PREVIEW: Sky Blues Host Norwich City Tonight

City battle the Canaries for the third time this season...

17 February 2021

The Sky Blues host league leaders Norwich City at St Andrew’s on Wednesday evening. Here’s everything you need to know about our opponents.

Fact file

Name: Norwich City

Founded: 1902

Stadium: Carrow Road (first opened 1935)

Capacity: 27,359

Nickname: The Canaries

Address: Carrow Road, Norwich, NR1 1JE

Pitch Size: 115 x 74 yards

Carrow Road.jpg

The Opposition

Norwich are currently top of the Championship table, one point clear of their nearest challengers as they look to secure an immediate return to the Premier League.

The Canaries top scorer is Teemu Pukki who has found the net on 13 occasions this season whilst Emiliano Buendia has scored eight goals and provided seven assists.

The Norfolk club have lost just one of their last eight league matches and ended a three-game winless run with a confidence boosting 4-1 victory against Stoke City at the weekend.

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Manager

Daniel Farke was appointed as Norwich head coach in May 2017, arriving from Borussia Dortmund’s second team.

He began his managerial career with SV Lippstadt, spending six years with the non-league side, taking them from the sixth tier to the fourth tier of German football.

The 44-year-old then spent two seasons in charge of Borussia Dortmund’s reserve side before being appointed as Norwich manager ahead of the 2017/18 campaign.

He led the club to a 14^th place finish in his first season in charge before storming to the Championship title in 2018/19, guiding Norwich back into the Premier League for the first time in three seasons.

The Canaries were relegated back to the Championship after just one season in the top-flight but look well-placed to make an immediate return to the Premier League as we head towards the business end of the campaign.

With Norwich, Farke has managed 178 matches recording 73 wins, 44 draws and 61 defeats.

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Last Six Games

Won – Norwich 4-1 Stoke (Sky Bet Championship)

Lost – Swansea 2-0 Norwich (Sky Bet Championship)

Drew – Millwall 0-0 Norwich (Sky Bet Championship)

Drew – Norwich 0-0 Middlesbrough (Sky Bet Championship)

Lost – Barnsley 1-0 Norwich (Emirates FA Cup)

Won – Norwich 2-0 Bristol City (Sky Bet Championship)

Last Meeting vs Norwich City.jpg

Last Time We Met

The two sides last met in this year’s Emirates FA Cup with the Sky Blues suffering a 2-0 defeat to the Canaries in the third round of the competition at Carrow Road.

Early goals from Kenny McLean and Jordan Hugill proved the difference between the two sides as City couldn’t find a way past young Norwich keeper Daniel Barden.

The Canaries stopper made smart saves to deny Callum O’Hare, Max Biamou and Will Bapaga in a frustrating lunchtime affair for Mark Robins side.

Norwich striker Teemu Pukki almost added a third goal in the second-half when his effort came back off the left-hand post as City exited the FA Cup at the third round stage.

Head-to-Head Record

Sky Blues Wins – 54

Draws – 35

Norwich Wins – 34

Club Connections

Youssef Safri

Former Morocco international Youssef Safri spent three seasons with the Sky Blues before departing for Norwich to play in the Premier League.

Safri began his career with hometown side Raja Casablanca in his native Morocco, winning four league titles, the African Champions League and CAF Super Cup during his time with the club.

He signed for the Sky Blues in 2001, following in the footsteps of compatriots Mustapha Hadji and Youssef Chippo who had enjoyed great success at Highfield Road.

The midfielder made 98 appearances for City scoring once in a league game against Sheffield Wednesday before departing for Premier League bound Norwich in the summer of 2004, having finished as a runner-up at the Africa Cup of Nations with Morocco that same year.

Safri proved a popular figure at Carrow Road, scoring a memorable goal against Newcastle United from 40-yards out during his one season in the top-flight.

After three years in Norfolk, Safri joined Southampton in August 2007 and spent one season at St Mary’s before moving to Qatari side Qatar Sports Club where he finished his playing career.

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Leon McKenzie

Former Sky Blues and Norwich forward Leon McKenzie represented both clubs for three seasons before later becoming a professional boxer.

McKenzie began his career with Crystal Palace and spent time on loan at Fulham and Peterborough United, enjoying a fruitful temporary spell with the latter, which resulted in a permanent move to the Posh in 2000, after five years at Selhurst Park.

The 42-year-old impressed at London Road over the next three seasons, netting 46 goals in 90 league appearances which secured him a move to Norwich in December 2003.

The forward endeared himself to the Canaries faithful by scoring twice against local rivals Ipswich Town on his debut, helping the club win the First Division title and achieve promotion to the Premier League in his first season at Carrow Road.

He would spend three seasons with the club, scoring seven goals in the top-flight which included strikes against both Manchester clubs and Chelsea, before signing for the Sky Blues in August 2006.

McKenzie made 67 appearances for City over the next three seasons, scoring 14 goals, which included scoring his 100^th career goal which ironically came against the Canaries.

