Chelsea vs Norwich City
The two sides that have experienced contrasting Premier League fortunes this season will trade tackles at Stamford Bridge as table-toppers Chelsea take on rock-bottom Norwich City.
Despite losing star forwards Romelu Lukaku and Timo Werner to injuries, Chelsea brushed Malmo aside with an overwhelming 4-0 home victory in midweek Champions League action. Looking to retain the top spot in the Premier League table, the ‘Blues’ will hope to stretch their two-game winning league streak against out-of-sorts visitors. Since losing their first two top-flight H2Hs at Stamford Bridge, the reigning Champions League holders have gone unbeaten in their subsequent seven such match-ups (W6, D1). What’s more, Chelsea have won ten of their previous 12 Premier League meetings with Norwich (D2), including the last four in a row by a narrow one-goal margin. It’s hard to make a case for the Londoners not winning here, especially considering the side starting the day bottom of the Premier League standings have lost 11 of their last 12 matches against the league leaders (D1).
In the meantime, Norwich have experienced a slight upturn in form heading into this matchday, going from an alarming six-game losing Premier League start to playing out a brace of goalless draws. However, nailed to the foot of the table, the ‘Canaries’ face an uphill task of getting their top-flight campaign underway here, having gone winless in their last 16 Premier League fixtures in a row (D3, L13). Worryingly, Daniel Farke’s men netted just three goals during that 16-match sequence, while they are also the only English side yet to find the net away from home this season. Topically, Norwich have failed to get on the scoresheet for ten hours and 26 minutes of play on the road in the competition and have drawn a blank in their last three top-flight visits to Stamford Bridge.