Played
January 21, 2012 7:45 AM EST
Carrow Road — Norwich, Norfolk
Referee: M. Clattenburg
Attendance: 26792
January 21, 2012 7:45 AM EST
Carrow Road — Norwich, Norfolk
Referee: M. Clattenburg
Attendance: 26792
Premier League Preview: Norwich City - Chelsea
Should Arsenal lose this weekend to Manchester United, Andre Villas-Boas' men could put daylight behind the two clubs in the race for fourth.
By George Ankers
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PROBABLE LINEUPS |
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NORWICH CITY
 Ruddy R Martin, Ayala, Whitbread, Naughton Pilkington, Johnson, Fox, Surman Morison, Jackson |
CHELSEA
 Cech Bosingwa, Terry, Cahill, Cole Lampard, Romeu, Meireles Ramires, Torres, Mata |
Marc Tierney (groin) continues to be absent through injury for the home side. Kyle Naughton showed some difficulty adapting to an unfamiliar left back role when filling in away at West Brom last weekend but, with Chelsea likely not to field an out-and-out right winger, he may get another chance in the position.
Wes Hoolahan may be the major tactical casualty for the Canaries, with Paul Lambert usually preferring to field both Bradley Johnson and David Fox in the center at home and Andrew Surman in good form on the left recently. Also doing well are strikers Steve Morison and Simeon Jackson, who should continue to keep captain Grant Holt on the bench.
Chelsea's 7 million pound signing from Bolton, Gary Cahill, is in line for his club debut at the center of defense, while Jose Bosingwa is likely to continue at right back while Brainslav Ivanovic (hamstring) remains out indefinitely.
John Obi Mikel (hamstring) is also unavailable for Andre Villas-Boas and, while Michael Essien made a 20-minute cameo off the bench against Sunderland last weekend in his return after several months on the sidelines, the Ghanaian is unlikely to be rushed into the starting lineup just yet.
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DID YOU KNOW? |
- Norwich City is still yet to keep a clean sheet in any competition, over five months since the team's first outing of the season.
- Chelsea has won five of its 10 away Premier League matches so far in 2011-12.
- The reverse of this fixture, the third game of the Premier
League season, saw the Blues run out 3-1 victors at Stamford Bridge thanks to goals from Bosingwa, Frank Lampard and Juan Mata. Grant Holt notched for the Canaries.
- 22-year-old Ryan Bertrand, a late substitute for Chelsea in its recent FA Cup victory over Portsmouth, spent two years on loan at Carrow Road between 2007-09, making 60 appearances.
- Norwich has a superior head-to-head record against the Stamford Bridge side in the league, notching 12 wins to Chelsea's 11, with 10 draws.
- Andre Villas-Boas' men have seen their names taken by referees much more frequently this term, with 48 league bookings compared to the Canaries' 30.
- Chelsea is in a better position now than it was at this stage last year - 21 games into 2010/11, the Blues were outside the Champions League place in fifth with 35 points. Going into this match, the visitors have 40 points on the board, sitting fourth.
- On this weekend last year, Norwich plundered a 2-1 win away at Sheffield United to jump into third place in the Championship. Midfielder Andrew Crofts (pictured) scored both goals that day.
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Field Report
Reader's Predictions
Top 3 Predictions
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Norwich City 0-3 Chelsea
- 25.05 %
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Norwich City 1-3 Chelsea
- 12.15 %
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Norwich City 0-2 Chelsea
- 11.55 %
| English Premier League (EPL) (EPL) | Dec 26, 2012 | Norwich City 0 - Chelsea 1 |
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| English Premier League (EPL) (EPL) | Oct 6, 2012 | Chelsea 4 - Norwich City 1 |
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| English Premier League (EPL) (EPL) | Jan 21, 2012 | Norwich City 0 - Chelsea 0 |
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| English Premier League (EPL) (EPL) | Aug 27, 2011 | Chelsea 3 - Norwich City 1 |
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Norwich City
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| May 12, 2013 | Norwich City 4 - West Bromwich 0 | EPL |
| May 4, 2013 | Norwich City 1 - Aston Villa 2 | EPL |
| Apr 27, 2013 | Stoke 1 - Norwich City 0 | EPL |
| Apr 20, 2013 | Norwich City 2 - Reading 1 | EPL |
| Apr 13, 2013 | Arsenal 3 - Norwich City 1 | EPL |
Chelsea
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| May 15, 2013 | Benfica 1 - Chelsea 2 | EL |
| May 11, 2013 | Aston Villa 1 - Chelsea 2 | EPL |
| May 8, 2013 | Chelsea 2 - Tottenham 2 | EPL |
| May 5, 2013 | Manchester United 0 - Chelsea 1 | EPL |
| May 2, 2013 | Chelsea 3 - Basel 1 | EL |
| 1 | John Ruddy | Goalkeeper |
| 2 | Russell Martin | Defender |
| 6 | Zak Whitbread | Defender |
| 40 | Daniel Ayala | Defender |
| 28 | Kyle Naughton | Defender |
| 15 | David Fox | Midfielder |
| 4 | Bradley Johnson | Midfielder |
| 12 | Anthony Pilkington | Midfielder |
| 11 | Andrew Surman | Midfielder |
| 5 | Steve Morison | Striker |
| 9 | Grant Holt | Striker |
| 31 | Jed Steer | Goalkeeper |
| 3 | Adam Drury | Defender |
| - | Andrew Crofts | Midfielder |
| 14 | Wesley Hoolahan | Midfielder |
| 17 | Elliott Bennett | Midfielder |
| 10 | Simeon Jackson | Striker |
| 21 | Aaron Wilbraham | Striker |
| 1 | Petr Cech | Goalkeeper |
| 19 | José Bosingwa | Defender |
| 4 | David Luiz | Defender |
| 26 | John Terry | Defender |
| 3 | Ashley Cole | Defender |
| 7 | Ramires | Midfielder |
| 8 | Frank Lampard | Midfielder |
| 14 | Raúl Meireles | Midfielder |
| 15 | Daniel Sturridge | Striker |
| 9 | Fernando Torres | Striker |
| 10 | Juan Mata | Striker |
| 22 | Ross Turnbull | Goalkeeper |
| 2 | Branislav Ivanovic | Defender |
| 34 | Ryan Bertrand | Defender |
| 5 | Michael Essien | Midfielder |
| 6 | Oriol Romeu | Midfielder |
| 15 | Florent Malouda | Midfielder |
| 36 | Romelu Lukaku | Striker |
Results
Times In EDT
Live
Final
scheduled
Suspended
Cancelled
Postponed
Match News
Top Scorers
| Player | Goals | Penalties | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Robin van Persie Striker Man United |
25 | 3 |
|
Luis Suárez Striker Liverpool |
23 | 0 |
|
Gareth Bale Midfielder Tottenham |
20 | 0 |
|
C. Benteke Striker Aston Villa |
19 | 3 |
|
Michu Midfielder Swansea City |
19 | 0 |
