MX23RW : Wednesday, May 15 08:26:11| >> :600:1022220:1022220:
[monks data]
Cardiff City logo
Premier League
Feb 1, 2014 at 3pm UK
 
Norwich logo

2-1

Bellamy (49'), Jones (50')
FT(HT: 0-1)

Preview: Cardiff City vs. Norwich City

Sports Mole previews the clash between Cardiff and Norwich, where Ole Gunnar Solsjkaer will go looking for his first Premier League win as Bluebirds boss.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer welcomes Norwich City to Wales on Saturday still looking for his first Premier League win as Cardiff City manager.

The Norwegian kicked off his Bluebirds career with an FA Cup victory over Newcastle United, but has since lost three top-flight matches.

That run of results has seen Cardiff slip to the bottom of the table, but Solskjaer will be hoping that his new Manchester United signings will help him steer the club away from relegation trouble.

Solskjaer returned to his former Old Trafford stomping ground to snare Fabio da Silva and recruit Wilfried Zaha on a loan deal until the end of the season, while Kenwyne Jones has also joined from Stoke City.

Of their three new arrivals, Fabio is the most likely to come straight into Cardiff's starting lineup at the expense of Declan John, with first-choice left-back Andrew Taylor still sidelined by a foot problem. Another defensive injury is captain Mark Hudson, and he could be replaced by Ben Turner at centre-back.

Zaha and Jones will probably begin the contest from the bench, with Craig Bellamy maintained up front to face one of his old employers. Either Magnus Eikrem or Kim Bo-Kyung could come into midfield to replace Jordan Mutch, who suffered a fresh injury blow in the 2-0 defeat to United on Wednesday.

Chris Hughton's experiment pairing Ricky van Wolfswinkel and Gary Hooper in attack has yet to yield the Canaries a goal and therefore he may revert to five in midfield, with Hooper playing a lone forward role.

The Norwich boss has Jonas Gutierrez available again after the Newcastle United loanee missed the goalless draw with his parent club on Tuesday, and Bradley Johnson, sent off against the Magpies, should be retained in midfield after seeing his red card for clashing with Loic Remy rescinded.

The East Anglia outfit are only six points clear of Cardiff, but victory on Saturday could see them climb into the top half of the table. Wes Hoolahan is unlikely to feature as he tries to force through a move away from Carrow Road, but Nathan Redmond could be recalled in place of Anthony Pilkington on the wing.

Recent form

Cardiff: LLWLWL

Norwich: DWLLDD

Possible starting lineups

Cardiff: Marshall; McNaughton, Turner, Caulker, Fabio; Noone, Medel, Eikrem, Whittingham, Bellamy; Campbell

Norwich: Ruddy; Martin, Bennett, Bassong, Olsson; Redmond, Gutierrez, Fer, Johnson, Snodgrass; Hooper

Sports Mole says: 1-0


ID:134023: cacheID:134023:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:6334:No Data Analysis info

Previews by email

Click here to get Sports Mole's daily email of previews and predictions for every major game!


Restore Data
Share this article now:
Referee Chris Foy shows Loic Remy of Newcastle United a red card during the Barclays Premier League match between Norwich City and Newcastle United at Carrow Road on January 28, 2014
Read Next:
Match Analysis: Norwich 0-0 Newcastle
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
CLeicester CityLeicester463141189414897
3Leeds UnitedLeeds462791081433890
4Southampton462691187632487
5West Bromwich AlbionWest Brom4621121370472375
6Norwich CityNorwich4621101579641573
7Hull City461913146860870
8Middlesbrough46209177162969
9Coventry CityCoventry4617131670591164
10Preston North EndPreston46189195667-1163
11Bristol City461711185351262
12Cardiff CityCardiff46195225370-1762
13Millwall461611194555-1059
14Swansea CitySwansea461512195965-657
15Watford461317166161056
16Sunderland46168225254-256
17Stoke CityStoke461511204960-1156
18Queens Park RangersQPR461511204758-1156
19Blackburn RoversBlackburn461411216074-1453
20Sheffield WednesdaySheff Weds46158234468-2453
21Plymouth ArgylePlymouth461312215970-1151
RBirmingham CityBirmingham461311225065-1550
RHuddersfield TownHuddersfield46918194877-2945
RRotherham UnitedRotherham46512293789-5227


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!