Norwich City vs Manchester City; Premier League
Norwich City vs Manchester City. Premier League.
Carrow RoadAttendance26,323.
Norwich v Man City preview: Steven Naismith and Robbie Brady doubts
Saturday 12 March 2016 12:30, UK
Norwich could be without Steven Naismith and Robbie Brady for Saturday lunchtime's visit of Manchester City, live on Sky Sports 1 HD.
Both players had to be substituted during last weekend's defeat to Swansea City, with Brady suffering from a calf injury and Naismith struggling with his hamstring.
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Norwich are currently in the worst form of any team in the Premier League, having lost eight of their past nine matches and not won since January 2.
City, meanwhile, sit 10 points adrift of league leaders Leicester City and need a victory at Carrow Road to reignite their title race.
Team news
Other than Naismith and Brady, Sebastien Bassong and Andre Wisdom are close to returning from injuries and could figure.
Kevin De Bruyne returned to training for City this week but remains short of match fitness, while Fabian Delph and Samir Nasri are still out.
Opta stats
City have already won away at Carrow Road this season, triumphing 3-0 in the third round of the FA Cup, and are unbeaten in their past five trips to Carrow Road in all competitions, winning four and drawing one.
They have also been beaten only once in their past 13 matches against Norwich.
Sky Sports viewers can look forward to goals given that 40 have been netted in the past eight Premier League meetings between the teams.
Sergio Aguero will also be excited by this fixture, having scored five goals in five Premier League appearances against Norwich. The 27-year-old is in fine form, having scored 15 goals from 27 shots on target in his past 14 Premier League appearances.
However, there is hope for Canaries fans. Only one team has prevented Norwich from scoring in their past nine home Premier League games, while City have won just two of their past 10 Premier League games on the road.
Merson's prediction
You might as well start with a zero because Norwich can't score a goal at the moment. That is their Achilles heel. It's not as though they haven't looked like finding the net because they have the chances, but they just can't finish.
As for Man City, people are saying they should be looking over their shoulder at West Ham, but I think it's Arsenal who should be worried. They have tough away games to come, including one at the Etihad, and they better be careful they don't get leapfrogged.
City could actually be the danger to Leicester now at the top of the table. Looking at Tottenham and Arsenal's fixtures, I think City are the only ones that can catch them, and they should pick up another win this weekend.
PAUL PREDICTS: 0-3 (Sky Bet, 10/1)
Betting
Norwich are up against odds of 5/1 for the victory and 29/10 just to secure a draw, with Sky Bet holding Manchester City as 4/7 favourites. The Canaries are also unfancied in the battle to avoid relegation at 11/4 while their visitors were trimmed from 6/1 to 11/2 for the Premier League title following their 4-0 thumping of Aston Villa last weekend.
Sergio Aguero unsurprisingly heads the first goalscorer betting at 11/4 while Sky Bet struggle to pick a main threat from Alex Neil's attacking options, with Patrick Bamford, Cameron Jerome and Dieumerci Mbokani all rated 17/2 chances to break the deadlock.
