Norwich City welcome West Bromwich Albion to Carrow Road in their first home game of the season. Both sides are looking for their first three points of the campaign having each picked up a draw. Norwich opened the season with a draw whilst Albion played an extra fixture in midweek, which is where they secured their solitary point following defeat in their season opener.
Norwich City vs West Brom
Norwich City
After a disappointing last season, manager Daniel Farke is already under pressure to produce results. The Canaries came from behind twice at St Andrew’s to earn an opening 2-2 draw against Birmingham last weekend.
Striker Onel Hernandez scored twice in the last ten minutes to ensure that Norwich came home with a point, although they will feel it should’ve been more from a matchup they arguably dominated, having 70% possession of the ball and 17 shots on goal.
Farke will be pleased with his team’s creativity in front of goal, as well as the performance of goalkeeper Tim Krul who, despite conceding two goals, made several important saves. However, conceding two goals is never a positive sign, and it will raise concerns about Norwich’s defensive capabilities, particularly after they conceded 60 goals last season.
West Bromwich Albion
Darren Moore will be desperate to get the first win of the season under his belt. West Brom have picked up just one point from their first two fixtures with their lacklustre performances being thrust into the spotlight. Although, there was a visible improvement towards the end of their midweek game against Nottingham Forest.
The Baggies played with an intensity that they had so far struggled to find in the last half hour against Forest, thanks in part to loanee Dwight Gayle’s impact from the bench. The late leveller against Forest got Albion up and running and a win at Carrow Road will certainly help settle their early-season nerves.
Albion have kept hold of key players Craig Dawson, Jay Rodriguez and Nacer Chadli, a string of players that were heavily linked with moves away from the Hawthorns. Although, of the three, Rodriguez is the only player to feature for West Brom so far this season. Dawson and Chadli are proving to be a little more difficult to handle as they tried to force a move. West Brom’s season will depend heavily on Moore’s ability to get these players motivated and playing.
Team News
West Brom failed to bring in a right-back in the transfer window despite making the position top priority, so Moore will likely start with the same back four that featured against Forest. This means that Manchester City loanee Tosin Adarabioyo would keep his place at right back.
Predicted Line-ups
Norwich: Krul, Marshall, Hanley, Klose, Husband, Tettey, Pukki, Srbeny, Hernandez, Trybull, Rhodes.
West Brom: Johnstone, Adarabioyo, Bartley, Hegazi, Gibbs, Phillips, Brunt, Livermore, Barnes, Gayle, Rodriguez.
Prediction
Darren Moore’s side have struggled with the transition to Championship football. His side are still bedding in and will need more time to gel.
Norwich City 2-2 West Brom
Main Photo