He had short stints with Charlton Athletic and Northampton Town following his spell with the Sky Blues, before finishing his career in non-league football with Kettering Town and Corby Town.

Following his retirement from football, McKenzie became a professional boxer, debuting in June 2013 and won eight of his first nine bouts at super-middleweight, before suffering back-to-back losses, the last of which came in September 2017, which brought an end to his boxing career.

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Match Officials

Jarred Gillett will be the man in the middle on Wednesday evening, taking charge of his 20^th game of the 2020/21 season.

He last refereed the Sky Blues on Boxing Day when City played out a goalless draw with Stoke City at St Andrew’s.

This will be Gillett’s third season as a Football League referee, having moved to the United Kingdom from Australia during the 2018/19 campaign, and he has officiated the Sky Blues on two previous occasions, with City winning zero, drawing one and losing one of those matches.

So far, Gillett has awarded 63 yellow cards and two red cards across 19 matches in the Championship, League One and Carabao Cup.

He will be assisted by Paul Hodskinson and Phillip Dermott with Leigh Doughty acting as fourth official.

Match Previews

Match Reports

REPORT: Sky Blues 0-2 Norwich City

City were beaten by two first-half goals on Wednesday night...

17 February 2021

The Sky Blues were beaten 2-0 by Championship league leaders Norwich City on Wednesday night at St Andrew’s.

First-half goals from Teemu Pukki and Emiliano Buendia condemned City to defeat despite creating some good openings in the second period.

City will now turn their attention to Saturday’s clash against promotion hopefuls Brentford as their tough run of fixtures continues.

Mark Robins made four changes to the side beaten by Cardiff City last weekend with Ben Wilson, Kyle McFadzean, Jordan Shipley and Tyler Walker all returning to the starting line-up.

The visitors created the first opening of the game when Pukki ran through on goal before attempting to square the ball to Todd Cantwell only for his pass to go behind the midfielder with the goal at his mercy.

City almost took the lead midway through the first period when Julien Dacosta’s cross from the right was headed over the bar by Callum O’Hare from close range, under pressure from a Norwich defender.

Norwich took the lead on 29 minutes when Pukki was played through by Emiliano Buendia before calmly rolling the ball into the bottom left corner.

The Canaries looked to add to their lead when Dimitris Giannoulis tried his luck from the left-hand side of the penalty area flashing an effort wide of the post.

The onslaught continued when a corner from the right was met by the head of Grant Hanley whose powerful effort was superbly saved by Ben Wilson.

City then cleared the ball off their own goal line with Shipley heading the ball to safety after Wilson had taken the sting out of Pukki’s initial effort.

Norwich doubled their lead in first-half injury-time when Pukki took the ball off McFadzean before selflessly squaring for Buendia to finish into an open goal.

HALF-TIME: SKY BLUES 0-2 NORWICH CITY

Robins made a double change at the interval with Leo Ostigard and Max Biamou replacing Michael Rose and Jamie Allen.

City sparked into life just before the hour mark when Dacosta played an excellent ball into the path of Callum O’Hare who took a superb touch before seeing his effort smothered behind by Tim Krul.

The Sky Blues came close again when Josh Pask’s cross was cleared to the edge of the penalty area and brought down by Gus Hamer who fired a venomous effort inches past the left-hand post.

The midfielder went on a mazy dribble minutes later dribbling past several players before seeing his low effort held by Krul.

City continued to search for a way back into the game when Shipley delivered an excellent cross from the left that found Pask at the back post with Krul equal to the defender’s header.

Norwich tried to kill the game off when Cantwell spotted the run of Max Aarons at the back post only for Wilson to make a smart save to deny the right-back from close range.

Sky Blues captain Liam Kelly made his comeback from injury when he was introduced for the final 10 minutes as City couldn’t find a way past Krul in the Norwich goal.

FULL-TIME: SKY BLUES 0-2 NORWICH CITY

Goals: Pukki (29’), Buendia (45’+1)

Yellows: Dacosta (4’), Hanley (17’), Gibson (70’), Cantwell (84’)

Sky Blues XI: Ben Wilson (GK), Julian Dacosta (Pask 58’), Kyle McFadzean (C), Dom Hyam, Michael Rose (Ostigard 46’), Jordan Shipley, Matty James (Kelly 78’), Jamie Allen (Biamou 46’), Gustavo Hamer, Callum O’Hare, Tyler Walker (Gyokeres 63’)

Unused Subs: Marko Marosi (GK), Ben Sheaf, Will Bapaga, Amadou Bakayoko

Norwich City XI: Tim Krul (GK), Max Aarons, Grant Hanley (C), Ben Gibson, Dimitris Giannoulis, Oliver Skipp (Tettey 90’+3), Kenny McLean, Emiliano Buendia (Zimmermann 87’), Mario Vrancic (Dowell 69’), Todd Cantwell (Rupp 87’), Teemu Pukki (Idah 90’+2)

Unused Subs: Daniel Barden (GK), Xavi Quintilla, Jacob Sorensen, Onel Hernandez