The Premier League’s bottom two clubs go head-to-head on Saturday as Bournemouth travel to Carrow Road to face Norwich City.
Norwich are rock bottom of the table after winning just three of their 22 league games this season, while Bournemouth are six points ahead of the Canaries with five wins to their name.
A win for Norwich would see them close the gap on the Cherries. However, a Bournemouth victory would leave Daniel Farke’s side with a mountain to climb in order to avoid relegation.
Norwich’s last victory came all the way back in November. After beating Everton, the Canaries have failed to win any of their last nine league games.
A 4-0 defeat to Manchester United last time out underlined Norwich’s problems. Man Utd are nowhere near their best at the moment, but they tore Norwich apart at Old Trafford.
Bournemouth are also desperate for three points after winning just one of their last eleven matches. Eddie Howe’s side beat Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in December, but have since lost four of their last five.
To make matters worse, Bournemouth have failed to score in each of their previous three league games. A 2-0 defeat to Brighton was followed by a 4-0 thrashing at the hands of West Ham, before relegation rivals Watford beat the Cherries 3-0.
Despite being at home against Watford, the Cherries only managed one shot on target. Howe’s side showed very little fight last time out, and that is a great cause for concern.
Interestingly, Bournemouth have won more away games than home games this season. In contrast, Norwich have picked up more victories at home.
The two teams played out a dull goalless draw when they met at the Vitality Stadium earlier in the campaign. In their last five meetings, both teams have won two and lost two. All the signs are pointing towards another tight game this time around.
Norwich’s team news is positive this week as Josip Drmic and Ben Godfrey could both make a return from injury. Top scorer Teemu Pukki is also likely to start after missing the trip to Old Trafford.
As for Bournemouth, up to ten first team players could miss Saturday’s game through injury. On a brighter note, goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale and defender Lloyd Kelly could come in to the starting line-up.
Neither side will want to lose this game, so we’re likely to see a cagey encounter at Carrow Road this weekend.
Forbet predicts that both teams will be happy to settle for a draw. Under 1.5 goals for each side looks likely.