Championship leaders Norwich City will be looking to register their first win over Stoke since 2013 when they square off against the Potters in this midweek game. The Canaries have won only one of their last seven games against the Staffordshire outfit, and a victory here will keep them on top of the league standings.
Daniel Farke’s men had a tough start to life in the second tier after being relegated from the top flight last season, picking up only four points from their opening four games and losing to both Bournemouth and Derby. However since then, they’ve managed to stitch together an eight game unbeaten run across all competitions, easing the pressure on their German gaffer and also going top of the league.
That September setback against Bournemouth aside, Norwich have strung together an impressive set of away league results- winning four and drawing one of their next five on the road. A good away record is often the hallmark of a title contender, and Farke will be hoping that his charges can continue that streak here.
Unlike Norwich, Stoke have been more reliant on their home form. Their attack has been solid- the second most home goals in the Championship, but more worrying for their fans, they also have the second worst defensive home record in the league. Their last game was a seven goal thriller against Huddersfield that they edged 4-3, aided by some poor keeping from Joel Pereira in the Town goal. The Terriers, who took the lead in that game, actually shaded it on xG (1.13 to Stoke’s 1.01), but couldn’t stop their opponents from taking all three points.
Norwich, who recently inked a deal with 888Sport, are 29/20 at the sportsbook to beat the Potters this weekend. They are pretty tasty odds, especially given how games between the two sides have gone in recent years. A victory for 7th placed Stoke will see them go level on points with the Canaries, and potentially even leapfrog them should they beat them by a decent margin.
Stoke’s XG map against Huddersfield
Recent H2H- Stoke v Norwich
Stoke 2-2 Norwich
Norwich 0-1 Stoke
Stoke 3-1 Norwich
Norwich 1-1 Stoke
Norwich 1-1 Stoke
Stoke 0-1 Norwich
Stoke 1-0 Norwich
Recent form last five games & goal scorers for both sides
Stoke 4-3 Huddersfield (Campbell*2, Stearman OG, Clucas)
Reading 0-3 Stoke (Campbell, Fletcher, Brown)
Watford 3-2 Stoke (Fletcher, Powell)
Stoke 1-0 Rotherham (McClean)
Swansea 2-0 Stoke
Boro 0-1 Norwich (Pukki pen)
Norwich 1-0 Swansea (Stiepermann)
Norwich 0-0 Millwall
Bristol 1-3 Norwich (Pukki*2, Buendia)
Brentford 1-1 Norwich (Kenny McLean)
Ref watch: The referee for this game is Geoff Eltringham. He’s already been in charge of one Norwich game this season- their 1-0 opening round win against Huddersfield, but hasn’t been involved in a Stoke game in the 20/21 campaign.
Eltringham also averages 2.6 yellow cards per game, and very interestingly, the away side has won all but one of the league games he’s refereed this season.
Can Norwich do it on a cold midweek night in Stoke? We’ll just have to find out!