Norwich City vs Southampton: Match Preview as the Premier League returns

Southampton make their long-awaited return as they take on Norwich at Carrow Road.

After three months without football Saints will pull on their shin pads once again, as they look to claim an important three points against the struggling hosts.

SFC currently sit on 34 points in 14th place. That puts Ralph Hasenhüttl’s men seven points from the relegation zone and seven points from a potential place in Europe. The latter relies on Manchester city losing their Champions League appeal and a team already bound for Europe lifting the FA cup.

The Canaries meanwhile find themselves in an altogether more dire state. The Norfolk outfit sit six points adrift of safety at the foot of the table.

Before the extended break the form guide had the two sides evenly matched, despite the Six Place gap. The Canaries have secured one more point than Saints, having beaten Leicester and drawn to Newcastle.

James Ward-Prowse of Southampton and Tom Trybull of Norwich City (Photo by Robin Jones/Getty Images) /

For their part the South coast side have only secured three points from five having prevailed over basement dweller’s Aston Villa.

For those cringing at the mediocre statistics take heart because they are likely to be meaningless. As a typical season draws to a close the form guide can usually be relied upon to give a fairly accurate prediction of the future. For example, a relegation candidate for two thirds of the season is not likely to become a candidate for champions league in the last knockings.

Sadly, worldwide events mean that this is anything but a normal campaign. Three months between games and very little time to get match fit, means that the remaining nine games may as well be considered the start of a brand-new mini season.

Add to that a bizarre environment in which players will compete in front of virtually empty stadiums, face new and unusual match day routines, all whilst facing the pressure of trying to win in one of the world’s toughest leagues. It’s fair to say we are entering uncharted territory.

If Southampton’s trip to face Daniel Farke’s charges is to be considered a pseudo-opening day, then history has not been kind to the Hampshire side.

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Since returning to the EPL in 2012, the club has only secured one opening day win. This came as a late Rickie Lambert penalty gave his side the only goal of the game defeating West Brom in 2013.

The top-flight history between Friday night’s combatants is also fairly evenly matched. Of the 15 previous ties the red and white army have come out on top six times while Norwich scored the knockout blow in five. (Statistics via Premier League Official website)

Friday night’s affair will see James Ward Prowse prize the captain’s armband away from Pierre-Emile Højbjerg. The manager confirmed the change in light of Højbjer’s reluctance to sign a new contract.

Quoted by the Daily Echo, Hasenhüttl said:

“I spoke to him (Hojbjerg), we have an agreement. He wanted to receive clearly what I think about it, and I said if you do not extend your contract you cannot captain anymore this team.”.

The gaffer will also have to contend with the suspension of Moussa Djenepo after his red card against Newcastle. To make matters worse Shane Long is a doubt after picking up a back injury in training (Daily Echo).

Norwich meanwhile will be missing one unnamed player after he failed a round of Premier League health tests. Sky sports reports that the player has since tested negative according to Norwich Sporting Director Stuart Webber. (Sky Sports)

The man in question is currently undergoing a seven-day protocol which will rule him out of the fixture again Saints.

Speaking to the Beautiful Game podcast and quoted by Sky Sports, Webber said:

“Luckily the player in question is completely fine, 100 per cent, there’s nothing wrong with him.”

The Premier League official website further indicates that:

“They will be without defensive players Sam Byram, Grant Hanley and Christoph Zimmermann for the remainder of the season due to hamstring injuries.”

The site further reveals that Marco Stiepermann has also been “ruled out”. The Premier League does at least note that the relegation threatened side will have Timm Klose available for selection, after recovering from his long-term injury.

Related Story. Three notable wins for Saints over Norwich City. light

How Norwich Will Win

The second-tier champions simply have to win to have a realistic chance of staying up. Half a dozen points down and a difficult run of fixtures to come, City will be targeting the inconsistent Southampton for all three points.

The hosts impressed in the season’s early days with their willingness to get forward and attacking intent. If Teemu Pukki can recapture his prolific early form, then off the pace defenders may struggle to cope.

How Southampton Will Win

Hasenhüttl has developed a system in which his team likes to press and pressure without the ball. The idea being that the opposition will surrender the ball in dangerous areas of the pitch. Norwich are defensively delicate with a -27-goal difference. This is unsurprisingly the worst in the top-flight.

If Saints are firing on all cylinders, they will likely force a fragile back line into silly mistakes.

Matchday Squads

NORWICH

Goalkeepers: Tim Krul, Michael McGovern, Archie Mair

Defenders: Max Aarons, Ben Godfrey, Jamal Lewis, Timm Klose

Midfielders: Lukas Rupp, Mario Vrancic, Moritz Leitner, Onel Hernández, Todd Cantwell, Emiliano Buendía, Tom Trybull, Kenny McLean, Ondrej Duda, Alexander Tettey, Josh Martin

Forwards: Josip Drmic, Teemu Pukki, Adam Idah

SOUTHAMPTON

Goalkeepers: Alex McCarthy, Angus Gunn, Harry Lewis

Defenders: Jannik Vestergaard, Jack Stephens, Ryan Bertrand, Kyle Walker-Peters, Jake Vokins, Jan Bednarek, Kevin Danso, Yan Valery

Midfielders: Oriol Romeu, James Ward-Prowse, Stuart Armstrong, Sofiane Boufal, Nathan Redmond, Pierre-Emile Højbjerg, William Smallbone

Forwards: Shane Long, Danny Ings, Che Adams, Michael Obafemi, Daniel N’Lundulu

Predicted score

Norwich 0-1 Saints

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