Norwich City Vs Arsenal Preview, Predictions & Possible Xis
Arsenal begins life after Unai Emery against Norwich City on Sunday, looking to turn their season around.
The Gunners have endured a poor start to the 2019/20 campaign and were winless in their past seven games, culminating with a 2-1 defeat to Eintracht Frankfurt that prompted a change in the head coach.
Emery was replaced by Freddie Ljungberg on a temporary basis, but will he enjoy the new manager bounce against a Norwich side fresh from their first win since September last weekend?
Read on for our Norwich City v Arsenal preview, predictions, team news, and TV coverage information.
When is Norwich vs Arsenal and where can I watch live?
Competition: Premier League
Venue: Carrow Road
Date: Sunday, 1 December 2019
Kick-off: 2:00 PM (UK time)
TV coverage (UK): Sky Sports Main Event & Sky Sports Premier League
Last five meetings: Norwich vs Arsenal
24 October 2017: Arsenal 2-1 Norwich (League Cup)
30 April 2016: Arsenal 1-0 Norwich (Premier League)
29 November 2015: Norwich 1-1 Arsenal (Premier League)
11 May 2014: Norwich 0-2 Arsenal (Premier League)
19 October 2013: Arsenal 4-1 Norwich (Premier League)
Aggregate Score: Norwich (LLDLL) 3-10 Arsenal (WWDWW)
Ones to watch
Norwich: Todd Cantwell
Norwich ended a long winless run against Everton last weekend, and Todd Cantwell was key to that victory.
The midfielder opened the scoring and completed three take-ons to put the Toffees defence under pressure. Cantwell has already shown his capability of causing problems for opponents this season and, with Arsenal’s defence looking fairly weak, he could profit.
Cantwell’s form may also be integral in getting Teemu Pukki back on the scoresheet, with the 21-year-old having created 17 chances so far.
Key stat: Only Teemu Pukki (9) has been directly involved in more Premier League goals this season than Todd Cantwell (5) among Norwich players.
Arsenal: Granit Xhaka
Arsenal may have lost to Eintracht Frankfurt on Thursday, which led to Emery’s sacking, but the game also saw a return for Granit Xhaka.
The midfielder had not featured for the Gunners since the end of October when he clashed with Arsenal fans at the Emirates, leading to him being stripped of the captaincy.
But on his return, Xhaka was greeted with a largely positive response from the Emirates and will undoubtedly be ready to get back into Premier League action this weekend.
Key stat: Granit Xhaka (428) made more passes into the final third than any other Arsenal player during Unai Emery’s reign in the Premier League.
Team news
Norwich
Cantwell has recovered from an ankle injury picked up in the win over Everton last weekend and should start, with Jamal Lewis also in contention.
However, the Canaries will be without Alex Tettey, Grant Hanley and Timm Klose – though there are no fresh injury concerns.
Predicted XI: Krul; Aarons, Zimmermann, Godfrey, Byram; McLean, Trybull; Buendia, Cantwell, Hernandez; Pukki.
Arsenal will have to assess the fitness of David Luiz and Shkodran Mustafi after the pair picked up injuries in the defeat to Eintracht Frankfurt. Hector Bellerin also needs to pass a late fitness test after being injured against Southampton last weekend.
Sead Kolasinac is back in contention after missing the past two games with injury but whether he replaces Kieran Tierney remains to be seen.
Predicted XI: Leno; Bellerin, Chambers, Sokratis, Kolasinac; Torreira, Xhaka; Pepe, Ozil, Aubameyang; Lacazette.
Squawka prediction
Norwich may fancy their chances of a result against an Arsenal side in turmoil. But with strong, well-resourced teams we often see an immediate bounce following the appointment of a new manager.
Tottenham have already been boosted by the arrival of Jose Mourinho, while Manchester United enjoyed success last season when Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was named caretaker.
Norwich can get at the Arsenal defense and will trouble their visitors, but the Gunners may just edge this.
