Norwich City v Newcastle United: Premier League match preview

A look ahead to this week’s Premier League fixture at Carrow Road

Will Jamieson
Tuesday 28 January 2014 09:00 GMT
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Chris Hughton's Norwich take on his former team Newcastle
Chris Hughton's Norwich take on his former team Newcastle (GETTY IMAGES)

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While a timely 1-0 against Hull afforded Norwich manager Chris Hughton some much needed breathing space in the last round of league fixtures, a match against former club Newcastle, cranks up the heat again on the Canaries manager, who although sitting 12th in the table, are dangerously hovering five points clear of the drop zone. A defeat could send them back into the mire, and if Norwich are to pull away from the bottom, they will need to sharpen their goalscoring, which has been their Achilles heel this season scoring just 18 goals, with only Cardiff and Crystal Palace scoring less (17 & 14). Norwich will be without new signing Jonas Gutierrez however, who swapped Tyneside for Norfolk in a loan deal, and therefore will be ineligible to play against his parent club.

Newcastle manager Alan Pardew will sympathise with Hughton’s situation; it was only this time last year, when Newcastle sat two points clear of the relegation zone. But what a difference a year has made for the Magpies. Pardew has remarkably turned it around this season, as his side eye a place in Europe next season. However, a more immediate concern for Pardew is to see out January without losing star man Yohan Cabaye. The Frenchman was the subject of a failed £14 million bid from Paris Saint Germain last week, and Pardew will hope the ongoing speculation regarding Cabaye’s future will not affect his team’s preparation for this match, who are still without defender Fabricio Coloccini, but are able to welcome back Mathieu Debuchy into the fold after serving a three match suspension.

Early FA Cup exits for both sides mean there has been a period of prolonged rest coming into the game. The reverse fixture saw, despite the close scoreline, Newcastle ease to a 2-1 victory with goals from Remy and Gouffran, who have both gone on to hit top form for the Magpies, and Norwich will be aiming to give Newcastle a better game this time around.

KICK-OFF: Tuesday, 7.45pm

PAST MEETINGS…

Newcastle 2 (Remy, Gouffran) Norwich 1 (Fer), Premier League, November 2013

Norwich 0 Newcastle 0, Premier League, January 2013.

Newcastle 1 (Ba) Norwich 0, Premier League, September 2012

Newcastle 1 (Cisse) Norwich 0, Premier League, March 2012

Norwich 4 (Hoolahan, Holt 2, Morison) Newcastle (Ba 2), Premier League, December 2011

STATS…

It is 20 years since Norwich last lost a home league fixture to Newcastle United - Kevin Keegan's side winning 2-1 at Carrow Road in January 1994.

Norwich have not won back-to-back Premier League matches since the final two games of 2012-13.

The Canaries have only scored two or more goals on three occasions this season.

Loic Remy (11) and Yohan Cabaye (7) have scored as many goals between them as the entire Norwich City first team this season.

Cabaye has scored five goals in his last seven Premier League appearances, four of which have come in away matches.

The Magpies' next Premier League victory will be their 300th in the division.

ODDS…

Norwich to win: 3.3

Newcastle to win: 2.44

Draw: 3.45

TV: Highlights on BBC1 on Wednesday at 10.35pm

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