English Premier
2012-09-29 - Norwich City vs Liverpool
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football: English Premier League
Saturday 29 September 2012 - Kick Off 3pm
Norwich City
Losing a manager who has achieved so much was always going to be tough for Norwich City, but they may also feel they would have been much higher in the League table with a little more fortune. Chris Hughton is making them a tougher side to beat, but scoring goals has become a problem for a side that was tipped to be involved in a relegation dogfight this season.
Norwich are 17th in the Premier League, one place above Liverpool, and they have picked up 3 points while still searching for their first League win of the season. The side are 0-2-0 at Carrow Road this season, scoring 1 goal and conceding 1, although they have recorded 2 Capital One Cup wins here against lower-League opposition.
They were beaten in their last Premier League game at Newcastle United but had previously earned 3 straight draws following a 5-0 drubbing at Fulham. Norwich are unbeaten in 5 straight games at home in all competitions, although they have won just 1 in 6 in the League here.
Simon Lappin, Steven Whittaker and Elliot Bennett are all hoping to be passed fit for selection in time for this game.
Liverpool
Liverpool were very good for much of their game against Manchester United last week and were unfortunate to come away with nothing from that game. However, it is getting to the point where wins and not performances will matter to the fans and that will start here.
Brendan Rodgers was impressed with his young players that won a Capital One Cup game at West Brom during the week and he will be hoping that success can filter up to the senior players. Liverpool are 18th in the Premier League having earned 2 points so far and they are 0-1-1 away from home, scoring 1 goal and conceding 4.
They are unbeaten in their last 4 away games in all competitions, winning 3 of those games. The one exception was the 1-1 draw at Sunderland although that did stop a run of 8 defeats in 11 Premier League games.
There are a number of missing players for Liverpool this week- Jonjo Shelvey is suspended, while Lucas, Martin Kelly and Joe Cole are definitely out. Daniel Agger and Fabio Borini are both doubtful, but the likes of Steven Gerrard, Luis Suarez, Pepe Reina and Martin Skrtel will be restored to the starting XI.
Head to Head
Liverpool may be on a bad run away from home in the Premier League, but one of the games they won in their last 12 came here at Carrow Road towards the end of the season.
They won 0-3 that day thanks to a Luis Suarez hat-trick, although the game at Anfield ended 1-1.
Liverpool have won 3 straight at Carrow Road through the years, and 5 of the last 6 overall.
Prediction
It was a good performance from Liverpool last weekend against Manchester United and they may have won the game if Jonjo Shelvey hadn't lunged into a first half tackle on Jonny Evans.
However, it is yet another game they have failed to win and I am not sure what they have done to deserve being placed at short odds on to win this game at Carrow Road.
Norwich were a side that conceded a fair few goals last season, but Chris Hughton is turning that around. If you take out the 5 they conceded at Fulham, Norwich have only conceded 3 in 4 Premier League games, although they are beginning to worry about the lack of goals on the other side of the pitch.
We also have seen the documented issues at Liverpool which has seen them fail to score goals consistently. It just feels the sides could cancel each other out and that makes the draw look very appealing at 3.80 offered by Pinnacle.
Liverpool did only draw one game last season on their travels in the League and have already matched that this season with their result at Sunderland, but they may have to settle for shared points again.
Even their strong record against Norwich has to be put into context as those games took place over 18 seasons, while the game at Anfield did finish all square last season.
The Statistics :
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The Pick :
Norwich City 1-1 Liverpool
