Football Previews

Norwich City v Chelsea preview, predictions & possible XIs

By Ben Green

Published: 13:54, 22 August 2019

Norwich City play host to Chelsea on Saturday in the Premier League’s lunchtime kick-off.

The Canaries will be looking to pick up from where they left off during their last outing at Carrow Road, clinically dispatching Newcastle United in a convincing 3-1 rout.

https://audioboom.com/posts/7343141-chelsea-can-get-excited-about-n-golo-kante-s-messi-impression

For the Londoners, Frank Lampard remains in search of that illustrious first competitive win as Chelsea manager, and he will take encouragement having never tasted defeat against Norwich during his playing days.

The question is: will that record – eight wins, three draws – transmit to the dugout? Read on for our predictions, key players, TV info and team news.

When is Norwich City v Chelsea and where can I watch live?

Competition: Premier League

Venue: Carrow Road

Date: Saturday 24 August

Kick-off: 12:30pm BST

TV coverage (UK): BT Sport 1 and BT Sport Ultimate

Subscribe to Squawka’s Youtube channel here.

Last five meetings: Norwich City v Chelsea

17 Jan 2018: Chelsea 1-1 Norwich (FA Cup)

6 Jan 2018: Norwich 0-0 Chelsea (FA Cup)

1 Mar 2016: Norwich 1-2 Chelsea (Premier League)

21 Nov 2015: Chelsea 1-0 Norwich (Premier League)

04 May 2014: Chelsea 0-0 Norwich (Premier League)

Aggregate score: Norwich (DDLLD) 2-4 Chelsea (DDWWD)

Ones to watch

Norwich City: Todd Cantwell

Teemu Pukki may very well be the trusty source of goals in Daniel Farke’s side, but Cantwell is arguably the fulcrum, with the unheralded midfielder wreaking havoc against Newcastle United over the weekend, providing two assists while also creating a further five chances for his teammates.

Coupled with the three key passes he made against Liverpool, which is no mean feat against the reigning European champions, Cantwell currently sits second for the most chances created this season (8), with only Kevin De Bruyne (12) ahead of him in this race.

Chelsea: Christian Pulisic

The slick American was only afforded a brief cameo in the 4-0 reversal against Manchester United, but demonstrated the insatiable skill that elevated his reputation in the Bundesliga against Liverpool in the Super Cup, providing Joe Gomez plenty to ponder as he tore up the left flank.

That encouraging performance in Istanbul prompted Lampard to hand the youngster a starting berth against Leicester City, and while he largely proved ineffective against the Foxes, the former Dortmund wide-man showed glimmers of his flank fluidity.

Chelsea fans will be hoping that once he gets going, those scintillating performances will snowball and eventually remedy the productive void left by Eden Hazard.

Team news

Norwich City

Daniel Farke has a number of injuries to contend with, but none for those who have so far played a prominent role in Norwich’s positive start to the season.

Onel Hernandez is ruled out after undergoing knee surgery while Josip Drmic and Christoph Zimmermann are also expected to sit this one out.

Elsewhere it’s touch-and-go whether Adam Idah and Timm Klose make the match-day squad, while Ibrahim Amadou could also feature.

Predicted XI: Tim Krul; Max Aarons, Grant Hanley, Ben Godfrey, Jamal Lewis; Tom Trybull, Moritz Leitner, Todd Cantwell, Marco Stiepermann, Emi Buendia; Teemu Pukki 

Chelsea

Willian could be in line to make his first start of the season having returned for the match at the weekend, while Tammy Abraham could also be restored to the starting XI after Olivier Giroud fired a blank against Leicester.

Callum Hudson-Odoi returned to open training this week but this match will definitely come too soon for him having just recovered from a ruptured Achilles injury.

Ruben Loftus-Cheek continues his rehabilitation from an ACL injury of his own, while Antonio Rudiger played in an Under-23 match on Monday, but is unlikely to be risked for this fixture.

Predicted XI: Kepa Arrizabalaga; Cesar Azpilicueta, Andreas Christensen, Kurt Zouma, Emerson; N’Golo Kante, Jorginho, Mason Mount; Willian, Christian Pulisic, Olivier Giroud

Squawka prediction

Having conceded five in their opening two matches – albeit four against Liverpool – Norwich look somewhat susceptible at the back, so expect Chelsea to capitalise if they’re firing on all cylinders. With Willian back on the scene and more minutes under the belt of Pulisic, the Blues should turn it on this weekend and finally gift Lampard a first competitive win.

Norwich City 0-2 Chelsea