Norwich vs Man City preview, predictions & possible XIs
Norwich will face one of the ‘Big Six’ on Saturday for the third time since returning to the Premier League just a few weeks ago.
Manchester City head to Carrow Road aiming to close the gap on early leaders Liverpool and keep up their unbeaten start to the season.
Daniel Farke’s side have already suffered defeats to Liverpool and Chelsea, so Saturday will demonstrate what they have learned from their battles with the big boys.
Meanwhile, City will hope it’s business as usual against a lesser side on the road. Read on for our preview, predictions, possible XIs and more.
When is Norwich vs Man City and where can I watch live?
Competition: Premier League
Venue: Carrow Road
Date: Saturday, 14 August 2019
Kick-off: 5:30 PM BST
TV coverage (UK): Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Premier League
Last five meetings: Norwich vs Man City
12 March 2016: Norwich 0-0 Man City (Premier League)
9 January 2016: Norwich 0-3 Man City (FA Cup)
31 October 2015: Man City 2-1 Norwich (Premier League)
8 February 2014: Norwich 0-0 Man City (Premier League)
2 November 2013: Man City 7-0 Norwich (Premier League)
Aggregate Score: Norwich (DLLDL) 1-12 Man City (DWWDW)
Ones to watch
Norwich: Teemu Pukki
With most of the focus on Teemu Pukki since Norwich returned to the big time, some of the Canaries’ other stars – such as creator-in-chief Todd Cantwell – have gone under the radar. But Pukki is stealing the spotlight for good reason. The striker scored two more goals during the international break, bagging a penalty in each of Finland’s fixtures. He’ll be eager to carry on his incredible goalscoring start to the season.
Key stat: Pukki has scored seven goals in his last six appearances for club and country.
Man City: Kevin De Bruyne
Much like Pukki at Norwich, most of the focus has been on Kevin De Bruyne at Manchester City this term. But again, the hype is very much justified. De Bruyne has begun the season in remarkable creative form and his spellbinding performance for Belgium against Scotland on Monday, in which he registered three assists and scored, will give Norwich reason to worry.
Key stat: De Bruyne has created more chances (16) than any other Premier League player going into this weekend’s round of fixtures.
Team news
Norwich
Max Aarons injured his foot playing for England’s Under-21s during the international break. He joins fellow defenders Christoph Zimmermann and Timm Klose on the list of absentees, while Onel Hernandez is not due to return for some time.
Predicted XI: Krul; Byram, Hanley, Godfrey, Lewis; Trybull, Leitner; Buendia, Stiepermann, Cantwell; Pukki.
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Man City
City will be without Aymeric Laporte, who is set to spend a lengthy spell on the sidelines. There is a chance John Stones could return from a thigh problem but Benjamin Mendy and Leroy Sane (both knee) are out, while Gabriel Jesus (thigh) is a doubt. Ilkay Gundogan pulled out of the Germany squad because of illness and so probably won’t start.
Predicted XI: Ederson; Walker, Fernandinho, Otamendi, Zinchenko; De Bruyne, Rodri, David Silva; Bernardo Silva, Aguero, Sterling.
Squawka prediction
Even if Norwich have learned valuable lessons from their defeats to Liverpool and Chelsea, it’s unlikely they will be able to deal with the champions, particularly with De Bruyne, Sergio Aguero and Raheem Sterling all in fine form. Pukki may keep up his impressive start to the season but Pep Guardiola’s side should have too much for the Canaries.
Scoreline prediction: Norwich 1-4 Man City
