Norwich City vs Tottenham Hotspur: Prediction, preview, and team news

A few weeks ago, Tottenham Hotspur represented a side in absolute turmoil. The Lilywhites couldn’t get themselves a victory on the road and that ultimately prompted them to do away with the services of Mauricio Pochettino. In the Argentine’s stead, the North London club installed a certain José Mourinho at the helm and Spurs have charted an upward trajectory since. The verve that characterised Pochettino’s early seasons has been rediscovered whereas the Portuguese has also enhanced the performances of specific players.

However, the North Londoners have faced a few hiccups on the road to redemption, most notably against Chelsea and Manchester United. Thus, there remains a general consensus that Spurs are still a side that need to iron out their flaws before challenging the likes of Liverpool and Manchester City.

Having said that though, their upturn in fortunes have meant that they’ve trimmed down Chelsea’s stronghold on fourth spot, with that deficit standing at 3 points before the next round of fixtures. Hence, the time seems ripe for Mourinho’s troops to keep eating away at that deficit and ensure that they maintain their place in the Champions League in 2020-21.

Norwich, on the other hand, have been in shambles ever since the start of the term, with the highlight of their campaign being a 3-2 triumph against City. Since then, they’ve gone cold and now find themselves rooted to the foot of the table, alarmingly only 7 points from safety.

And, while there are previous precedents to take inspiration from for Daniel Farke, one reckons that time could swiftly run out, especially if they continue their tendency to produce defensively inept displays. Thus, the encounter on the 28th of December pits a side that has regained its mojo against another that is fervently searching for any sort of divine intervention. Consequently, the game has morphed into the archetypal David versus Goliath contest, wherein Tottenham are the overwhelming favourites.

Yet, as that battle portrayed years ago, sport isn’t played on paper, meaning that Norwich would always boast a slight chance to upset the apple cart. If the Canaries can do so is anyone’s guess right now but if they aren’t able to pick themselves up swiftly, they might just have to start preparing for life in the Championship come 2020-21.

Norwich City vs Tottenham Hotspur Match Information

Date: 28th December 2019

Time: 11:00pm IST; 05:30pm (Local Time)

Venue: Carrow Road

Head to Head Record

Total Matches Played: 71 matches

Norwich: 23 wins

Tottenham: 31 wins

Draw: 17 draws

Form Guide (Last five league matches; most recent first)

Norwich: L-L-D-L-L

Tottenham: W-L-W-W-L

Norwich City vs Tottenham Hotspur Team News

Ben Godfrey, Josip Drmic and Timm Klose remain out of action for the Canaries, although they don’t have too many fresh injury concerns to sweat over.

Tottenham, meanwhile, have nearly a full complement of players to choose from, apart from Son Heung-Min. The Korean, who was sent off against Chelsea would be serving the second of his three-game suspension when the Lilywhites make the trip to Carrow Road.

Norwich City vs Tottenham Hotspur Predicted XI

Tottenham Hotspur Predicted XI: Paulo Gazzaniga; Davinson Sanchez, Toby Alderweireld, Jan Vertonghen; Serge Aurier, Harry Winks, Moussa Sissoko, Ryan Sessegnon; Lucas Moura, Dele Alli, Harry Kane

Norwich City vs Tottenham Hotspur Prediction

Norwich City haven’t covered themselves in glory in the defensive third throughout the season and thus, it would be extremely naïve to expect them to correct all their deficiencies when Tottenham come calling.

Spurs, meanwhile, have also not been water-tight at the back with the arrival of Mourinho not correlating to an improvement in defensive fortunes. Hence, one could be in line for a high-scoring game, although the visitors’ attacking pedigree might just drag them over the line.

Match Prediction: Norwich City 1-3 Tottenham Hotspur