Norwich City strive to forget Upton Park heartbreak with visit of Leicester

Saturday’s visit of Leicester sees Norwich City return to home turf on the back of two impressive away performances in which the two points yielded could have, and possibly should have, been so much more. The two sides meet with impressive form behind them, both having only lost once in their last six fixtures and the two managers are sure to see the match up as a good opportunity to extend their teams’ respective runs further.

Last gasp disappointment at Upton Park…

Cheikhou Kouyate’s 93rd minute equaliser snatched an arguably deserved 3 points away from Alex Neil’s Norwich City side at Upton Park last Saturday. A sublime Nathan Redmond strike gave City the lead in the closing stages after Diafra Sakho cancelled out Robbie Brady’s early effort, but lapse defending at a set piece (6 words which have been said far too often about Norwich this season) cost the Canaries the victory and a place in the top half. Despite the disappointment, great heart can be taken from such a performance away at a side sat 3rd in the table - and this, added to the point gained at Anfield a week prior, will leave Alex Neil with huge confidence heading into a winnable trio of fixtures in Leicester, West Brom and Newcastle. Whilst the unpredictable nature of the Premier League will leave Norwich fans apprehensive to label any run of fixtures as ‘winnable’, you can be certain that Alex Neil himself will not only be demanding but expecting 9 points - especially with two of these matches being on home turf.

The Cameron Jerome Question…

With greater potency, Norwich could have been three up within half an hour at Upton Park and it is with this in mind where Alex Neil has arguably his greatest selection dilemma. Last season’s top scorer Cameron Jerome has proven that he has enough to disturb Premier League defences, and the work he does for his side is sublime. His pace and strength is up there with the very best in the division, however, as led to his ultimate sale at Stoke and release from loan at Palace, he simply struggles to score Premier League goals. Jerome thrived in the Championship where he could more easily hassle defenders into mistakes, and his low conversion rate would not matter, as he would be presented 3 or 4 chances a match and, more often than not, would convert one of them. However, the Premier League is not so hospitable and Jerome’s lack of clinical edge is exposed at the higher level. Just 7 games in it would be harsh to write off the man who led City to Wembley success just four months ago, but Alex Neil is certainly not a man for sentimentality and with new signing Dieumerci Mbokani showing glimpses of his talents in his two brief cameo appearances, Kyle Lafferty knocking on the door with his Northern Ireland and Capital One Cup cup exploits and Lewis Grabban desperate for some minutes following his return from the cold, one wouldn’t think a change up top is too far away. I now eagerly await the 3-0 Norwich win (make that 3-1, no chance of a clean sheet) and Cameron Jerome hattrick - he doesn’t like being written off…

A further selection dilemma comes in the form of Matt Jarvis, as he returns from being ineligible for the game at Upton Park. The long-awaited return of Martin Olsson allowed Robbie Brady to slot into the void left by Jarvis, and the Republic of Ireland international put in a classy display which was topped off with his first goal for the club. With this in mind, Neil will be hard pressed to fit Jarvis back in; however, the deadline-day addition was in inspired form prior to the West Ham fixture, scoring 2 goals in his 3 appearances, and with City at home Neil will be tempted to revert to a more front-foot approach and the use of two out and out wingers; whether this is in the form of Saturday’s goalscorer Nathan Redmond or the aforementioned Jarvis, remains to be seen.

A look at the opponents…

Last Saturday saw Leicester slip to their first defeat of the season, as an Alexis Sanchez masterclass pioneered Arsenal’s comprehensive 5-2 victory over Ranieri’s men. Whilst Leicester’s start to the season has been impressive, much of it has been a case of Riyad Mahrez and Jamie Vardy’s (who added another brace in the defeat to the Gunners) form in front of goal papering over their clear defensive frailties. The Foxes have shipped in 14 goals in just 7 games, a figure only second to bottom club Sunderland, and this presents a clear area for Alex Neil to exploit. This heavy reliance on the aforementioned front men is likely to prove crippling; if their form were to drop, which seems likely as sustaining such high levels during an enduring Premier League season is nigh on impossible, then Leicester will be left vulnerable. That being said, the Canaries themselves have no mean defensive record, conceding just 2 less than the Foxes in the same amount of goals and with this in mind, goals seem a certainty - time to put your money on a 0-0, then! Leicester head to East Anglia with a healthy pool of players, with loanee Nathan Dyer the only notable absentee following his knock in the 3-2 victory against Aston Villa, whilst it appears that it will take more than Jamie Vardy’s healing broken wrist to prevent the newly capped England man from featuring.

City edge the recent history…

Tomorrow’s game sees the first meeting between the two sides since a David Nugent inspired victory dumped the Canaries out of the 5th round of the FA Cup at Carrow Road back in February 2012. The last time the two sides competed in the same league - the 2010/11 Championship - City came out victorious 4-3 and 3-2 at Carrow Road and the King Power respectively, a stat which further points towards the likelihood of goals tomorrow. Looking a bit further back, Norwich have lost just one of their last 10 league meetings between the two sides, and Alex Neil will be hoping to add to this recent success against the Foxes as the Canaries strive for a return to the top half of the table.

Prediction: Norwich City 2-1 Leicester City