Palace kick off the New Year with a trip to Carrow Road to take on the bottom of the table club who have shown plenty of fighting spirit of late.
DATE
1st January 2020
KICK OFF
5.30pm
VENUE
Carrow Road, Norwich NR1 3JE
LAST SEASON
With Norwich newly promoted, this fixture did not take place last season of course but the last time the Eagles played at Carrow Road was in August 2015. Goals from Wilfried Zaha and Damien Delaney put the visitors into a comfortable lead. Norwich pulled one back midway through the second half courtesy of Nathan Redmond but Palace sealed all three points with a third from Yohan Cabaye.
OFFICIALS
REFEREE – Jonathan Moss
ASSISTANTS – Marc Perry, Eddie Smart, Andy Woolmer (fourth official)
VAR – Jarred Gillet, Richard West (assistant)
INJURIES
PALACE – Joel Ward, Jeffrey Schlupp, Gary Cahill, Scott Dann, Andros Townsend, Christian Benteke, Patrick van Aanholt
NORWICH – Timm Klose, Josip Drmic, Ben Godfrey, Ralf Fahrmann
SUSPENSIONS
None
DISCIPLINE
Red cards – Mamadou Sakho (1)
Yellow cards (3+) – Luka Milivojevic (8), Max Aarons (4), Sam Byram (4), Kenny McLean (4) James McCarthy (3), Jordan Ayew (3), Wilfried Zaha (3), James McArthur (3), Alexander Tettey (3), Marco Stiepermann (3), Teemu Pukki (3), Tim Krul (3)
FORM GUIDE
Last FIVE meetings between the two sides;
- 28/09/2019 Crystal Palace 2-0 Norwich City
- 09/04/2016 Crystal Palace 1-0 Norwich City
- 08/08/2015 Norwich City 1-3 Crystal Palace
- 01/01/2014 Crystal Palace 1-1 Norwich City
- 30/11/2013 Norwich City 1-0 Crystal Palace
Last FIVE results for Palace;
- 28/12/2019 Southampton 1-1 Crystal Palace
- 26/12/2019 Crystal Palace 2-1 West Ham United
- 21/12/2019 Newcastle United 1-0 Crystal Palace
- 16/12/2019 Crystal Palace 1-0 Brighton & Hove Albion
- 07/12/2019 Watford 0-0 Crystal Palace
Last FIVE results for Norwich;
- 28/12/2019 Norwich City 2-2 Tottenham Hotspur
- 26/12/2019 Aston Villa 1-0 Norwich City
- 21/12/2019 Norwich City 1-2 Wolverhampton Wanderers
- 14/12/2019 Leicester City 1-1 Norwich City
- 08/12/2019 Norwich City 1-2 Sheffield United
RECORD AGAINST NORWICH
- Played 113
- Won 49
- Drawn 20
- Lost 44
FORM PLAYERS
Top two rated players from each team so far this season according to Who Scored;
- Emiliano Buendia 7.21
- Wilfried Zaha 7.18
- James McArthur 6.95
- Tim Krul 6.83
ONE TO WATCH
EMILIANO BUENDIA STATI
Former clubs – Cadetes de San Martin, Real Madrid, Getafe, Culteral Leonesa (loan)
The 23 year old has had a decent season in heart of the Norwich midfield and should Palace allow him the space to play then he is likely to do some damage. Born in Argentina, the former Getafe player has played for both Spain and Argentina at youth level but has yet to make a full international appearance.
KEY CLASH
JAMES TOMKINS v TEEMU PUKKI
The Palace centre back has been in inspired form in recent weeks and proving once again that he is one of the best centre backs at the club. After reigniting his partnership with Mamadou Sakho, it is going to be tough for the likes of Gary Cahill and Scott Dann to dislodge either of them. Tomkins will have his work cut out at Carrow Road if he is to tame Finnish striker Pukki. The former Celtic front man has been a bright light for the Canaries this season and they will be looking to him in the second half of the season if they are going to avoid a drop back down to the Championship.
PRE-GAME STATS
- Top scorers – Teemu Pukki (9), Jordan Ayew (5)
- Norwich have conceded at least 2 goals in their last 9 home league matches
- Top assister – Emiliano Buendia (6), Teemu Pukki (3)
- Norwich have failed to win in their last 7 home league matches
- Top passer – Luka Milivojevic (930), Ben Godfrey (913)
- Palace have only lost twice to Norwich in the last 18 league meetings
- Top tackler – Emiliano Buendia (41), James McArthur (41)
PREDICTION
A game against the bottom of the table side breeds expectation but the truth is that if Norwich have dreams of surviving this season then they have to start picking up points and soon. Combine that with the growing injury list that Roy Hodgson is currently facing then there could be problems for the Eagles. Having said that, if Wilfried Zaha and Jordan Ayew play like they have been in recent weeks, there will plenty for the hosts to be concerned about themselves.
Final score: 2-1 Palace (McArthur, Ayew)
BETTING ODDS
- Home – 7/5
- Draw – 12/5
- Away – 15/8
- Both teams to score – 4/6
