Norwich City vs Tottenham preview

December 26, 2011
By: Matthew Clarke

Norwich City remained in the top half of the table with a hard-fought draw at Molineux, and the Canaries are now looking for the fifth home victory of the season.

Tottenham could only take one point from the entertaining derby with Chelsea, meaning that Spurs have got to try and beat high-flying Norwich in order to remain one step ahead of their top 4 rivals.

Norwich City had a pretty poor start to their Premier League campaign, and after taking just two points from first four games, the Canaries were tipped for a straight return to the Championship.

Nevertheless, Paul Lambert’s side managed to kick-start their season with three wins from next four games, and have since continued to collect points both home and away.

After beating Queens Park Rangers and Newcastle at home, Norwich brought points from away games against Everton and Wolverhampton, once again proving that they shouldn’t be underestimated.

With 21 points already on the board, Paul Lambert’s side will be under no pressure when they host in-form Tottenham, which should result in another solid display. Backing both teams to score at 1.67 (2/3) offered by 888sport looks like the best bet here.

Defender Kyle Naughton is suspended, whereas Elliott Ward and James Vaughan remain sidelined. Former Man Utd defender Richie De Laet could return.

Probable starting line-up (4-4-2): Ruddy – De Laet, Martin, Whitbread, Tierney – Crofts, Fox, Hoolahan, Surman – Holt, Morison.

Tottenham players and staff had every reason to enjoy their holidays following some impressive displays in the first part of the season, but they cannot afford to relax just yet as the games are coming thick and fast.

Spurs were not at their best in the London derby against Chelsea, but they, nonetheless, managed to cause resurgent Blues a lot of problems and ended up taking one point that helped them stay above their rivals in the Premier League standings.

Seeing that both Liverpool and Arsenal have done really well lately and that they are slowly closing the gap behind Tottenham, Harry Redknapp’s men have got to try and beat high-flying Norwich at their Carrow Road.

Taking into account that Spurs have already won five Premier League games on the travels, it is no wonder that Paddy Power pays just 1.83 (5/6) on away win.

Rafael van der Vaart is back to the side after recovering from a hamstring injury, but Jermain Defoe and Younes Kaboul are injury doubts.

Ledley King is likely to be rested after playing two games in five days, but Michael Dawson, Tom Huddlestone and Aaron Lennon remain sidelined.

Probable starting line-up (4-4-1-1): Friedel – Walker, Gallas, Kaboul, Assou-Ekotto – Modric, Sandro, Parker, Bale – Van der Vaart – Adebayor.

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