MX23RW : Friday, April 19 04:07:35| >> :120:58971:58971:

Preview: Norwich City vs. Aston Villa

Sports Mole previews Saturday's Premier League clash between Norwich City and Aston Villa.

Carrow Road will be the setting for a relegation six-pointer on Saturday when a struggling Norwich City host a resurgent Aston Villa outfit.

The Canaries currently sit in 14th position in the table, just one point above their opponents at the weekend, who recorded a morale-boosting 6-1 win over Sunderland on Monday evening.

Reading and Queens Park Rangers have already dropped out of the division, but there are just three points separating 17th from 11th position in the table.

Villa certainly enter the match in the better form having taken 10 points from their last six matches, while Norwich have registered just five in the same period. However, Chris Hughton's side have lost just three of their 17 matches at Carrow Road this season.

The reverse fixture earlier in the season ended in a 1-1 draw at Villa Park in November, but Norwich were 2-0 winners the last time they hosted Villa in the league last May.

Norwich could ring the chances with Javier Garrido, Anthony Pilkington and Elliot Bennett also pushing for recalls, but Hughton is expected to continue with Kei Kamara and leading scorer Grant Holt in attack.

Bradley Johnson is also fit despite a knock, but Luciano Becchio will have to be content with a place on the bench once more.

Villa boss Paul Lambert, meanwhile, could continue with the same side that overcame Sunderland on Monday. Christian Benteke, fresh from his hat-trick, should lead the line once more with Darren Bent on the bench.

Yacouba Sylla is a doubt with a foot injury, however, with Charles N'Zogbia and Brett Holman both on standby to take his place.

Recent form

Norwich: LDLWL

Villa: LWDLW

Possible lineups

Norwich: Bunn; Martin, Bassong, R Bennett, Garrido; Johnson, Snodgrass, Howson, Pilkington; Kamara, Holt

Villa: Guzan; Bennett, Vlaar, Baker, Lowton; Westwood, Delph; Weimann, Sylla, Agbonlahor; Benteke

Sports Mole says: 1-1


ID:82429: cacheID:82429:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:4870:

Previews by email

Click here to get Sports Mole's daily email of previews and predictions for every major game!


Restore Data
Share this article now:
Norwich manager Chris Hughton before his side's match against Sunderland on March 17, 2013
Read Next:
Team News: Hughton pairs Kamara, Holt in attack
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Ipswich TownIpswich432611685533289
2Leicester CityLeicester422841079384188
3Leeds UnitedLeeds43269876344287
4Southampton42259884543084
5West Bromwich AlbionWest Brom4320121166422472
6Norwich CityNorwich432181476601671
7Hull City421811136254865
8Coventry CityCoventry4217121366521463
9Middlesbrough43189166156563
10Preston North EndPreston43189165660-463
11Cardiff CityCardiff43185204860-1259
12Bristol City431610175046458
13Sunderland43168195250256
14Swansea CitySwansea431411185362-953
15Watford431216155958152
16Millwall431311194255-1350
17Blackburn RoversBlackburn431310205771-1449
18Plymouth ArgylePlymouth431212195866-848
19Queens Park RangersQPR431211204057-1747
20Stoke CityStoke431211204160-1947
21Birmingham CityBirmingham43129224864-1645
22Huddersfield TownHuddersfield43917174770-2344
23Sheffield WednesdaySheff Weds43128233667-3144
RRotherham UnitedRotherham43411283285-5323


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!