Stout Newcastle defence to provide platform for win over Norwich

Newcastle’s transformation from a wretched, relegation-threatened outfit to a team with genuine aspirations of making the Premier League’s top six has been achieved in little over six weeks.

Knowing the Magpies, disaster can only be a few games away, but against a Norwich side that have lost all but one of their Premier League games on the road this term, 23/10 odds about Alan Pardew’s side winning to nil look rather big.

Bear in mind that Newcastle have beaten Chelsea at home and Tottenham away in their last two Premier League matches without conceding a goal.

The Geordies also performed well on their own patch against Manchester City in the Capital One Cup recently, holding Manuel Pellegrini’s men to a goalless draw before succumbing to defeat in injury time.

Their opponents may have won 3-1 last time out at home to West Ham, but Norwich had gone three games without rattling the onion bag before that fixture and no team has scored fewer away goals than the Canaries’ tally of two in the Premier League this term.

Loic Remy rounded off the scoring against Chelsea at St James’ Park and fired home the only goal at White Hart Lane, so 9/2 odds about the French international opening the scoring for the second game in row against Chris Hughton’s side look primed to deliver in the north east.

Fellow Frenchman Yoan Gouffran broke the deadlock against Jose Mourinho’s Blues and is beginning to vindicate Pardew’s decision to bring him to England from Bordeaux last winter, after struggling for form at the end of last season.

The 27-year-old wing-forward has now scored four times in all competitions this term and looks a value bet to find the net at some stage during this match at 11/4 odds.