Barclays Premier League Matchday 19: Norwich City v Chelsea - Preview

Will he continue his scoring form?

Boxing Day always promises tremendous action and drama in the Barclays Premier League. This time around, the two big matches to look out for are London derby between Arsenal and West Ham and Man Utd facing Newcastle at home. Meanwhile, Manchester City travel to the Stadium of Light to face an out-of-form Sunderland, and Chelsea travel north-east to the home of the Canaries, Carrow Road. Unfortunately, the London derby got postponed due to concerns with subway travel.

The last time Norwich and Chelsea met was at Stamford Bridge this season and it was a goal-fest for the Blues as Hazard and Mata rampaged the folks from Norfolk with a dazzling display. The corresponding fixture last season ended in a 0-0 stalemate with John Ruddy putting in an impressive shift. Since then, Chelsea had two managerial changes, Norwich had one. Paul Lambert’s departure to Aston Villa forced the Canaries to sign Chris Hughton as their new manager. Until now, it has been a decent run for Hughton with his new team as his team sits mid table with 25 points, the same as Liverpool. The Canaries had a decent run of form as they were unbeaten in 10 matches, winning 6 of them; that record was broken on Saturday as they lost to West Brom in a close match.

Team News

The big news at the moment is the transfer of Daniel Sturridge to Liverpool. The young Englishman was clearly not happy with how things were going at Stamford Bridge. His mysterious injury sidelined him for many weeks and he always knew it was going to be difficult to get playing time after Victor Moses, Eden Hazard and Marko Marin were signed. So, Chelsea have to be content with one striker in Torres for 3 more matches at least. John Terry is still nursing his injury along with Ryan Bertrand. Mikel is back into the lineup after serving his 3-match ban.

Chris Hughton will be without the services of defender Steven Whittaker, but will be boosted with the return of captain Grant Holt and Ryan Bennett. Russell Martin is expected to play in defense in place of Whittaker. Holt might be on the starting lineup, and will surely play a major role in any sort of positive result for the Canaries. John Ruddy and Surman are long term absentees.

Probable Lineups

Norwich City: Bunn – Martin, Turner, Bassong, Garrido – Tettey, Johnson, Snodgrass, Pilkington – Hoolahan – Holt

Chelsea: Cech – Cole, Luiz, Ivanovic, Azpilicueta – Mikel, Ramires – Oscar, Mata, Moses – Torres

Tactics

Norwich has perfected the 4-4-1-1 formation under Chris Hughton and have been very successful in milking the last ounce of tactical advantage out of it. Anthony Pilkington and Robert Snodgrass have been two of the three best players for Norwich this season, the other one being Hoolahan. Grant Holt is always a threat for opponents with his physicality and shot power. Hoolahan, Pilkington and Snodgrass are packed with enormous energy and they will be instrumental in keeping the likes of Hazard and Mata contained. Bradley Johnson and Alex Tettey have improved vastly from the start of the season and are a formidable partnership in the midfield.

Mikel – the game changer?

Chelsea are in red hot form after their 8-0 whitewash of Aston Villa at Stamford Bridge on Sunday. This fixture could not have come at a better time as the Blues hope to continue their good run with quick wins. They will line up in their usual 4-2-3-1 formation. Oscar was used as a sub on Sunday and is a sure starter. Victor Moses might continue to remain in the starting lineup owing to the threat Norwich offer on the flanks. Mikel and Ramires might be the midfield pairing with Luiz dropping to defense and Gary Cahill to bench. Hoolahan is too agile for Luiz to mark from midfield and Luiz might get himself booked early in the match, so Ramires is a better option. Either Hazard or Mata may be benched keeping in mind the weekend fixture against Everton.

The tactical match-up points to an open game with the 4-4-1-1 resembling much of a 4-2-3-1. When there are two identical formations on the pitch, there are always many mini-battles all over the ground. One on the wings, one in midfield and one in the attack/defensive thirds. Chelsea will be poised to win the midfield battle with the likes of Ramires and Oscar. The wing battle will be fierce though, and Ashley Cole will be expected to stay deep so as to minimize the risk of getting overrun. Torres against Bassong and Holt/ Morrison against Luiz will be the aerial battles to look out for. But if the home team decides to stay deep and play on the counter, which actually they are good at, it will still be a close match, but Benitez and Co. might just edge the Canaries to a well-earned victory.