Watford v Norwich Preview
Posted on | December 10, 2008 | No Comments
It would be fair to say that nobody expected either of these sides to struggle, with Watford reaching the play offs last season while Norwich have completely revamped their squad under Glenn Roeder. However, both are languishing near to the relegation places with the Hornets sat in 21st while Norwich are just two places higher in 19th.
Watford have looked quite impressive recently and that’s despite losing their last two games. In their last fixture they played 2nd place Birmingham and only lost 3-2, while they put up a fantastic performance against Premiership side Tottenham and were unlucky to bow out of the Carling Cup with a 2-1 defeat. If we look solely at their league record it doesn’t read too badly, with the Hornets just losing one out of their last four and that includes a 3-0 victory over QPR. New manager Brendan Rodgers has now had time to adapt and as we see time and time again with new bosses, don’t be surprised if Watford continue to perform and grind results in Rodgers’ “honeymoon” period.
Visitors Norwich received a massive boost on Sunday with a comfortable 2-0 win over bitter rivals Ipswich Town. It was a result that relieved Glenn Roeder, who has started to feel the pressure after seeing his side underperform this season and once again struggle against relegation. Before the win over the Tractor Boys, they had won just one in seven so there was more than just the bragging rights in Sunday’s game. However, they’ve proved over the season that they just don’t seem to be able to string any sort of consistency together and if they are going to make a charge up the league, they need to beat fellow struggling teams such as Watford. Supporters are becoming increasingly frustrated with Roeder and while the win over Ipswich will have obviously pleased them, he’ll need to make sure the Canaries continue to pick up points if he is to stay away from pressure.
As for team news, Watford look set to welcome back Lee Williamson who returns after completing a suspension. However, Brendan Rodgers will have to be without centre half Jay DeMerit who is struggling with a groin injury. Visitors Norwich could include striker Carl Cort in their squad after the former Newcastle man signed on a free transfer earlier in the week. Elsewhere, John Kennedy is to make a comeback after completing a ban, although Glenn Roeder will probably be without Antoine Sibierski who is doubtful.
As for a prediction, we’ll plump for the home side in this one. All new managers tend to go through a “honeymoon” phase where everything goes right for them and we expect this to be the case for Brendan Rodgers – 2-1 Hornets.
Related posts:
- Norwich v Watford Preview
- Watford v Norwich Preview
- Norwich v Derby Preview
- Norwich v Ipswich Preview
- Sheffield United v Norwich Preview
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