After both teams were surprisingly promoted last year, it’s fair to say that the start to life in the Premier League has been challenging. Both Norwich City and Aston Villa have had some good results so far, but also they’ve endured some chastising defeats. It’s hard to know exactly where both teams will end up in the league, but a win here for either would be essential. Momentum is needed as we edge towards the wild festive period, so both teams could use something here to put them in position for the most demanding part of the football calendar.
Norwich City News
The injuries are fair piling up for the Canaries. Alongside two first team keepers Ralf Fahrmann and Tim Krul, other important players missing include Mario Vrancic, Timm Klose, and Onel Hernandez. The lack of numbers means that Norwich will likely stick with a similar line-up to what they have used recently; manager Daniel Farke does not really have the luxury of changes.
Michael McGovern is likely to take place in nets, with Ben Godfrey and Grant Hanley coming in.
Aston Villa News
Meanwhile, Villa are likely to be without Matt Targett, Henri Lansbury, James Chester, and Wesley. All four players have been important for them – though Chester has yet to play this year – meaning that Dean Smith has similarly limited options in some places.
Jonathan Kodija is back, though, and the big Ivorian could be an essential addition to their first team as the season begins to move towards its most extensive period in terms of fixtures.
Verdict
Hard to say for sure, but we would suspect that Norwich will have a good chance of picking up something. Villa have made a worrying habit of conceding daft goals, and with Norwich scoring at least 2 goals in each of their last 3 home games in the league, we can see them scoring a few here. Villa are winless in 3, but both sides are quite unreliable at present: a draw feels likely.