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Chelsea and Norwich City will battle for three points at Stamford Bridge in Saturday's lunchtime kickoff in the Premier League.
The home side were rampant in their 4-0 victory over Malmo in the UEFA Champions League. They will be looking to maintain their position at the summit of the standings as they turn their attention to domestic competition.
Their victory over the Swedes, however, came at a cost, as Romelu Lukaku and Timo Werner both suffered injuries that have ruled them out.
Norwich occupy the opposite spectrum of the table and have struggled to get going since their return to the top-flight this season.
The Canaries played out a goalless draw with Brighton, which was their second consecutive goalless stalemate after sharing the spoils with Burnley before the international break.
Remarkably, these are the only points the Norfolk outfit have been able to garner and they need to pick up the pace to avoid an immediate return to the EFL Championship.
Chelsea vs Norwich City Head-to-Head and Key Numbers
- The two sides have clashed on 56 occasions in the past and Chelsea have a superior record with 24 wins to their name. The two sides shared the spoils on 18 occasions while Norwich City were victorious in 14 previous matches.
- Their most recent meeting came in July 2020 when Olivier Giroud's first-half strike gave Chelsea a 1-0 victory on home turf.
- Chelsea have kept 16 clean sheets in 27 Premier League games under Thomas Tuchel and they also have the joint-best defensive record this term with just three goals conceded.
- Norwich City are winless in their last 18 EPL games, losing 16, while they have also failed to score away from Carrow Road this season.
- No bottom-placed team have beaten the league leaders in the Premier League since Wolverhampton Wanderers secured a 2-1 home victory over Manchester in February 2011.
Chelsea vs Norwich City Prediction
The absence of Romelu Lukaku and Timo Werner is far from an ideal proposition for a Chelsea side that have not fulfilled their potential in front of goal.
Nevertheless, their success over the last year has been built on a rock-solid defense that might not be troubled much by a toothless Norwich City attack.
Chelsea are the heavy favorites in the game and with some of their title rivals facing tricky tests this weekend, the onus is on the capital side to consolidate their spot at the summit.
Barring an unlikely upset, the Blues should secure a comfortable victory over Norwich City.
Prediction: Chelsea 2-0 Norwich City
Chelsea vs Norwich City Betting Tips
Tip 1: Result - Chelsea to win (Norwich City's unbeaten run does not look likely to end anytime soon and the hosts simply have too much firepower in their armory).
Tip 2: Under 2.5 goals - YES (Lukaku and Werner's absence in attack means Chelsea might not be as potent in attack as would have been the case had the pair been available).
Tip 3: Both teams to Score - NO (The worst attack in the league is unlikely to breach the joint-best defense in the league).
Tip 4: Over 8.5 corners - YES (Both Chelsea and Norwich City rank among the top three clubs with the highest average corners in the Premier League this season).
