Saturday 29th September 2012
Carrow Road
Carrow Road
Norwich VS Liverpool
Every season there are games of varying importance that mean more than just the three points. Fixtures in which the ends will justify the means to an infinite degree. Almost all of the time, they're encounters between ourselves and the top four. Today marks that rare occasion when a game means so much more to us than it does to them. Whatever happens today will not define Norwich City's season. Failing to get the three points would go a long way to putting a massive stain against ours.
Along with Brendan Rodgers at Swansea, Norwich and Paul Lambert last year breathed fresh air into the bottom half of the Premier League. With the former Borissia Dormund man having moved on to Aston Villa, the Canaries are having to go through a season of consolidation and are struggling a little in their second season. Having been turned over by QPR on the opening day of the season will have done a lot to damage the confidence new manager Chris Hughton was trying to implement and they have yet - along with ourselves - to register a victory. For either side getting the victory today would mark a massive result.
Because of those that hurt and absent through suspension, as far as Brendan Rodgers' selection goes there aren't many choices he has to make. It's pleasantly surprising to have potentially both Daniel Agger and Fabio Borini as options with their respective injuries not as bad as first feared but it's more than likely that they will be given the chance to fully recuperate. Hopefully Sebastián Coates will start in place of Agger should the Dane not make it, with the only other defensive dilemma being whether to start Andre Wisdom on the right or Jack Robinson on the left. All of that depends on whether Rodgers - being without the stability of Martin Kelly - will want to play Glen Johnson in his preferred position. Johnson is one of our best avenues of opening a team up and we're going to need him a his very best today.
Offensively, there's been a lot of hype surrounding Ousamma Assaidi after his impressive performances against both Young Boys and West Brom, with the thought being that he could start alongside Suarez and Sterling. Personally - and I think this may be the way Rodgers' goes with it - I'd much rather have him on the bench and start with Suso, given that we're very light on players that can change the game from the bench. It sounds bizzare given the fact that Suso has come on twice and we've scored immediately but I think Assaidi would be better suited to the role of impact sub. Also it's just reward for the eighteen year old Spaniard who has done remarkably well since his step up into the first team.
Winning games makes everything better. With progression in the League Cup sealed on Wednesday by a Nuri Sahin double, suddenly our midfield three looks rather formidable. Both Sahin and Gerrard have stood out in recent games, along with Joe Allen who never seems to misplace a pass. It's in this area of the pitch which we'll have to show our superiority and assert ourselves on the Norwich midfield. They'll also have to do well in supporting our front three regardless of who plays because without a real form striker it's going to be vital that we get goals from midfield.
Having been a tough start to the season for both teams, it could be a game that takes a long time in getting going. Certainly Hughton will be weary of opening his team up too early as we're - in spite of our poor points return - capable of taking to a team that plays like that. Encouragingly for Norwich, we seem incapable of keeping a clean sheet as of late and Grant Holt could quite easily have a similar impact on the game that Steven Fletcher had when we played Sunderland. He's their main threat but they also have decent support in the form of Surman, Pilkington and Hoolahan. The difference in quality favours us immensely, even with those we won't be able to call upon but in football that doesn't count for much if we don't approach the game in a professional manner. So many times this season we've played well and gotten nothing to show for it. Today may be one of those occasions where we Brendan Rodgers will be happy for the reverse.
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