By Daniel Ghorbal
Norwich City. 3pm. Anfield.
Neutrals across the country would describe this one is a banker in favour of Liverpool, but a resurgent Canaries will almost certainly make their hosts work hard for the victory this weekend. By the time influential former manager and well respected man Daniel Farke was relieved of his duties, many had written Norwich off in their quest for top flight sustainability, but a bounce from new man Dean Smith paired alongside some important recent results means that they are currently sitting just four points from 17th, a position the Carrow Road faithful will have ultimately taken given their catastrophic start to the campaign.
Having passed the Championship test with flying colours once again, the mood around Norwich heading into the season wasn’t as positive as it should’ve been supposing the dominance of their title win. Somewhat down to the sale of Emiliano Buendia to Aston Villa, the club failed to properly replace their talismanic Argentine, instead opting for three or four bodies in the squad.
The likes of Milot Rashica, Josh Sargent and Pierre Lees-Melou have failed to hit the ground running in the English top flight, leaving Norwich in a situation where goals are at a premium. This coupled up with a leaky defence resulted in desperate performances on a weekly basis, with many labelling them as the worst side to ever grace the league. Credit has to go to Dean Smith for the way he has restored parity in the club, and with 13 games still remaining, they have every chance of staging a dramatic survival.
A trip to Anfield is never easy for a relegation battling side, especially when they face Liverpool in the form they are in. Klopp’s side are dealing with difficult challenges on a weekly basis it seems, whether it’s a dogged affair at Turf Moor, a battling tie in the San Siro or a home game against a low block side, which is what this will ultimately be.
Despite Norwich’s improved attacking prowess as of late, Dean Smith has enough experience and nous in management to appreciate the quality of his opposition and realise that going at Liverpool could be a self-destructing game plan. Despite the ultimately convincing 4-0 defeat at home to Manchester City last weekend, the Canaries provided the fans with a real brave performance at stages, showing intent and causing Liverpool’s title challengers a fair few problems.
Milot Rashica looked bright throughout, whilst Teemu Pukki continues to show that his movement can trouble any defence in the league. Up against a tired Liverpool/ a team who are likely to make changes in defensive areas, it is crucial that although the obvious aim is to keep things tight, they pick and choose the right occasions to threaten. As we’ve seen in recent cup ties against Shrewsbury and Cardiff, well timed counter attacks or pouncing on mistakes is something that can happen a lot against a Klopp side, and therefore encouragement can almost certainly be found.
The schedule for Norwich has not been too kind, with back to back games against the two best sides in the country falling before another trip to Anfield in the FA cup. If Liverpool turn up and play incisive attacking football then Norwich could be in for an extremely long afternoon, but having been written off many times before, the players will simply see this as another opportunity to showcase why they are in the top flight. It is easy for fans nationally to dismiss Norwich’s integrity, but needs reminding that they are here on merit. They played superb attacking football and rightfully forced their way into this league.
Complacency can easily be the architects of Liverpool’s downfall in this one, as games against Leeds and a cup final against Chelsea loom on the horizon, but Klopp will know the challenge that is presented to his side and will get the message across that there are no easy games in the Premier League. Storm Eunice battered the country throughout Friday, and conditions today will almost certainly be adverse too. Set pieces and long balls into the Liverpool area will need to be dealt with if they are to keep another clean sheet at home. Although the schedule has been busy and tiredness may be creeping in, Liverpool’s depth and current momentum should have too much for Norwich in this one.
