Both Norwich City and Sheffield United will be looking to bounce back from mid-week Premier League defeats when they lock horns at Carrow Road on Sunday afternoon.
Norwich's 2-1 loss at Southampton has left them down in 19th spot in the table, while Sheffield United dropped to ninth following their 2-0 home defeat to Newcastle United.
Match preview
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Three wins, two draws and 10 defeats - that is now Norwich have performed in the Premier League this season. A total of 11 points has left them in 19th spot in the table, four points behind 17th-placed Southampton.
It was always going to be a tough season for the Canaries on their return to the top flight, and no team has suffered more losses at this stage of the 2019-20 Premier League campaign, which will concern the fans.
Daniel Farke's side have actually picked up four points from their last three matches when considering that they followed a 2-0 win at Everton with a 2-2 draw against Arsenal at the weekend. Last season's Championship winners suffered a 2-1 loss at Southampton on Wednesday night, though.
The fact that Teemu Pukki has scored eight Premier League goals this term must go down as a positive, but there is no question that the Canaries are over-reliant on the 29-year-old in the final third, and an injury for the centre-forward at any point would have a significant effect on their output.
Norwich have not actually been victorious in a home league game against Sheffield United since December 2010, with the Blades running out 2-1 winners at Carrow Road in the Championship last term.
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Sheffield United have been terrific in the opening months of the 2019-20 campaign, picking up 19 points from their 15 matches to sit ninth in the table. Chris Wilder has been widely lauded for his team's form this season, although the Blades are currently on a four-game winless run in the top flight.
Indeed, the promoted club have not been victorious since beating Burnley at the start of November. That said, they held Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester United and Wolverhampton Wanderers before suffering a 2-0 home defeat to Newcastle on Thursday night.
There was more than a hint of controversy about Jonjo Shelvey's goal at Bramall Lane, which all but secured the points for the Magpies, but the home side were under-par in relation to their performances this season.
Sheffield United's next four matches are against Norwich, Aston Villa, Brighton & Hove Albion and Watford, before travelling to Manchester City on December 29. The Blades have performed against the so-called bigger sides this season but must also pick up results against the teams expected to be around them.
It will be the first ever Premier League meeting between the two teams this weekend, but Sheffield United are unbeaten at Carrow Road since December 2010 and will fancy their chances of picking up a positive result.
Norwich City form: LLLWDL
Sheffield United form: DWDDDL
Team News
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Norwich are still without the services of Timm Klose, Josip Drmic and Grant Hanley, but Farke has no fresh injury concerns from the side that featured against Southampton.
Alexander Tettey is likely to come back into the midfield having featured off the bench at St Mary's, although there are not expected to be too many alterations this weekend.
As a result, Pukki will again lead the line with support from Todd Cantwell, with Onel Hernandez also expected to keep his spot in a wide area for the promoted club.
As for Sheffield United, Lys Mousset and David McGoldrick were named on the bench against Newcastle on Thursday but are set to return to the starting XI this weekend.
Moussett has managed five goals and three assists in the Premier League this season, scoring in his last two starts against Man United and Wolves.
Wilder revealed at Friday's press conference that he has a fully-fit squad to choose from heading into this match, meaning that the goalkeeper, back three and midfield five are likely to remain unchanged from Thursday's clash with Steve Bruce's side.
Norwich City possible starting lineup: Krul; Aarons, Godfrey, Zimmermann, Lewis; Trybull, Tettey; Hernandez, McLean, Cantwell; Pukki
Sheffield United possible starting lineup: Henderson; Basham, Egan, O'Connell; Baldock, Lundstram, Norwood, Fleck, Stevens; Mousset, McGoldrick
We say: Norwich City 1-1 Sheffield United
Both teams will believe that they can cause problems in the final third of the field, and we are finding it difficult to separate them. Sheffield United are just struggling for a win at the moment, while Norwich have not been victorious on home soil since overcoming Manchester City in the middle of September.
No Data Analysis info
