Manchester City welcome Norwich City to the Etihad Stadium in their first home game of the season. The blues look to put the disappointment of an opening day defeat to Spurs behind them and claim their first three points of the season against the newly promoted Canaries.
Norwich have probably the most difficult of opening fixtures in the Premier League, as after their match against the blues, they face Leicester City at Carrow Road, before heading to North London to face Arsenal at the Emirates. That comes after a 3-0 opening day loss at home to Liverpool.
The Canaries won the Championship at a canter last season, finishing 6 points ahead of second-placed Watford and 10 in front of third-placed Brentford. They won 29 of their 46 games, losing just 7 and scoring 75 goals in the process.
They had the second best home form in the league, winning 14 of their 23 matches played, but their away record was the best in the league, amassing 45 points from a possible 69 on their journeys. That form is a far cry form their form in their last Premier League campaign, when they won just one away and four home matches as they finished bottom of the league. Ironically, Norwich conceded 75 goals that season, as opposed to scoring them.
Norwich have lost their last 11 Premier League matches, and their last away game in the top-flight was at City, when the blues strolled to a 5-0 win.
Key Players
Although mor suited to the Championship, Finnish striker Teemu Pukki is still a threat in the Norwich attack. The striker scored 11 goals last time in the Premier League, however in his debut season at the club, he scored 30 and last season knocked in 26 as the Canaries secured promotion at the first attempt.
Former Newcastle keeper Tim Krul is between the sticks for the Canaries, while Todd Cantwell is a driving force in midfield who was rumoured to be on Aston Villa’s target list.
Who’s The Boss?
German manager Daniel Farke is still in charge at Carrow Road, with the Norwich board keeping the faith with him despite their relegation two seasons ago. He has taken charge of 196 games at Norwich, with a win percentage of 43.4%.
Last Time Out
The blues had some fun when these teams last met and ran out 5-0 winners. Gabriel Jesus and Kevin de Bruyne gave City a 2-0 half-time lead, and it stayed that way until the 79th minute, when Raheem Sterling extended the lead. Riyad Mahrez made it 4-0 and de Bruyne finished the scoring in injury time.