Norwich City will be hoping to secure their first win in five outings when they host West Bromwich Albion in the Premier League this weekend.
The Canaries sit just outside the relegation zone, but the visitors are also in the bottom half of the table ahead of Saturday's meeting at Carrow Road.
Norwich City
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A 6-2 thrashing at the hands of Newcastle United last time out has left Norwich 16th in the table, with nine points from their opening nine fixtures of the 2015-16 Premier League season.
Alex Neil's side have lost three of their last six matches in the league, including their last two, and have won just once since August, beating Bournemouth 3-1 last month.
The defeat to the Magpies last weekend has left Norwich with the worst defence in the top flight so far this season, with the team having conceded 20 goals – one more than Newcastle and Sunderland - while the side are also yet to keep a clean sheet.
Norwich have the joint-seventh highest total of goals in the Premier League so far this season though, level with champions Chelsea on 14. Of the sides that have been more prolific in front of goal, Leicester City are the only ones that did not qualify for Europe last season.
Nathan Redmond is the Canaries' top scorer so far this season with four goals in the Premier League, including two in their last three outings, but just one of the England Under-21s international's goals has come in a win.
This match comes just a few days before a League Cup fixture, with Norwich travelling to Goodison Park on Tuesday to face Everton, having beaten this weekend's opponents in the third round of the competition.
Recent form: LWDDLL
Recent form (all competitions): WDWDLL
West Bromwich Albion
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West Bromwich Albion picked up their first win in three league outings last weekend, clinching a narrow 1-0 victory over Sunderland in Sam Allardyce's first match in charge of the Black Cats.
The win lifted Tony Pulis's men up to 14th in the table, five points clear of the relegation zone and level on points with Chelsea, who are ahead on goal difference.
The Baggies have been a better side away from home than at The Hawthorns so far this season, with two of their three victories coming in away fixtures. West Brom have only lost once while on the road, but have been beaten in three of their five home matches.
Despite still being without regular first-choice goalkeeper Ben Foster, the Baggies have the joint-highest number of clean sheets in the top flight so far, with Arsenal, Manchester City and Manchester United also keeping their opponents off the scoresheet in five of their first nine fixtures.
There has been a shortage of goals for West Brom though, as the team has found the back of the net just seven times so far – only Watford have fewer goals. Saido Berahino has scored three of their goals, including the winner against Sunderland last weekend, but the side have failed to score in four of their fixtures so far, and the two times that they have scored more than once, they have been beaten.
Pulis did bring in a couple of strikers over the summer to lessen the team's dependence on Berahino, but Rickie Lambert is yet to open his account in 10 appearances since his arrival from Liverpool, while club record signing Salomon Rondon has scored just once in 12 outings.
Recent form: WDWLLW
Recent form (all competitions): DWLLLW
Team News
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The only injury doubt for the home side is Youssuf Mulumbu, who has not featured in the Premier League so far this season after breaking a metatarsal in a pre-season friendly after completing his summer move to Norwich from West Brom. The midfielder has featured for the reserves this week though, so is nearing a first-team return.
Despite being taken off after just an hour in last week's defeat to Newcastle, Alexander Tettey is likely to keep his place in the starting lineup, after the manager admitted that he regretted withdrawing the midfielder early at St James' Park.
For the visitors, James Morrison is still a doubt with the ankle injury that has plagued him since the start of the month, preventing him from featuring for Scotland during the recent international break.
If the midfielder is unable to play, Stephane Sessegnon is likely to continue in his place, while goalkeeper Ben Foster remains sidelined while recovering from a knee ligament injury.
Norwich City possible starting lineup:
Ruddy, Whittaker, Martin, Bassong, Olsson, Dorrans, Tettey, Hoolahan, Redmond, Howson, Mbokani
West Bromwich Albion possible starting lineup:
Myhill, Dawson, McAuley, Evans, Brunt, Sessegnon, Fletcher, Yacob, McClean, Rondon, Berahino
Head To Head
This is not the first meeting between these two sides this season, with Norwich having knocked West Brom out of the Capital One Cup last month, securing a 3-0 win at Carrow Road. When the teams met at the Canaries' ground last season though, it was West Brom who claimed the win.
Norwich have had the better form in this fixture in recent years, winning five of the last seven meetings between the two clubs, who have not shared a draw in more than 11 years.
In 48 previous meetings, there is little to separate the two sides though, with West Brom claiming 19 wins to Norwich's 17, while 12 fixtures have finished level.
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Hit play below to see what the Sports Mole Sofa had to say about this encounter:
We say: Norwich City 1-1 West Bromwich Albion
Leaking defence versus struggling attack always makes for an interesting and difficult to predict meeting. With the West Brom strikers struggling, Lambert and Rondon will surely be relishing a match against the weakest defence in the Premier League, but Norwich have not been short of a goal themselves, and should have enough to keep Boaz Myhill busy in the visiting goal.
Sian Cowper
