Live match preview – West Ham vs Norwich 12.01.2022

Team news, stats and prediction ahead of West Ham vs Norwich in the Premier League on Wednesday; kick-off 7.45pm.

Team news

Vladimir Coufal could return for West Ham when they host Norwich. The Czech right-back was absent for the FA Cup win over Leeds on Sunday.

Fellow defenders Kurt Zouma, Aaron Cresswell and Angelo Ogbonna are out injured and Said Benrahma is at the Africa Cup of Nations with Algeria.

West Ham provisional squad: Fabianksi, Coufal, Dawson, Diop, Johnson, Rice, Soucek, Lanzini, Vlasic, Bowen, Antonio, Areola, Fredericks, Baptiste, Masuaku, Noble, Fornals, Yarmolenko.

Norwich are missing a number of players, with Billy Gilmour the latest on the treatment table.

The Chelsea loanee sustained an ankle injury in training last week which saw him sit out the 1-0 win at Charlton on Sunday. Dean Smith was already without Christoph Zimmermann (ankle), Andrew Omobamidele (back), Lukas Rupp (hamstring), Mathias Normann (pelvis) and Jonathan Rowe (Covid-19).

A boost for the Canaries was Tim Krul, Grant Hanley, Milot Rashica and Teemu Pukki being involved in the FA Cup success and they are set to start in the capital, while Todd Cantwell will need to be assessed after a recent absence due to illness.

Norwich provisional squad: Krul, Aarons, Hanley, Gibson, Williams, Lees-Melou, Sorensen, McLean, Sargent, Pukki, Rashica, Gunn, Byram, Kabak, Giannoulis, Dowell, Cantwell, Placheta, Tzolis, Idah, McGovern.

How to follow

Follow West Ham vs Norwich in our dedicated live match blog. Highlights will also be published on the Sky Sports digital platforms and the Sky Sports Football YouTube channel shortly after full-time.

Last time out…

Jones Knows’ prediction

Backing Norwich to lose without scoring has been the staple of my betting diet over the past two months. It’s copped five games in a row, all at odds-against prices. However, timing is everything when it comes to jumping on and off a particular profitable angle and having watched the Canaries in most of those defeats, an end to their goal drought looks on the cards.

In that five-game barren run, Norwich have actually posted an expected goals figure of 4.08 which tells us that a mixture of bad finishing and a little bit of variance is to blame for their timid goals return rather than a problem with their chance creation metrics. The return of Teemu Pukki and Milot Rashica certainly will help matters. Both sprung from the bench to add much-needed quality to Norwich’s attack in the 1-0 FA Cup win over Charlton on Sunday.

I have got no interest in backing Norwich in the match results markets against such a ruthless side like West Ham but they are worth a look in the shots and goals department at the advertised prices. Both teams to score at Evens with Sky Bet looks a tad juicy to me.

West Ham are also facing a lot of shots on their goal over the past month.

Without Kurt Zouma and Angelo Ogbonna they are defending deeper than usual with Craig Dawson’s lack of pace a potential weakness, so opposition teams are finding territory easy to come by. The Hammers have faced a whopping 16 shots per 90 minutes in their last six fixtures.

Norwich’s shots line has been set at 10+ shots with Evens available with Sky Bet. Although they lack quality in the final third, Smith’s style is a forward-thinking one and they have posted 10 or more shots in all three of their away games under their new boss at Newcastle (16), Tottenham (10) and Crystal Palace (12). Combining both teams to score and Norwich to get 10 or more shots away at 4/1 should give you a great run.

SCORE PREDICTION: 2-1

BETTING ANGLE: Both teams to score and Norwich to have 10 or more shots (4/1 with Sky Bet)

Opta stats

• West Ham won home and away against Norwich in the Premier League in the 2019-20 season, having won just two of their previous 10 against the Canaries in the competition (D6 L2).
• Norwich haven’t won any of their last eight away league games against West Ham (D4 L4) since a 2-0 victory in March 1989 thanks to goals from Andy Linighan and Malcolm Allen.
• West Ham lost 2-1 at home to Brentford earlier this season – only three times before have they lost home games against more than one promoted side in a single Premier League campaign, doing so in 2002-03, 2006-07 and 2017-18.
• Norwich have won just one of their last 28 Premier League away games against London sides (D6 L21), though it did come against Brentford earlier this season. The last time the Canaries won away at two different London sides in the same top-flight campaign was in 2011-12 (vs Spurs and QPR).
• Norwich haven’t lost their first league game in any of the last eight calendar years (W5 D3), since a 2-1 defeat at West Ham in 2013.
• After a run of just one win in seven Premier League games (D2 L4), West Ham have won their last two in the competition. The Hammers have netted seven goals in these two victories, as many as they had in their previous seven league games combined.
• Norwich have netted just eight goals in their 19 league games this season. In English top-flight history, no side has netted fewer 19 matches into a single campaign, with Leicester in 1977-78 the only other side to have as few goals at this stage.
• Michail Antonio has scored five goals in his last four games against Norwich in all competitions, netting all four of West Ham’s goals in a 4-0 win at Carrow Road the last time the sides met.
• Norwich manager Dean Smith has won none of his five Premier League meetings with West Ham (D2 L3). His first game against the Hammers in the competition ended goalless, with his sides conceding one more goal than the last in each of the subsequent four meetings, losing 4-1 with Aston Villa earlier this season.
• Manuel Lanzini netted a brace in West Ham’s 3-2 win at Crystal Palace last time out, having netted just two goals in his previous 29 appearances in the competition. The Argentine is looking to score in consecutive Premier League games for the first time since April 2016.