Norwich City vs Arsenal Preview:
Possible starting lineups:
Norwich City:
Krul, Aarons, Kabak, Gibson, Williams, Gilmour, Normann, McLean, Placheta, Pukki, Cantwell
Arsenal:
Ramsdale, Tomiyasu, White, Magalhaes, Tierney, Partey, Xhaka, Saka, Odegaard, Martinelli, Lacazette
Norwich City are sharing the last place with Newcastle as both teams have 10 points. However, the safe zone isn't far away as 17th-placed Watford have 13 points. But something else is a problem - the current form. The Canaries are in series of three defeats in the Premier League. The poor run started at Tottenham when they lost 3:0, while continued against Manchester United (0:1) and Aston Villa (0:2). What is worse, Norwich failed to score a single goal on the mentioned three fixtures. Manager Dean Smith praised the performance and spirit of his players following the narrow defeat by Manchester United, but they were nowhere near against his former club. Norwich managed to register just three tame efforts on target against Villa and deserved the defeat. Todd Cantwell, who was restored to the starting lineup, failed to make an impact, registering only 24 touches. He was angry when Smith replaced him early in the second half and went straight down the tunnel ignoring the boss. Smith has additional issues as centre-back Ozan Kabak was forced off with an ankle injury in the first half. Three other regulars are already struggling with injuries - captain Grant Hanley, Milot Rashica and Mathias Normann. Christoph Zimmermann and Andrew Omobamidele are also injured, while Pierre Lees-Melou, Lukas Rupp, Josh Sargent and Christos Tzolis have all tested positive for COVID-19. That was the main reason why Saturday's match with West Ham was postponed.
Arsenal are in very good run at the moment. They have won the last three matches in the Premier League and now sit fourth on the table with 32 points. Manager Mikel Arteta is doing an excellent job and the fans are satisfied. The Gunners managed to beat Southampton and West Ham at the Emirats, as well as Leeds United on road in the last round. Arsenal have outplayed Bielsa's men and won 4:1 on Saturday. Two goals from Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka's deflected effort made it 3:0 before half-time, while substitute Smith-Rowe scored the fourth goal in the 84th minute. On Tuesday Arteta's men have secured the semi-finals of Carabao Cup by beating Sunderland 5:1. Despite having Albert Sambi Lokonga, Pablo Mari and Calum Chambers missing after positive Covid tests, and Ainsley Maitland-Niles absent with illness, Arteta was still able to continue the winning series. Eddie Nketiah was 'Man of the match' after scoring a hat-trick to continue his prolific form in the cup. The 22-year-old forward, who has only played 38 minutes in the Premier League this season, is pushing for a starting place. Arteta has "sweet problems" ahead of the trip to Carrow Road. The ex-captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who wasn't in the Gunners' squad for the last games after breaking the club protocol, could also come in contention. I've already mention four players that will miss the match, while Takehiro Tomiyasu is rated as doubtful after the he was forced off against Leeds. Cedric Soares will deputize if necessary. Finally, Sead Kolasinac is out with an ankle injury.
Norwich City vs Arsenal Prediction:
The quality is on Arsenal side and they should win the match. The Gunners are in excellent form winning the last four matches across all competitions. They scored nine goals on the last two matches, while all four mentioned victories were in handicap. Norwich, meanwhile, are in series of defeats and the players confidence isn't high.
Norwich City vs Arsenal Pick: Arsenal -1.5 AH @ 2.33 with SBOBet