Spurs' to brake rotten run against Canaries
Norwich City’s visit to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium presents a perfect opportunity for the out of form hosts to get back to winning ways and push on under Jose Mourinho. The visitors are rock bottom a hefty six points from safety, yet they will fight, after grabbing a crucial three points on Saturday at home to fellow strugglers AFC Bournemouth. Though the gap in table is 12 places and 14 points between the two sides, Spurs have plenty of reasons to be looking over their shoulder. The Champions League finalists are nine points above the relegation zone which is just one point more than their distance from the Premier League’s top four, they are at a mid-season crossroads and need to use this match as a springboard.
Recent form
Spurs are four Premier League games without a win, failing to score in their last three. Norwich have the division’s worst defensive record, letting in 45 so far this term. Mourinho’s side have been awarded a penalty in the last three topflight head-to-heads.
Meanwhile the Canaries have only managed five points on the road all season, Spurs’ pacey front three particularly Son Heung-Min and Lucas Moura will be a lot to handle for Daniel Farke’s likely centre back pairing of Grant Hanley and Christoph Zimmermann.
Reverse fixture
A ding-dong battle ensued at Carrow Road in late December, with Tottenham coming away pleased with a point having converted two equalisers in the form of Christian Eriksen and long-term absentee Harry Kane.
However, that does not tell the full story with Wednesday evening’s hosts winning the expected goals metric 1.88 – 0.44 despite going behind twice. The Canaries only registered two shots on Paulo Gazzaniga’s goal compared to Spurs’ seven, that performance amidst the poor run will give the squad confidence of getting the victory in this midweek fixture.
Transfer business
Both teams have made one signing in the first half of the January window, the players made their debuts from the bench at the weekend yet can expect slightly more involvement in this matchup. Gedson Fernandes joined Tottenham from Benfica on an initial 18-month loan with the option to buy at the end of that time frame, while the Canaries brought in Lukas Rupp from Hoffenheim on a two-year deal. Both midfield reinforcements adding some depth in tackling their respectively different challenges as we move to the business end of the season.
Spurs travel to the South coast to face Southampton, with Norwich going up north to Burnley in the FA Cup this weekend, with Mourinho potentially prioritising the weekend’s fixture as a very silverware driven manager.
Spurs’ attacking contingent should have too much pace and power for the worst backline in the division this year. A comfortable win is on the cards.
Post bet chat Marcus's Tips:
Spurs made hard work of it in the end, the aforementioned Son Heung-Min and Dele Alli the goalscorers in a 2-1 win. Pushing Spurs up to sixth.