Premier League: Can Red Devils Stop the Canaries Chirping?

Norwich City vs Manchester United

In their first season back in the top flight Norwich City have another Premier League giant visiting Carrow Road as Manchester United come to town.

These are the games the Canaries dreamt of, after head coach Daniel Farke guided them to promotion last season, playing a fast flowing and entertaining brand of football. And they vowed to stick to their principles, which they have. Whether it will be enough to win the survival battle Norwich already finds itself in is questionable, but I don’t think Farke is ready to compromise just yet, even if he can.

The Norwich City vs Manchester United predictions look rather different than we would have expected to see at the start of the season, not least because the Red Devils are playing without much confidence. For anyone who watched Manchester United dominate English football for two decades that, in itself, is hard to fathom.

The visitors should be capable of beating the 19^th placed side, but there is no guarantee.

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Serie A

Talking Points

Ole is building from the back

This is a long term project for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, if the owners allow it, and, like many successful managers he has started by improving his defence. His marquee summer signing was the capture of Leicester City’s Harry Maguire at centre back and he also brought in wing back Aaron Wan-Bissaka.

Manchester United has the fourth best defensive record in the league after nine games, and despite conceding a late equaliser to Liverpool Solskjaer was justifiably pleased with the fight his team showed against the league leaders. And his side showed a lot of character to win 0-1 away to Partizan Belgrade on Thursday night, thanks to Anthony Martial’s first half penalty. That was the Red Devils’ only shot on target, but it was enough to secure a first away win since March.

The defence looks a more solid unit than it did when the Red Devils were easily beaten by West Ham in September, but they are struggling for goals. Marcus Rashford has four so far, but hasn’t always looked at his sharpest, though he put in a superb performance against Liverpool.

And there are reports coming out of Old Trafford that wide man Dan James could be the signing of the summer. He has terrific pace and a real will to play for his shirt, already weighing in with three goals.

Reality bites for Canaries

Norwich got an early season win over relegation rivals Newcastle United and then, of all the Premier League 2019 results so far, the most incredible one came at Carrow Road in September. A stunning 3-2 victory over Manchester City, while the Sky Blues had 25 shots on goal, gave Canaries fans reason for optimism, as well as lifting them up the table.

Solskjaer warns his players Norwich will be no pushover, saying: “When I watched their first game against Liverpool I saw a team with lots of courage. They were brave; they played their own game and kept going. They’re a team with a clear philosophy.”

But since beating Manchester City the results haven’t been going their way and, following three convincing defeats, the Canaries were delighted to earn a 0-0 draw at Bournemouth last week.

Norwich City are hoping to get out of the relegation zone when they clash against Manchester United in Premier League — Teemu Pukki haven’t scored a goal in his last 4 Premier League games

The goals have dried up. Teemu Pukki started the season in spectacular form and has six goals, but hasn’t scored in four games while his team has managed a solitary strike, a consolation in a 1-5 hammering by Aston Villa.

The Canaries next two games; Brighton away and Watford at home is as benign a pair of fixtures you could hope for, but look closer and it all becomes a little more daunting. The Premier League can be so unforgiving, as Watford were reminded last week when a late controversial goal denied them a first win of the season at Spurs.

Despite the Hornets’ dreadful start to the season, the relegation odds have Norwich as favourites for the drop, and Daniel Farke’s team has the joint worst defensive record in the league, conceding 21 goals (alongside Watford who conceded eight in a single game against Manchester City).

Will he change his philosophy? I doubt it.

History

Okay, so let’s take a look at the recent form to guide our SBOBET tips for this match.

While Norwich have only one win to show for the last six games, at least they match the Red Devils in that regard. But this is no relegation battle, no matter how much Manchester City and Liverpool fans like to think it is!

United have only lost once in those six games, a setback against Newcastle, while Norwich have gone down four times.

There’s a little symmetry in Manchester United’s performance compared with last season at this stage. A year ago the Red Devils were tenth with 14 points and now they are 14^th with ten points.

I don’t think either of those positions are acceptable to the Old Trafford faithful.

Betting Tip

	Norwich City vs Manchester United	Under 2.75 @ 1.96
	October 28, 00:30 (GMT+8)

At 1.82 to win I think United will come through. 1-1 is the most likely score line at 7.00, but Manchester United’s defensive strength and Norwich’s sudden scoring drought leaves me to think one goal could be enough for the Red Devils.