Norwich v Manchester City betting tips: Canaries up against it with champions in town
Norwich v Manchester City betting tips: Canaries up against it with champions in town
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Preview and odds for Saturday’s Premier League clash
The Canaries have given themselves a fighting chance of survival of late, but their unbeaten run could be about to end as they host the champions elect and we hunt out some Norwich v Manchester City betting tips.
Dean Smith’s men are unbeaten in three in the Premier League following their Wednesday night draw with Crystal Palace, while City got back to winning ways when beating a lacklustre Brentford in midweek having seen their long winning run stopped by Southampton before the winter break.
Norwich are a huge 18/1 to pick up three points and 13/2 to hold on for a draw, but it is City who are the overwhelming favourites at 1/6 to enhance their dominant position at the top of our Premier League winner odds.
Saturday’s game at Carrow Road kicks off at 5.30pm and is live on Sky Sports.
Canaries scrambling for safety
For a long time, it looked like Norwich would depart the Premier League with a whimper and the top flight’s lowest scorers still have a mountain to climb if they are to extend their stay in the division to more than just a solitary season.
However, the arrival of Smith in East Anglia has installed some fighting spirit into the Canaries and 12 of their 17 points have come since the former Aston Villa gaffer has taken over in the Carrow Road dugout.
They momentarily left the bottom three, but Newcastle’s win in midweek means they are housed once again in the dreaded drop-zone and the momentum Smith has built over the last month could be about to burst with a testing run of fixtures. Following the visit of City, they travel to Liverpool before things level out again, with what could be must-win games against Southampton and Brentford.
Smith knows the extent of the task at hand on Saturday night, but you could argue that being in top form is the best time to take on the defending champions. The odds suggest a victory is unlikely, but the most optimistic of the Canaries faithful could be tempted by Norwich to win or draw, both teams to score in the second half and over 2.5 goals in the match at 20/1.
Their main hope of an upset may lie with Teemu Pukki, who slotted home his sixth of the season in the draw with Palace in midweek. The Finland international is 12/1 to break the deadlock and 9/2 to be Norwich’s first goalscorer in the match.
Guardiola’s well-oiled machine
A 1-1 draw with Southampton brought to an end City’s 12-game winning run in the Premier League, but they wasted little time getting back to their three-point collecting best when following up their FA Cup tune-up victory over Fulham with a 2-0 win over the Bees on Wednesday night.
Riyad Mahrez followed up his brace against Fulham with a goal from the penalty spot to open the scoring, before Kevin De Bruyne knocked in his second in three top-flight games to double their advantage in the second half.
As we enter the business end of the season, Pep Guardiola’s focus will turn to challenging for silverware on multiple fronts with the Champions League knockout stage beginning next week. As well as defending their Premier League crown, they are still in the hunt for the FA Cup and the Spaniard will be desperate to erase the demons of Porto and bring a first Champions League trophy back to the Etihad Stadium.
Guardiola is a master at rotating his line-up to keep the aces in his pack fresh for the big occasions and with a trip to Portugal to face Sporting Lisbon on Tuesday, it would be no surprise if the City manager had one eye on a busy couple of weeks ahead for his squad.
However, Mahrez has returned from the Africa Cup of Nations in top form and looks a good bet to open the scoring at 7/2. It is 9/4 for the Algeria international to be joined on the scoresheet by Raheem Sterling in a win for the visitors, while a City win and two shots or more on target for Mahrez is evens in Norwich v Manchester City betting tips.
City have won both halves the last twice and they are 23/20 to do so again, while they often come on strong in the second 45 and are 4/11 to win the second half. Manchester City to win both halves, score over 2.5 goals and keep a clean sheet also appeals as a #YourCall option at 9/4.
Head-to-head
Manchester City have stuck five unanswered goals past Norwich the last twice they have met and another 5-0 scoreline is 14/1 this time around. However, the Norwich defence is looking much more organised under Smith and even though a victory for the hosts is a tough ask, they can avoid disgracing themselves.
Therefore, a City win to nil may be the better option at 4/5 in Norwich v Manchester City betting tips, while a clean sheet for the visitors can be backed at 4/6.
There were also five goals in the game when Norwich recorded a shock 3-2 victory here at Carrow Road in 2019 and although that scoreline is an unlikely 125/1, over 4.5 goals in the match could pay dividend at 12/5.
Manchester City’s games have been known for having plenty of goals this season but they have dried up slightly of late, with Guardiola’s men content to ‘get the job done’ rather than justify the price of supporters’ tickets.
Only one of their last five Premier League games has had more than two goals, which would bring under 2.5 into calculations at 33/20 in Norwich v Manchester City betting tips.
Surprisingly it is Norwich’s games which have seen the most action recently, but if they are to get something out of this contest it could be worth looking at Norwich to win or draw, City under 0.5 goals in the first half and under 3.5 goals in the match at 7/1 as a #YourCall special.
