Statistical Preview: Norwich vs West Brom

Norwich need to bounce back from their 3-0 defeat away at Swansea last weekend.  The Canaries are currently 15^th in the Premier League but a win against West Brom this weekend could see them go 12^th.  Hughton’s men have won just 1 of their last 4 games and will relish the opportunity to damage West Brom’s chances of survival. 

Robert Snodgrass came closest to scoring for the Canaries last weekend.  The Scotland international fired a low powerful shot towards the goal only to have it cleared off the line.  He also demonstrated his attacking creative ability with 23 attacking contributions (shots on target, passes, dribbles and crosses).  The former Leeds United player is joint highest scorer for Norwich with 5 goals in 24 Premier League appearances.

Chris Hughton will be expecting his defence to make a big statement this weekend following the short work made of them by Swansea.  The EA SPORTS Player Performance Index shows that Alexander Tettey won 4 out of his 5 tackles and made 11 defensive contributions (tackles won, blocks, interceptions and clearances).  The Norwich faithful will expect Martin Olsson to step up to the mark this weekend, the Swedish defender has won an impressive 41 of 49 tackles this season giving him a tackle accuracy of 83.7%.

 The EA SPORTS Player Performance Index shows that Gary Hooper is Norwich’s most accurate player in front of goal.  The Englishman has had 19 out of a possible 30 shots on target this season; giving him a shot accuracy of 63.3%. 

West Brom will travel to Norwich somewhat disappointed with their result against Cardiff.  The Baggies were 2-0 up in under 10 minutes thanks to strikes from Amalfitano and Dorrans but they could not stop Cardiff’s spirited fight back which saw the Bluebirds fight back to make it 2-2 before heartbreakingly equalising again after Bifouma Koulossa thought he had won it for the Baggies in extra time. Nevertheless, Pepe Mel’s men made light work of Cardiff’s 5 man defense and will be confident ahead of this weekend.

Although he didn’t feature on the score sheet, Stéphane Sessegnon played a vital role in West Brom’s attacking play against Cardiff.  The EA SPORTS Player Performance Index shows that he made 25 attacking contributions (shots on target, passes, crosses and dribbles). Pepe Mel will be counting him to replicate his performance, which panicked Cardiff’s defence so convincingly.  

West Brom will be wary of Robert Snograss’ attacking threat this weekend especially from long range and set pieces.  Jonas Olson will be crucial in West Brom’s attempts to contain the Scotsman.  The Swedish defender leads the way in defence for the Baggies this season, The EA SPORTS Player Performance Index shows that he has made 323 defensive contributions (tackles won, clearances, interceptions and blocks).

Amalfitano opened the scoring for the Baggies with just 2 minutes on the clock. With 3 goals this season, he is West Brom’s second highest scorer.  The EA SPORTS Player Performance Index shows that he has had 9 out of a possible 17 shots on target this season; that’s a shot accuracy percentage of 52.9%