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Cardiff City logo
Premier League
Feb 1, 2014 at 3pm UK
 
Norwich logo

2-1

Bellamy (49'), Jones (50')
FT(HT: 0-1)

Preview: Cardiff City vs. Norwich City

Sports Mole previews the clash between Cardiff and Norwich, where Ole Gunnar Solsjkaer will go looking for his first Premier League win as Bluebirds boss.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer welcomes Norwich City to Wales on Saturday still looking for his first Premier League win as Cardiff City manager.

The Norwegian kicked off his Bluebirds career with an FA Cup victory over Newcastle United, but has since lost three top-flight matches.

That run of results has seen Cardiff slip to the bottom of the table, but Solskjaer will be hoping that his new Manchester United signings will help him steer the club away from relegation trouble.

Solskjaer returned to his former Old Trafford stomping ground to snare Fabio da Silva and recruit Wilfried Zaha on a loan deal until the end of the season, while Kenwyne Jones has also joined from Stoke City.

Of their three new arrivals, Fabio is the most likely to come straight into Cardiff's starting lineup at the expense of Declan John, with first-choice left-back Andrew Taylor still sidelined by a foot problem. Another defensive injury is captain Mark Hudson, and he could be replaced by Ben Turner at centre-back.

Zaha and Jones will probably begin the contest from the bench, with Craig Bellamy maintained up front to face one of his old employers. Either Magnus Eikrem or Kim Bo-Kyung could come into midfield to replace Jordan Mutch, who suffered a fresh injury blow in the 2-0 defeat to United on Wednesday.

Chris Hughton's experiment pairing Ricky van Wolfswinkel and Gary Hooper in attack has yet to yield the Canaries a goal and therefore he may revert to five in midfield, with Hooper playing a lone forward role.

The Norwich boss has Jonas Gutierrez available again after the Newcastle United loanee missed the goalless draw with his parent club on Tuesday, and Bradley Johnson, sent off against the Magpies, should be retained in midfield after seeing his red card for clashing with Loic Remy rescinded.

The East Anglia outfit are only six points clear of Cardiff, but victory on Saturday could see them climb into the top half of the table. Wes Hoolahan is unlikely to feature as he tries to force through a move away from Carrow Road, but Nathan Redmond could be recalled in place of Anthony Pilkington on the wing.

Recent form

Cardiff: LLWLWL

Norwich: DWLLDD

Possible starting lineups

Cardiff: Marshall; McNaughton, Turner, Caulker, Fabio; Noone, Medel, Eikrem, Whittingham, Bellamy; Campbell

Norwich: Ruddy; Martin, Bennett, Bassong, Olsson; Redmond, Gutierrez, Fer, Johnson, Snodgrass; Hooper

Sports Mole says: 1-0


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Referee Chris Foy shows Loic Remy of Newcastle United a red card during the Barclays Premier League match between Norwich City and Newcastle United at Carrow Road on January 28, 2014
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