Team news, stats and prediction ahead of Manchester City vs Norwich in the Premier League on Saturday; kick-off 3pm.

Team news

Kevin De Bruyne is a doubt for Manchester City's Premier League home clash with Norwich on Saturday.

The Belgium playmaker, who came off the bench in last Sunday's 1-0 loss at Tottenham, has been troubled by an ankle problem and did not train on Friday.

Ilkay Gundogan sustained a shoulder problem against Spurs but is set to be available, while Phil Foden continues his recovery from a foot injury.

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• Premier League fixtures

Norwich are expected to be without defender Christoph Zimmermann through illness for the trip to the Etihad Stadium.

Centre-back Andrew Omobamidele is back in full training again following tonsillitis, so could come into contention, along with winger Onel Hernandez, who has been building up fitness after an enforced lay-off because of Covid-19.

Poland international Przemyslaw Placheta is still recovering from the consequences of his coronavirus infection, while full-back Sam Byram (hamstring) is a long-term absentee.

How to follow

Follow Man City vs Norwich in our dedicated live match blog. Highlights will also be published on the Sky Sports digital platforms and the Sky Sports Football YouTube channel at 5.15pm.

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Prediction: Jones Knows writes...

Pep Guardiola's boys are 1/12 with Sky Bet to register their first win of the Premier League season. Not for me, Jeff.

Of course, City are the far more likely winners but just considering the negative vibes surrounding their pre-season preparation and inability to test Hugo Lloris with many serious tests last weekend vs Tottenham, I'd steer well clear at those prices at this stage of the season.

Guardiola will be in a result-at-all-costs mood, like he was against many relegation-threatened teams at home last season. In their three fixtures with Fulham, Sheffield United and West Brom at the Etihad Stadium, the aggregate score read just 5-1 in their favour. If you are looking for a way to get City on your side then perhaps them to win and under 2.5 goals in the match at 7/2 will be a more fruitful way to play things rather than giving yourselves a squeaky bum backing the 1/12.

• De Bruyne, Jorginho, Kante on UEFA's POTY shortlist

I'm continuing to follow my theory that City will be creating a greater number of chances from set pieces with Jack Grealish in the side due to his free-kick winning ability. That has led me to finding Evens with Sky Bet about the chances of Ruben Dias - an aggressive attacker of a set piece - firing a shot on goal. That my friends, is best bet of the weekend material.

SCORE PREDICTION: 2-0

BETTING ANGLE: Ruben Dias to have one or more shots at goal (Evens with Sky Bet)

Opta stats

• Manchester City have won their last three home Premier League games against Norwich City by an aggregate score of 14-1, winning 5-0 in the most recent league meeting at the Etihad in July 2020.
• In all competitions, Norwich City have won just two of their last 31 visits to Manchester City (D7 L22), winning 2-1 in September 1997 and 3-2 in May 2013.
• The reigning champions have lost just two of their last 58 home Premier League games against newly promoted teams (W48 D8), although Liverpool did so in the last such match against Fulham in March last season. Only one of the last 39 reigning top-flight champions have lost their first home league match of the season (W29 D9), with Chelsea losing 3-2 to Burnley in 2017-18.
• Manchester City lost three of their final five home Premier League games in the 2020-21 season (W2), and also lost their first home league match last season 5-2 against Leicester City. The Citizens haven't lost their opening home league match in consecutive seasons since losing against Oldham Athletic in 1988-89 and Southampton in 1989-90.
• In the Premier League era, the winners of the previous season's second tier title have won away from home against the reigning top-flight champions only once (D4 L24), with Bournemouth defeating Chelsea 1-0 in the 2015-16 season with a goal from Glenn Murray.
• Manchester City won all four of their 3pm Saturday Premier League games last season by an aggregate score of 9-0. Under Pep Guardiola, City have won 2.7 points-per-game in the Premier League in games played at 3pm on Saturday (P30 W26 D3 L1).
• Norwich City have lost their last 11 Premier League matches, with only Sunderland (20 between 2003 and 2005) ever having a longer losing run in the competition. The Canaries have failed to score in 10 of these 11 games, with their only goal coming in a 2-1 loss at Watford.
• Manchester City have lost their last three matches in all competitions without scoring a single goal. In his entire managerial career, Pep Guardiola has never lost four consecutive games, nor seen his sides go four games in a row without scoring. Meanwhile, the last time Man City lost four consecutive games was August 2006, and the last time they lost four without reply was March 1986.

Essential Football Podcast: Will Lukaku get off to a flyer for Chelsea at Arsenal? Plus: Pogba's best role for Man Utd and the lowdown on Watford's new stars

After a blockbuster opening weekend of the Premier League we're gearing up to go again, with Arsenal vs Chelsea a headline fixture and set to feature the Blues' new striker Romelu Lukaku. Peter Smith is joined by Gerard Brand, Adam Smith, Nick Wright, and Ron Walker to look ahead to another big round of games...

PART 1: Will Romelu Lukaku fire Chelsea to a Premier League title challenge? And are Arsenal really in crisis? We assess both sides who go into a London derby in contrasting moods.

PART 2: Paul Pogba starred in Man Utd's win over Leeds with four assists - so how does Ole Gunnar Solskjaer keep getting performances like that out of him? And with Raphael Varane primed for his debut, do Man Utd now have all the pieces in place to become champions?

PART 3: Watford returned to the Premier League in style with a 3-2 win over Aston Villa on the opening weekend. We tell the story behind some of their new signings and examine their prospects this term. Plus we hear how a drive down the M6 was transformative for Brighton defender Shane Duffy…

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