Arsenal v Norwich City: Can Norwich do to Arsenal what they recently did at Spurs?
The race for the final two Champions League places is tighter than a Scotsman at a bar! One point separates Arsenal in third with Newcastle in fifth, with Spurs providing the meat in this tasty sandwich, but finishing fourth may not be enough as Chelsea could stun everyone by beating Bayern Munich in the Champions League final on May 19, thus sweeping the carpet from under them.
Arsenal are in the driving seat for third place but can the Canaries throw a cat amongst the pigeons on Saturday lunchtime by beating the Gunners at the Emirates? Unless that cat turns out to be a fearsome tiger, the chances of an upset look remote, but then the Premier League has produced so many shocks this season we shouldn't really rule it out.
The Gunners have scored 15 goals against Norwich in their last four meetings and the visitors have only managed to beat Arsenal once in the Premier League. That came at Highbury on the opening day of the Premier League era when Mark Robins (2), David Phillips and Ruel Fox stunned the home side with a 4-2 win. Can the visitors rewrite the history books and leave the home fans in tears?
Paul Lambert's men have won many admirers for their style and approach to the game this season and recently defeated Spurs at White Hart Lane. However, they have lost their past three fixtures - v Manchester City, Blackburn and Liverpool, and have only hit the back of the net once in that time. They have had their ups and downs this season but Norwich have never lost four in a row, although the smart money would suggest that that time is now.
Arsenal though have dropped crucial points in recent weeks. They lost to Wigan and have drawn with Chelsea and Stoke. Wenger has to get back to winning ways or Spurs could still have the last laugh in this battle. With home advantage though, and third place in their own hands, most people see this as a home banker.
Arsenal v Norwich City; Kick Off 12.45pm May 5 2012
Prediction Panel
|
Arsenal |
Don McMahon |
1 |
V |
0 |
|
Aston Villa |
Frank Pattison |
2 |
V |
0 |
|
Blackburn |
Terry Kennedy |
2 |
V |
0 |
|
Bolton |
Dave Blackburn |
2 |
V |
1 |
|
Chelsea |
Joe Tyler |
4 |
V |
0 |
|
Everton |
Chris Goodwin |
2 |
V |
0 |
|
Fulham |
Neil Springate |
2 |
V |
0 |
|
Liverpool |
Mark Williams |
2 |
V |
0 |
|
Man City |
Callum Rothwell |
2 |
V |
0 |
|
Man Utd |
Peter Lee |
3 |
V |
0 |
|
Newcastle |
Michael Stout |
2 |
V |
0 |
|
Norwich City |
Sue Read |
2 |
V |
2 |
|
QPR |
Arjun Swaminathan |
TBA |
V |
TBA |
|
Stoke City |
Philip Eccleston |
3 |
V |
1 |
|
Sunderland |
Tony Ratton |
3 |
V |
1 |
|
Tottenham |
Mike Richards |
4 |
V |
1 |
|
Swansea |
Jim White |
3 |
V |
1 |
|
West Brom |
Andy Wakeman |
4 |
V |
0 |
|
Wigan |
Alan Moore |
3 |
V |
1 |
|
Wolves |
Chris Cox |
3 |
V |
0 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
OUR EXPERTS |
|
|
|
|
|
Writer |
Colin Illingworth |
3 |
V |
1 |
|
Writer |
Steve Coulter |
2 |
V |
0 |
|
Writer |
Phil Bundy |
2 |
V |
0 |
|
Writer |
Mitch Waddon |
2 |
V |
0 |
|
Writer |
Matt Turner |
TBA |
V |
TBA |
|
Writer |
Chris Pettitt |
2 |
V |
0 |
|
Writer |
Hugh Larkin |
2 |
V |
1 |
|
Villa fan |
Lynette Ranson |
TBA |
V |
TBA |
|
Blackpool fan |
Phil Trow |
2 |
V |
1 |
|
Boro fan |
Sue Gardener |
2 |
V |
0 |
|
Fulham fan |
Russell Goldman |
3 |
V |
0 |
|
Pompey fan |
Dan Taylor |
2 |
V |
1 |
|
Pompey fan |
Peter Rendle |
2 |
V |
0 |
|
West Ham fan |
Matthew Beeby |
3 |
V |
1 |
|
West Ham fan |
Nigel Telfer |
2 |
V |
1 |
|
Editor |
Antony Melvin |
TBA |
V |
TBA |
Panel Verdict
Arsenal should be too strong for the Canaries.
Home: 31; Draw: 1; Away: 0. TBA 4
* Do we have it right or do you know better? We’d love to hear your views.
