Norwich vs Bournemouth: Preview and Prediction
EFL Championship side Norwich City, which recently were relegated from the Premier League to the 2nd division of English football will go head to head against Bournemouth, one of the newly promoted sides to the Premier League in an EFL Cup fixture at the Carrow Road.
Norwich City is currently placed eighth in the EFL Championship having won two, drawn one and lost two of their five fixtures so far. In their most recent fixture, the team defeated Millwall 2-0 courtesy of a brace from their striker Josh Sargent.
The team also competed in the first round of the EFL Cup beating fellow division team Birmingham City 4-2 on penalties after the game ended 2-2 after extra time. The team are currently on a two-match winning run and will look to make it to the next round.
Their opponents, on the other hand, started off their Premier League campaign with a 2-0 win over Aston Villa but went down 4-0 to Manchester City before facing another defeat at the hands of Arsenal 3-0.
The team has conceded seven in a matter of two games, something that will be of concern, however, with these seven goals coming off two top-quality sides, Bournemouth will be hoping that they can handle the Norwich City assignment.
Head to Head Record
The two sides have gone head to head on ten occasions in recent times. The Canaries have won on four occasions while The Cherries have won on four occasions too with two games ending in draws. The two sides most recently met in an EFL Cup tie last season, with Norwich netting six past their opponents to zero to register a thumping victory.
Team News
Norwich City will be without as many as five first-team players for this fixture
Norwich City has announced that they will be without a number of first-team players for this fixture. Defenders Sam McCallum, Sam Byram, Dimitris Giannoulis along with midfielders, Jakob Sorensen and Isaac Hayden will be on the sidelines.
As for Bournemouth midfielders, David Brooks and Joe Rothwell along with defender Ryan Fredericks will be unavailable for the fixture. The team could also be without Dominic Solanke who is recovering from an ankle issue.
Predicted Starting XIs
Norwich City: Angus Gunn, Ben Gibson, Jonathan Tomkinson, Grant Hanley, Sam McCallum, Kieran Dowell, Liam Gibbs, Gabriel Sara, Aaron Ramsey, Teemu Pukki, Josh Sargent
Bournemouth: Neto, Jack Stacey, Marcos Senesi, James Hill, Jordan Zemura, Lewis Cook, Ryan Christie, Ben Pearson, Jaidon Anthony, Kieffer Moore, Junior Marcondes
Prediction
The Canaries are expected to be one of the challengers for promotion this term and will want to show that they truly do belong to the top flight. Meanwhile, Bournemouth will look to get back to winning ways and boost their morale ahead of their next Premier League fixture after losing to Manchester City and Arsenal.
Both teams have the firepower on their side but only one can make progress to the next stage, with this being a cup game we are expecting a tight game at Carrow Road with a possibility of the match going into penalties.
It is also to note, that, unlike in the past, in recent times the EFL Cup matches have changed the rules with the match not to go to extra time or a replay in case of a draw instead the game will go straight to penalty kicks after 90 minutes of full time.