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PRE-MATCH BRIEFING: NORWICH CITY V CHELSEA

TACTICAL BRIEF
With five-goal hauls in successive second halves Chelsea are in excellent goalscoring form, but Norwich were on an impressive run before last weekend.

Key battles
Norwich manager Chris Hughton will urge his team to press Chelsea more urgently than Lambert's Villa managed on Sunday afternoon. The Blues showed again that there are plenty of players who can exploit those conducive conditions. Lucas Piazón managed a threaded pass and excellent assistance on a goal within minutes of coming on as a sub for his Premier League debut.

The new midfield pairing of Frank Lampard and David Luiz also excelled, with both deep-lying midfielders scoring from outside the box. Ramires and Mikel are also available again.

Fernando Torres's crucial opening strike against Villa was his 14th goal of the season and his seventh goal in six games. Back in October Chris Hughton was concerned about his side's defending after they conceded four at the Bridge.

Chelsea v Norwich


Their recent 10-match unbeaten run (including a win over Manchester United) was testament to the improvements he has made in that department.

Former Leeds marksman Robert Snodgrass and Anthony Pilkington are goal threats that the visitors sill have to be wary of. It is being suggested that Grant Holt, 31, will have recovered from a hamstring injury and will return in place of fellow heavyweight, Steve Morison.

Chelsea could retain the physical Gary Cahill and Branislav Ivanovic as the centre-back pairing to counter his threat.

Scotland full-back Steven Whittaker limped out of the WBA game, with international teammate Russell Martin a possible replacement.


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PRE-MATCH BRIEFING: NORWICH CITY V CHELSEA

CHELSEA STATS
Having scored one goal in four matches in the last two weeks of November, we have scored 25 goals in our last six games.

West Ham was the only occasion this season, out of 11, we have opened the scoring in the Premier League and went on to lose the game.

Only Stoke, with nine, have kept more clean sheets than Chelsea's seven.

The Blues are eight points better off compared to the corresponding 17 games last season.

Last six results
Dec 5 FC Nordsjaelland (Champions League h) W 6-1
Dec 8 Sunderland (a) W 3-1
Dec 13 Monterrey (Club World Cup SF, Japan) W 3-1
Dec 16 Corinthians (Club World Cup final, Japan) L 0-1
Dec 19 Leeds (League Cup QF a) W 5-1
Dec 23 Aston Villa (h) W 8-0



Premier League scorers
Torres 7, Mata 6, E Hazard 4 (1 pen), Ivanovic 4, Lampard 4 (2 pens), Ramires 3, Cahill 2, Cole 1, D Luiz 1, Moses 1, Oscar 1, Sturridge 1, Terry 1. Total 36


League games since
An away win: 0
An away draw: 3
An away defeat: 1


Chelsea's next three games
Sun 30 Dec Everton away 1.30pm
Wed 2 Jan Queens Park Rangers home 7.45pm
Sat 5 Jan Southampton (FA Cup) away 3pm

 

MILESTONES
Having surpassed Bobby Tambling on Sunday to become our all-time top league scorer in top-flight matches (with 130), Frank Lampard now requires three goals to equal our second highest scorer in all competitions Kerry Dixon with 193.

If selected, Juan Mata will make his 50th Premier League appearance.


NORWICH STATS
Formed 1902

Major trophies
2 League Cups in 1962 and 1985.

Norwich's highest league finish was in the Premier League in 1992/93 when they finished third behind champions Manchester United and runners-up Aston Villa.

The Canaries have won their last five Premier League games at Carrow Road against Arsenal, Stoke, Manchester United, Sunderland and Wigan. This equals their best ever home run in the top flight.

Their last defeat was 5-2 against Liverpool on 29 September.

Norwich have failed to win any of the seven league games their opposition opened the scoring.

Norwich's 10-match unbeaten run that ended at West Brom was only bettered by Barcelona when measured against the top five major leagues in Europe. It was their longest top-flight run since 1987.


Manager Chris Hughton
Days in charge: 202
Played 22
Won 9
Drawn 7
Lost 6


Norwich's last 10 year league history

Pts Pos Division Level
2002/03 69 8th League Division One 2
2003/04 94 1st League Division One 2
2004/05 33 19th Premier League 1
2005/06 62 9th Championship 2
2006/07 57 16th Championship 2
2007/08 55 17th Championship 2
2008/09 46 22nd Championship 2
2009/10 95 1st League One 3
2010/11 84 2nd Championship 2
2011/12 47 12th Premier League 1



LAST BARCLAYS PREMIER LEAGUE LINE UP
West Bromwich Albion 2 - 1 Norwich City
Saturday 22 December 2012
Attendance 25,799
Norwich Bunn; Whittaker, Turner, Bassong, Garrido; Snodgrass, Tettey, Johnson, Pilkington; Hoolahan (c); Morison.
Substitutes R Martin for Whittaker (55), Howson for Hoolahan (73), Jackson for Tettey 86)
Booked Turner
Scorer Snodgrass (22)


Last six results
Nov 28 Southampton (a) D 1-1
Dec 2 Sunderland (h) W 2-1
Dec 8 Swansea (a) W 4-3
Dec 11 Aston Villa (League Cup h) L 1-4
Dec 15 Wigan (h) W 2-1
Dec 22 West Brom (a) L 1-2

 

2012/13 Premier League scorers
Holt 4, Snodgrass 4, Bassong 3, Pilkington 3, Hoolahan 1, Jackson 1, Johnson 1, Morison 1, Turner 1, Whittaker 1. Total 20.

 

League games since
A home win: 0
A home draw: 6
A home defeat: 5


THE MAN IN THE MIDDLE
Jonathan Moss is refereeing his first Chelsea match.


OTHERWISE ENGAGED
There are no suspensions.

John Mikel Obi is one yellow card away from a one-match domestic suspension. He is on four bookings.

From 1 January onwards, a player will need 10 yellow cards before he is handed a suspension (five yellows will lead to a warning as to his future conduct rather than a ban). Whereas the suspension for five yellows before 31 December is one game in length, suspension for 10 yellows is two matches although that only applies until the second Sunday in April.

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