trip to the Etihad.

Interesting Statistics

Norwich, Sunderland and Crystal Palace have the least amount of away goals in the Premier League, with just (2) goals.

Sergio Aguero has (4) Premier League goals in (3) starts against Norwich City.

Norwich are the last away team to win at the Etihad in the Premier League, winning 3-2 on the final day of the 12/13 campaign. [via StatsZone]

Since Norwich returned to the Premier League in 2011/2012, the four fixtures between Man City and the Canaries have produced a total of 25 goals, an average of 6.25 per game.

Key Players

Sergio Aguero

The man with the thighs of Adonis. The sheer strength of his upper legs is comparable to that of Argentina’s finest ever footballer [hotly debated] Diego Maradona. Although Maradona said Sergio Aguero is a wimp recently in an interview, it’s clear that the ‘Hand of God’ player doesn’t see eye to eye with Aguero, after his daughter’s marriage broke down with Kun Aguero.

Nonetheless, the former Atletico Madrid man will be happy with his start to the season, with (7) goals and (2) assists in (7) Premier League starts.

Aguero goal attempts
Aguero goal attempts

It seems that Kun Aguero is bringing back the form he had when City won the league back in 2011/2012 – when he was a man on a mission.

Aguero is averaging a goal every 84 minutes, with 20 shots so far this season, he has (16) on target; with just (4) off target – averaging a shot on target every 37 minutes, with a shooting accuracy of 80%.

The Argentinian forward is a man on fire in front of goal, with a chance conversion of 35% and a clear-cut chance conversion of 33%. But the Manchester City man is also creating chances for his teammates, with (11) chances created in (7) games, added to the (2) clear-cut chances.

Aguero has completed a total of 6 dribbles out of 19, showing he isn’t afraid of putting the defender on the back foot, but will need to improve his dribbling accuracy.

John Ruddy

The Canaries have yet to produce a player this season that has dazzled apart from Nathan Redmond, although inconsistent, he has been Norwich’s bright spark; but it will be keeper John Ruddy who will have the most to do when Norwich City visit the Etihad on Saturday afternoon.

Norwich City haven’t had much to shout about so far this season. They’re currently sitting in the bottom three with eight points from nine matches, having scored (6) goals and conceded (13). As a consequence, John Ruddy has seen a lot of action in the Norwich defensive third.

While Norwich have conceded 13 goals, Ruddy and his defence have kept (3) clean sheets. The same amount of clean sheets that Chelsea have kept, and (1) more clean sheet than Arsenal.

Ruddy keeper stats
Ruddy keeper stats

Ruddy has made a total of 31 saves, conceding – on average – 1.44 goals per game, averaging 26.13 minutes per save.

John Ruddy hasn’t missed a catch from a cross yet, with (17) high cross catches and (3) punches – the English keeper is showing his authority in the air from crosses.

Although, the Canaries no.1 has made (3) defensive errors, averaging a defensive error every 270 minutes.

Ruddy will have a lot to do on Saturday, City have scored 13 goals at home and with a front four of Silva, Navas, Aguero and Negredo – the keeper will need to be on his toes throughout the 90 minutes.

Prediction: Manchester City 4-0 Norwich City

City will look to secure a home win against Norwich City, and with Sergio Aguero in great form, it may be a long day at the office for Norwich City.

Sergio Aguero to score first is available at 9/4 @ William Hill.

City to win 4-0 is available at 17/2 @ William Hill.

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