Norwich City’s lack of goals could condemn Canaries to relegation after Cardiff draw
Published:Norwich may not have lost to relegation rivals Cardiff this Saturday, but a 0-0 draw at home to the newly-promoted side should have alarm bells ringing among Canaries fans, with Chris Hughton’s side precariously placed in the Premier League standings.
The stalemate left the East Anglian side third from bottom, with Stoke and West Ham just ahead of them on goal difference – a statistic that tells its own story about Norwich’s season so far.
Because it is goals, or a lack of, that has proved to be the Canaries’ undoing this term, despite the high profile summer signings of forwards Ricky van Wolfswinkel and Johann Elmander.
It had all started so well too, with Hughton’s team claiming a credible 2-2 away draw with Everton on the opening day in a game that also saw Van Wolfswinkel get off the mark in the Premier League.
But that match has proven to be something of a false dawn for the club with the Dutchman failing to add to his tally since while Norwich have yet to score more than once in a top-flight game since that Goodison Park opener, with midfielder Jonny Howson their current top scorer with just two goals.
Delia Smith may well be wondering if some of the ingredients that made Norwich such a potent force last season are a little off, with the team winning just one of their last six Premier League matches and that one success being a narrow 1-0 victory over Stoke.
Norwich City are currently priced at 3/1 to be relegated from the Premier League this season, making them dark horses for the drop when compared with heavy favourites like Sunderland and Crystal Palace.
Hull and Cardiff may also be well-fancied to go down, but with the Canaries facing a crucial next few weeks, the time to back them to be playing Championship football next term is definitely now.
A potentially tricky run starts with a trip to ManchesterCity, a game Norwich will be expected to lose. Heavy defeat here could see morale drop further, with the Norfolk side then facing key fixtures against fellow strugglers West Ham (home), Newcastle (away) and CrystalPalace (home).
Failure to pick up at least six points from these fixtures and Hughton’s team may be in for a not-so merry Christmas, with tricky encounters against West Brom and Swansea sandwiched between games against Liverpool and Manchester United.
The Canaries are far from cooked in the Premier League, but a few more weeks and they could find themselves plucked, stuffed and greased up in preparation.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.
