Norwich City vs Manchester United

Manchester United head to Carrow Road to take on basement boys Norwich City in a seemingly must-win Premier League showdown.

Norwich’s mini-revival under new manager Dean Smith suffered a massive setback last time out. They succumbed to an embarrassing 3-0 defeat at Tottenham, halting a run of four Premier League games without a loss (W2, D2). Despite picking up some promising results, Smith has yet to spark Norwich’s attack into life, with the ‘Canaries’ heading into proceedings as the only Premier League side yet to hit double digits this term (8 goals scored). A lack of ruthlessness in front of goal has seen the newly-promoted hosts draw a blank in nine of their 15 Premier League matches to date, more scoring blanks than any other side in England’s top-flight this season. Having lost eight of their last ten Premier League meetings with Man United (W2), Norwich are understandably overwhelming pre-match outsiders.

Meanwhile, Ralf Rangnick launched his interim reign at Manchester United with a hard-fought 1-0 home win over Southampton, picking up where his predecessor Michael Carrick left off. Since parting with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in the wake of a 4-1 thumping at Watford in November, the ‘Red Devils’ have gone unbeaten in three Premier League fixtures on the trot (W2, D1), with both of those wins yielding a single-goal margin. However, following a record-breaking 29-game unbeaten league streak away from home, the visitors have suffered two defeats in their last four top-flight travels (W1, D1), conceding precisely four goals in both reverses. Though they are warm pre-match favorites, Man United cannot afford to underestimate Norwich, as they’ve failed to win any of their last four Premier League encounters against newly-promoted sides (D3, L1).