Preview
Blues aim to bounce with some Canary carnage
A sumptuous seven goal margin separated the sides last November when Manchester City went bird hunting at the Etihad Stadium, but Delia and co. will be hoping to fry up their own feast at Carrow Road on Saturday afternoon. Bearing the wounds of a cruel loss to José Mourinho's Chelsea on Monday night, Manuel Pellegrini's injury ridden regiment will be looking to contain the frantic flapping and pecking of a Norwich aiming to soar above the relegation zone.
Fernandinho was the latest Manchester City player to tick his name off on the club's casualty list after suffering a muscle injury just days before his side's meeting with Chelsea. Sniggers and chuckles were directed at the £30m Manuel Pellegrini forked out for the Brazilian in summer, but his absence earlier this week served to evidence how influential an addition he has been. As Eden Hazard and Willian terrorised City's flanks, the blues watched their 100% home record trickle into a Portuguese grave and the title race was thrown right open.
(Branislav Ivanović fires Chelsea to a priceless victory at the Etihad)
And with Sergio Agüero and Samir Nasri likely to make up the terrible trio of absentees from the blues' monumental Champions League clash with Barcelona in eleven days time, reports regarding City's ability to win the famous 'quadruple' are rapidly fading. The couplet have been training with the first team this week, but are still unlikely to feature in the historical tie.
Manuel Pellegrini won't be fazed by suggestions that his machine needs a fresh oiling and will be hopeful of engineering yet another mauling this weekend against the Canaries.
With just one win in their last five Premier League games, Chris Hughton's side are facing the relegation battle they tried so strenuously to avoid with some shrewd summer spending. However, the potentially deadly striking duo of Ricky van Wolfswinkel and Gary Hooper have failed to live up to expectations and the Canaries lie just two points above the cages of the bottom three.
(The £8m man has scored just one league goal for his new club)
With the league's third worst goal difference and still bearing the wounds of a 7-0 thrashing from their weekend guests, Norwich City will have to soar to dizzy heights to avoid an impending Manchester City backlash.
Sergio Agüero, Fernandinho, Samir Nasri and Javi García make up a star studded list of casualties for the blues ahead of their trip to Carrow Road and are expected to return in dribs and drabs throughout the month. However, Manuel Pellegrini's side is likely to remain severely depleted for their monumental clash with Barcelona on the 18th February.
Stevan Jovetić could form an unlikely striking partnership with Edin Džeko as Álvaro Negredo continues to recover from a shoulder injury.
(Jovetić is set to make his second Premier League start of the season on Saturday)
Michael Turner, Jonny Howson and Elliott Bennett miss the tie for Norwich whilst Ryan Bennett faces a late fitness test.
Possible line-ups
Norwich City: Ruddy, Martin, Bennet, Bassong, Martin, Olsson; Snodgross, Tete, Fer, Gutierrez, Wolfswinkel, Hooper
Head to Head Stats
- The two sides enjoy providing their fans with goal-filled spectacles, and there have been 32 goals scored in their last 5 Premier League meetings
- City have not lost at Carrow Road since August 2001 when Marc Libbra and Paul McVeigh gave Kevin Keegan his first loss of the season
- In six Premier League clashes at Carrow Road, the blues have walked away with the three points on three occasions and have only lost once
- City won 4-3 on their last trip to Norwich in December 2012 helped by a brace from Edin Džeko
Premier League stats
- Manchester City (68) have scored 49 more goals than their opponents (19) this season
- The blues (37) have also conceded 10 less goals (27) than their weekend foes
- Manchester City have completed 86% of their passes this season, whilst Norwich have only completed 78%
- The blues (342) have created a massive 107 chances more than the Canaries (235)
