At the start of the season, expectations for these two sides were probably wide apart. Bristol City were tipped for a push for promotion, whereas newly promoted Norwich were expected to consolidate. As it turns out both teams have surprised people, with the Robins struggling in the relegation zone whereas the Canaries are within touching distance of the automatic promotion positions.
Bristol City supporters must be sat in utter shock as they watch their team this season, with the Robins defying all odds and having a real season of struggle. Admittedly, they were thrown into complete disarray when manager Steve Coppell opted to resign just weeks into the season, but plenty of time has passed since then and replacement Keith Millen has not had a positive effect on the club. They’ve collected just six points from their opening nine games and having lost three of their last four, it would be fair to say that they’re not in the best of form. What’s more, while they had one of the best home records in the division last season, they are ranked bottom this year having drawn one and lost three of their four fixtures at Ashton Gate so far.
Norwich on the other hand are having an absolute blast of a season. They were never expected to struggle under the ambitious Paul Lambert, but even he wouldn’t have expected the club to be flying high in 3rd position already. The Canaries have taken the division by storm and like we said last week, if there ever was a good example of a relegation helping a club, it’s with Norwich. Sixteen points have already been collected although unlike many teams up there, they seem to rather grind out results rather than win by large margins. However, that won’t matter to Norwich fans, who will be hoping that the good times will soon be flooding back to Carrow Road.
As for team news, the home side have just the one concern as Jamie McAllister faces a race against time to be declared fit following a groin injury. Other than that the Robins have no new concerns although after recent results Keith Millen will be looking to change things and a host of players are pushing for a starting place. Norwich on the other hand have nothing to report on and Paul Lambert is not tipped to make changes. Steven Smith is edging closer to full fitness although after the Canaries won their last outing, there’s a good chance that Lambert will want to keep changes to a minimum.
Bristol City have an awful record at Ashton Gate, while Norwich’s form on the road has been fairly inconsistent. With that, our prediction will be a 1-1 draw for this one.
Related PostsNorwich v Barnsley PreviewPreston v Norwich PreviewBristol City v Swansea PreviewNorwich v Leicester PreviewChampionship Preview – NorwichTags: This post has one comment
No comments:
Post a Comment