Today’s lunchtime kick-off sees a bottom of the table clash between Norwich City and West Ham United.
Both sides need all the points that they get as they look to avoid being relegated to the Championship – particularly Norwich who will no doubt have been binge-watching Tom Cruise movies over the lockdown period as they look to pull off their own Mission Impossible.
Should results get any worse for the club, football fans all over the country might get a second rendition of owner Delia Smith storming the pitch…So come on Norwich, let’s be having you!
Let’s start with the Canaries. Norwich are rock bottom of the Premier League as they appear to have jumped out of the plane without a parachute. A dismal five wins from 34 games leaves the Canaries 10 points adrift of safety.
Should they do the impossible and win four games in four against West Ham, Chelsea, Burnley and Manchester City – they could still find themselves relegated come the end of the season – as they are yet to pick up a single point since football returned last month, let alone a win. It’s no big surprise that Norwich have lost all five of their previous games coming into this one.
The month of July alone has seen Norwich lose 4-0 to Arsenal, 1-0 to Brighton & Hove Albion and 2-1 to Watford. Finland fan favourite Teemu Pukki is the Canaries top scorer for the season, but he’s been on quite a goal drought that hasn’t seen him find the back of the net since the start of the year.
Perhaps Norwich will have to rely more on their defensive capabilities in the same week that they’ve reportedly put a £50 million price tag on centre half Ben Godfrey.
Sorry Norwich fans, there just really isn’t any good news is there? Even a stuttering Manuel Pellegrini West Ham side picked you off 2-0 at the beginning of the season!
As for the Hammers, now under the stewardship of David Moyes…water is wet. West Ham sit three points above the drop zone in 16th as they look to give themselves some extra breathing space. A confidence-boosting 3-2 win over London rivals Chelsea was preceded by a 2-2 draw with Newcastle and an uninspiring 1-0 defeat at home to Burnley as Jay Rodrigues ruined Hammers' hearts.
It’s just the one win in their last five games as manager David Moyes occupies a win percentage of 23.53% - that’s 5.5% lower than his first spell in charge of the East London club.
As for a score prediction…it has to be fairly straight forward surely? West Ham come into this one in a less than inspiring run of results but they’ve at least looked like they’re fighting tooth and nail in the games that they’ve played.
Contrast that with the form of Norwich and they just can’t buy a win. For all the optimism of manager Daniel Farke – the canaries lack any real quality that can sustain 90 minutes against England’s elite. Nothing but a West Ham victory here.
Match Preview written by Matt Davey