England Premier League
Saturday 16th April 2022
Kick off at 3pm BST
Venue: Old Trafford
Match Preview:
Manchester United have the slimmest of hopes for a top four finish this season but some will be writing the club off already as they slumped to their 8th defeat of the season away to Everton last weekend. For Ralf Rangnick’s side it was an incredibly poor performance in a match that finished 1-0 as they were facing a relegation threatened side and added more woes to United’s season.
Perhaps United’s Achilles heel this season has been the amount of draws they have churned out with 9 so far and the fact that the club cannot find consistency means they come into this game in 7th place. The hard reality is that United are six points adrift of Tottenham with the same games played and it is just one victory in their last five.
At home Rangnick’s side have won just 50% of their games and that simply isn’t good enough for a club whose objectives are to finish in the top four. However the club has only lost 1 game at home from their last ten played.
Norwich surprised many last weekend as the bottom club beat Burnley 2-0 to win just their 5th game of the season. It was a match that Burnley really needed to win but the Canaries who look certain to go down clearly have not given up the fight just yet. Dean Smith’s side are seven points from safety which is really eight given their goal difference and there are just 21 points left to play for. The writing seems firmly on the wall for the Canaries but it will be interesting to see how they finish the season and let’s not forget the club come into this game undefeated in their last two.
Away from home Norwich have earned just nine points from a possible 45 and 1 point from their last 12 on offer. We would have to go back to the end of January for when the Canaries last won on the road.
Team News:
Manchester United: Edinson Cavani is out for the next two weeks at least with a calf injury. Fred will be assessed after picking up a hip injury. Scott McTominay looks like he will miss another game due to his foot injury. Luke Shaw is out for the next 2 weeks with a leg injury. Raphael Varane has a knock and will be assessed but for now remains a doubt.
Norwich: Billy Gilmour is touch and go to return for this game after illness and will be assessed. Joshua Sargent is only 50/50 to return with an ankle injury.
Man Utd vs Norwich Head to Head:
The last time the clubs met here in the league was in 2020 and Manchester United won 4-0.
Earlier in the season in the reverse fixture Manchester United won 1-0.
Manchester United have won the last 5 meetings in a row with the last victory for Norwich coming back in 2015.
Man Utd vs Norwich Prediction:
Everyone is expecting to see some kind of positive reaction from Manchester United. But before a ball is kicked a fan group are organising a major protest against the owners of the club. There is reported unrest from Bruno Fernandes with fans questioning why he has been allowed to sign a new lengthy contract and while the fans will always love Cristiano Ronaldo some are questioning whether his signing was really needed. There is a lot of unrest ahead of this game and only a good performance with plenty of goals will calm down the storm. United are not any value here with some quotes of them winning as low as 1.25 but how many times have they let themselves down this season?
Ultimately we will either see a big score with some great goals from United or a surprise draw, they shouldn’t be so poor as to lose this game and of course they are still fighting for a European place. Norwich are fighting for survival of course but this will be an incredibly difficult game for the Canaries even if they face a team with many problems. United have a fantastic record over Norwich, it should continue but not many people will be able to back the home win at those odds on prices especially not a team as unpredictable as United.
Man Utd vs Norwich Betting Tips:
Handicap: Manchester United to beat Norwich with a -1 goal start at 1.66
Anytime goalscorer: Cristiano Ronaldo at 1.62
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