Premier League Week 4-Preview and prediction (Norwich v West Ham)

With the recent international games the Premier League has been on a bit of a hiatus though returns this weekend as Norwich host West Ham in the early kick off. Whilst it's not a headline game it will likely be seen as a huge 6 pointer with both teams expected to be battling relegation and one that is almost certainly worth some interest from football fans.

Whilst expectation at Norwich was low, following the loss of manager Paul Lambert (who went to Villa) it's fair to say that the Canaries haven't actually done that badly. Whilst they were slaughtered on the opening day (losing 5-0 at Fulham) they have held their own with both QPR and most recently Tottenham (drawing both of those games 1-1) as they have earned both their first home and away points of the season.

Despite having conceded 7 goals so far this season Norwich's big problem seems to be up front where they lack a true goal scorer, instead having an attack built up of various threats as opposed to an out and out threat. The likes of Grant Holt will bag goals but will struggle to find the target on a regular basis however Robert Snodgrass (who looked sensational in his last match for the club) will create chances for the attacking line.

With Chris Hughton looking to hit the ground running following the internationals Norwich could pose a threat here, but only if they can get in the goals against a West Ham team that look unwilling to give many away (with only Swansea having scored against West Ham this season). This is the problem, Norwich can't score and West Ham don't really concede, in Norwich win it'll only be by a single goal.

Last year Norwich were very average at home, but they were an average team. Their Premier League position of 12th overall was a solid mid-table finish and their home form was reflective of that with 27 home points from their 19 home games (surprisingly the same as Liverpool).

Last time out (a fortnight ago!) West Ham looked excellent in defeating Fulham 3-0 with the Fulham defensive lining looking completely unable to cope with the West Ham attack. Sadly however the forefront of that attack was Andy Carroll who will be absent (due to injury) from this game leaving the West Ham attack looking like a bit of a rag-tag collection. Whilst Kevin Nolan will get goals he's not a pure goal scorer, Ricardo Vaz Te has goals in him but seems to lack Premier League class and Carlton Cole is a joke even amongst West Ham fans. The loss of Carroll (after just 1 game) is genuinely huge.

At the back West Ham have been solid conceding just 3 goals so far this season (in 3 Premier League games) though notably all 3 goals came in their only previous away fixture. This is a stark contract to their form last season where defensively they were rock solid away from home (conceding just 22 away goals in 23 games) and slightly less secure at home (29 goals conceded). If we were to look at last season's numbers however we'd have to favour West Ham here on the back of 13 away wins however was that in the championship, not in the Premier League.

Whilst there is Premier League quality running through the West Ham squad there are questions about the depth of the squad and the absence of Carroll really does bring that issue up. Players like Nolan, Matt Jarvis and Yossi Benayoun can all grab goals and show sparks of something extra but the squad looks like it's only ever going to be 2 injuries away from a crisis.

Kick-Off: 12:45
Prediction: 1-1

Expected Line Ups:

Norwich-Ruddy, Bassong, Garrido, R.Martin, Barnett, Johnson, Howson, Snodgrass, Holt, Morrison (4-4-2)

West Ham-
Jääskeläinen, Demel, Reid, Collins, Tomkins, Diamé, Benayoun, Nolan, Vaz Te, Taylor, Cole (4-3-3)


Notes:Norwich have the same amount of points (2) as they had after the same amount of games (3) last season.
West Ham have only lost 2 of their last 24 competitive fixtures (one of those being their 3-0 loss to Swansea)

Players to watch out for-
Norwich:
Robert Snodgrass-Talented Scot Robert Snodgrass looked very out of sorts on the opening day of the season though has looked like the key to everything Norwich have done in their most recent Premier League matches. He looks like he's going to be the driving force going forward for the Canaries and whilst he may not be an out and out goalscorer himself he will create chances for others as well as bagging a fair few himself. He really is the key to the attack.
John Ruddy-Goalkeeper John Rudd started the season with a nightmare at Fulham however he has been very good since then. Whilst he hasn't kept a clean sheet this season he's a very under-rated keeper and is doing a fine job behind a weak defense. He may not have a lot to do here, but he will need to keep his concentration.

West Ham:
Kevin Nolan-The West Ham Captain is their key player and most of what they do goes through him. Nolan is the driving force behind West Ham so the Norwich defense and Midfield will look to keep Nolan from exerting his force on the game. Whilst he's the West Ham Midfield general he's also a threat in front of goal and has already bagged himself some goals this season and will be high on confidence going into this match.
Matt Jarvis-The former Wolves Winger Matt Jarvis has that level of of class that sees him not only able to open up the defense but also create a shed load of chances. Whilst Andy Carroll will be missing Jarvis will be able to look up and find either Carlton Cole or Kevin Nolan in the penalty area giving him some solid targets to aim for in attack.