The Champions Chelsea will travel to Norwich in a bid to extend their unbeaten domestic run under Guus Hiddink. A win tonight could see the Blues over take Liverpool in the Premier League and they could finally break into the top half.
A win for Norwich on the other hand could see them put a vital three points between themselves and the relegation zone. But if the Canaries lose it would give a golden opportunity for Newcastle and Sunderland to overtake Alex Neil’s side, and drag them into the drop zone.
The form
Chelsea’s loss against Paris Saint-Germain is the only loss that Hiddink has overseen in the 15 matches since his arrival was announced.
The Blues are coming into this game off of the back of two wins, a 2-1 away victory over Southampton and a resounding 5-1 victory of a youthful Manchester City side in the FA Cup. The third 5-1 victory that Hiddink has managed as Chelsea boss. The London side will certainly be a goal threat, having scored 14 goals in their previous five matches.
Norwich’s form on the other hand is in stark contrast. The newly promoted side haven’t won in eight matches and their home form will be a real concern for their manager.
Neil has seen his side concede 13 goals in just four matches at Carrow Road, and with Chelsea having such on form firepower it almost seems a certainty that the Blues will find the net, and perhaps on a number of occasions.
Head to head
As if the omens weren’t already bad enough for Norwich, their chances of getting anything out of this game looks even less likely when taking into account the head to head statistics for the two sides.
Chelsea are unbeaten in the previous nine matches against Norwich, winning seven and drawing two of them. The Canaries only scoring two goals in the past six meetings.
A promising sign for the home side would be their January signing, Steven Naismith. The former Everton man has scored six goals in his last seven games against Chelsea, including a hat-trick earlier in the season.
Baba Rahman to take his chance?
With John Terry and Kurt Zouma still both side-lined with injuries, young left-back Abdul Baba Rahman is expected to be given another chance in the first team.
It would be fair to say that the summer signing from Augsburg has been underwhelming since his arrival, having impressed in the Bundesliga and, having the most crosses last season in the German top flight, Baba Rahman promised to be a great signing.
Despite having a put in a few good crosses in a Chelsea shirt, as of yet he has not grasped his chance to impress and was largely at fault for Southampton’s goal in the last match.
Yet Norwich could provide a great platform for the 21-year old to prove his worth. Diego Costa has been a constant source of goals for the Blues and Baba Rahman could be looking to provide some of his better crosses and grab an assist or two in this match.