Manchester City vs Norwich City

Manchester City will be looking to bounce back from a slow start to the new Premier League season when they take on newly-promoted Norwich City at the Etihad Stadium.

Manchester City’s defending Premier League season was off to a sluggish start as they went down 1-0 at Tottenham Hotspur on Matchday 1. Desperate to erase the memory of a disastrous 5-2 home defeat to Leicester City in their 2020/21 curtain-raiser, the ‘Citizens’ are looking to avoid losing back-to-back home league openers for the first time since 1988/89 and 1989/90. That, coupled with a run of three reverses in their final five home Premier League outings in 2020/21 (W2), suggests the pressure is on Pep Guardiola to navigate his side to victory here. Norwich’s arrival at the Etihad looks to be a blessing, considering the reigning champions have won each of their last three top-flight H2Hs as hosts by an aggregate scoreline of 14-1, including a 5-0 thumping in their most recent such encounter in July 2020.

Meanwhile, Norwich marked their top-flight return with a dreadful 3-0 home defeat to Liverpool, fueling a widespread opinion that they are the likeliest candidates to suffer relegation this term. Another disappointing weekend is well on the horizon, with Norwich picking up just two victories in their last 31 meetings with Man City in all competitions (D7, L22), courtesy of a 2-1 win in September 1997 and a 3-2 triumph in May 2013. Alarmingly, the ‘Canaries’ have lost each of their last 11 away Premier League fixtures and are on course of matching Sunderland’s unwanted record of 20 consecutive top-flight defeats on the road. Additionally, Daniel Farke’s side drew a blank ten times during that 11-game spell, with the solitary strike courtesy of a 2-1 defeat to fellow newcomers Watford.