Defensive Wolves welcome harmless Canaries
After the international break, the last 32 of the FA Cup is on the agenda in England. The draw produced just three Premier League-only clashes. One of them will be played at the Molineux Stadium. Wolverhampton’s Portugal connection will host promoted Norwich City.
Although the teams are currently separated by a good distance in the table (18 points), neither coach was particularly happy with the enforced break due to the international matches. After all, the teams presented themselves in very strong shape beforehand. Wolves have won their last three games, Norwich have two wins en suite.
The Canaries have come back to life and have even left the relegation zone. Nevertheless, the Smith eleven travels to Wolverhampton as underdogs. A look at the betting odds makes this clear, because Wolverhampton against Norwich is not even offered 1.70 on a home win. The match kicks off on Saturday afternoon at 5pm.
Wolverhampton – Statistics & current form
Nuno Espirito Santo led Wolves back to the Premier League and also into Europe at the first attempt. After four years, the collaboration ended and his compatriot Bruno Lage took over. The years under the former coach were already very successful, but Bruno Lage took Wolves to a new level and has very strong statistics to show for it.
Goals have rarity value
After 21 league games, Wolverhampton have eleven more points on their side this season than they did last year. However, Wolverhampton also failed to reach the current 34 points in the previous two years. The defence is absolutely outstanding, with only 16 goals conceded, making it the second best defence in the league. Only league leaders Manchester City have conceded fewer goals (14).
With such a strong defence, one goal is often enough for success on the offensive. 19 goals scored in 21 games is an average of less than one goal per game. Football fans who prefer an offensive style should give Wolves a wide berth. On average, only 1.67 goals per game have been scored this PL season. Only five times were there at least three goals to be seen. In no less than twelve of the 21 league games, even betting on the under 1.5 was crowned with success.
Wolves on fire
Between 20 November and 3 January, Lage’s eleven played eight PL games in a row in which they scored a maximum of one goal. Then, before the international break, there were two of the five “over 2.5” games – a 3-1 home win over Southampton and a 2-1 away win at Brentford.
The Wolves thus prolonged their strong form, collecting 13 points out of a possible 15 from their last five league games. The only loss of points came in a goalless draw at home to Chelsea. If you are considering a home win forecast for Wolverhampton against Norwich on Saturday, you should also give some thought to the “Wolverhampton win by nil” bet. Value is definitely a given here.
Predicted line-up of Wolverhampton:
Sa – Gomes, Coady, Kilman – Marcal, Neves, Dendoncker, Hoever – Podence, Trincao – Fabio Silva
Last matches played by Wolverhampton:
Premier League
01/22 2022 – Brentford 1 – 2 Wolverhampton
01/15 2022 – Wolverhampton 3 – 1 Southampton
FA Cup
01/09 2022 – Wolverhampton 3 – 0 Sheffield United
Premier League
01/03 2022 – Manchester United 0 – 1 Wolverhampton
12/19 2021 – Wolverhampton 0 – 0 Chelsea London
Norwich – Statistics & current form
Too strong for the Championship, too weak for the Premier League. It seemed that history would repeat itself once again and the Canaries from Norwich would be relegated without a sound. The sacking of German Daniel Farke after the first win of the season on matchday eleven was unusual, but by now the decision can be considered quite successful.
Norwich leave the relegation places
Doubts were already justified, because after the good start under successor Dean Smith (three games, no defeat) Norwich fell into a hole again. Six defeats in a row, in which they did not even manage to score a goal, caused their hopes in the relegation battle to fade again. An own goal by Michael Keane (Everton) ended the goal drought and gave the Canaries a strong sign of life. Norwich won the home game against the Toffees 2-1 and in the promotion duel with Watford they managed a 3-0 victory.
For the second time this season, two games in a row were won. Thanks to these six points, Norwich City are above the ominous line for the first time this season. The two victories even resulted in Dean Smith being nominated as January’s Manager of the Month.
Weakest offence in the league
In the 3-0 win against the Hornets from Watford, ex-Bremer Josh Sargent was particularly convincing with a brace. In general, the three goals in one game for Norwich in the Premier League were an absolute rarity. After all, the promoted team has scored a meagre 13 goals in 22 league games so far this season. This gives the Canaries the weakest attack in the league. Visiting a very strong defence, another game without a goal of their own (Norwich have gone 14 times without a goal in the league) would not be a surprise. Accordingly, the prediction for Wolverhampton against Norwich is “Will both teams score? No” is an obvious option.
In terms of personnel, Dean Smith will have to replace two important mainstays, especially in central midfield. Matthias Normann and top talent Billy Gilmour will not be available to Norwich.
Predicted Norwich line-up:
Krul – Williams, Gibson, Kabak, Aarons – Sörensen, Lees-Melou – Tzolis, Dowell, Rashica – Sargent
Last matches played by Norwich:
Premier League
01/21 2022 – Watford 0 – 3 Norwich
01/15 2022 – Norwich 2 – 1 Everton
01/12 2022 – West Ham 2 – 0 Norwich
FA Cup
01/09 2022 – Charlton 0 – 1 Norwich
Premier League
12/28 2021 – Crystal Palace 3 – 0 Norwich
Wolverhampton – Norwich Direct Comparison / H2H Record
Neither team is really known for unconditional attacking football, yet in recent matches between Wolverhampton and Norwich, predicting an over 2.5 has been mostly successful. Before this season, this bet was the right decision in five of the last six games. In late November, the league already saw this clash, but fans waited in vain for goals at Carrow Road.
Wolverhampton – Norwich Tip
One of three Premier League clashes in the FA Cup this weekend will be played at Molineux Stadium. The game will hardly be an advertisement for attacking football, as both teams are not known for delivering goal festivals. With that in mind, both teams will be taking very few risks, as going behind can be tantamount to being out of the game.
Norwich managed to break free before the international break with two wins in a row, but they are still unlikely to progress at the Molineux Stadium. The home side are in great form and have one eye on an international place again. The second best defence receives the weakest offence – the starting position could hardly be clearer. Accordingly, seven units are selected as the stake for the prediction of a home win in Wolverhampton v Norwich.
