Suggested bet: West Ham to win 3-0, 17/2 available @ sportmarket.com
London Stadium is set tonight for a low-key rescheduled affair between the Irons and down-and-out Norwich City in which West Ham are predicted to be the likely victors.
West Ham manager David Moyes was coy about which members of the squad would be available for the game in his pre-match press conference. Said Benrahma will not play due to his presence in the Algerian national team at the Africa Cup of Nations, whilst Kurt Zouma is not yet fit after a hamstring injury.
Norwich City remain without a number of key players. Billy Gilmour has been stated as being out for roughly a month, whilst Todd Cantwell could feature in tonight’s match after a bout of illness. However, these two side-lined players are the two players who’s futures remain in the air, with Cantwell rumoured to be getting a transfer and Gilmour possibly being called back to Chelsea if his loan move at the Canaries remains sour.
Tim Krul, Grant Hanley, Milot Rashica and Teemu Pukki all returned for Norwich’s FA Cup win over Charlton, which will be good news to Norwich fans considering their squad has been largely depleted of key players because of Covid and injuries. However, even with their reinforced team, Norwich will likely fall victim to the rampant West Ham.
Last time the two teams met was in July 2020 in a closed off Carrow Road. West Ham demolished Norwich in a 4-0 rout with all four goals coming off the boots of Michail Antonio. Norwich haven’t won any of their past eight away league games against West Ham since a 2-0 victory in March 1989 (D4, L4).
Both teams are off from a FA Cup win from the weekend, and it’ll be Norwich’s job to turn confidence they received from their minimal victory against Charlton into at least a goal.
Norwich manager Dean Smith complained in his press conference about sarcastic chanting that has been made by the home and away Norwich support over the past few games. However, Dean Smith is the first manager in Premier League history to experience five-match losing runs with two teams in the same season. For Norwich fans at this point, it’s a “if you don’t laugh, you cry” predicament.
Suggested bet: West Ham to win 3-0, 17/2 available @ sportmarket.com
