Preview: Norwich City vs. Leicester City

Leicester City will be looking to bounce back from Monday’s heavy defeat at West Ham United when they continue their Premier League season away to Norwich City on Saturday afternoon.

The Foxes suffered a 4-1 loss to West Ham in their last fixture, while Norwich have lost heavily to Liverpool and Manchester City in their opening two league matches of the 2021-22 campaign.

Match preview

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Norwich were excellent in the Championship last season, but they were reminded of the step up in class on the opening weekend of the new Premier League campaign, with Liverpool proving far too strong, the Reds eventually running out 3-0 winners over Daniel Farke‘s side at Carrow Road.

The Canaries were then on the end of a 5-0 defeat to the champions Manchester City last weekend, and the club must now take on another of the teams looking to be present at the top end of the division come May.

Farke’s team will enter this match off the back of a positive result, though, having recorded a 6-0 victory over Bournemouth in the second round of the EFL Cup on Tuesday night.

Norwich will know that their home form will be crucial if they are to stay in the top flight this season, and they will be wary of suffering another poor result this weekend ahead of their next match after the international break, which comes at the Emirates Stadium against Arsenal.

The Canaries are currently bottom of the table on goal difference, but Farke will not be too concerned at this stage as the matches will start to get easier after an incredibly difficult start.

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Leicester, meanwhile, made a positive start to their 2021-22 campaign, beating Manchester City 1-0 in the Community Shield before winning by the score against Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Premier League.

The Foxes were on the wrong end of a 4-1 scoreline against West Ham on Monday night, though, with Ayoze Perez being sent off in what was a difficult evening for the FA Cup winners.

Leicester will have ambitions of finishing in the top four this season, but it remains to be seen whether the squad is strong enough to go all the way; Saturday’s contest is even more important considering that their next match after the international break is at home to the champions Man City.

Brendan Rodgers‘s side lost 1-0 to Norwich when they last visited Carrow Road in February 2020, and they have not actually beaten the Canaries in the Premier League since February 2016, which will be concerning for their supporters ahead of what is a potential banana skin on Saturday afternoon.

Norwich City Premier League form:

Norwich City form (all competitions):

Leicester City Premier League form:

Team News

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Norwich are again likely to be without the services of Przemyslaw Placheta, Sam Byram and Onel Hernandez for this weekend’s clash with the FA Cup winners.

Canaries boss Farke is expected to resist the temptation to shuffle his pack from the defeat to Man City, although the performances of a number of fringe players against Bournemouth would have captured the attention of the head coach.

Kenny McLean could keep his spot following an impressive display, while Brandon Williams, who has arrived on loan from Manchester United, is in line to feature at left-back.

Joshua Sargent scored a brace against Bournemouth but might be back on the bench, with Teemu Pukki, Milot Rashica and Todd Cantwell featuring as the front three.

As for Leicester, Perez will miss out through suspension due to his red card against West Ham, while Nampalys Mendy, Wesley Fofana, James Justin, Jonny Evans and Ryan Bertrand are all unavailable.

There could be a Foxes debut for Jannik Vestergaard, though, with the centre-back missing out on the clash with West Ham due to a knee problem.

Rodgers could consider moving to a front two for this match, with Kelechi Iheanacho potentially coming in alongside Jamie Vardy, although Patson Daka is also pushing for a spot in the first XI.

Norwich City possible starting lineup:
Krul; Aarons, Hanley, Gibson, Williams; McLean, Gilmour, Rupp; Cantwell, Pukki, Rashica

Leicester City possible starting lineup:
Schmeichel; Pereira, Vestergaard, Soyuncu, Thomas; Tielemans, Ndidi, Maddison; Barnes; Vardy, Iheanacho

We say: Norwich City 1-2 Leicester City

Norwich’s performance against Bournemouth during the week would have raised confidence in the camp, but Leicester will be determined to bounce back from their defeat at West Ham. We are expecting a tight and potentially cagey clash at Carrow Road but have just backed the visitors to emerge victorious.