CHAMPIONSHIP specialist Vince Blissett (@Vince_RFC) shares his verdict from Wednesday night's clash between Huddersfield and Norwich.
Huddersfield v Norwich | Wednesday 19:45
Huddersfield conceded a 96th minute winner to Burton on Saturday to all but end their hopes of automatic promotion.
With the game goalless Dean Whitehead saw his second yellow card on 88 minutes; the Terriers went all out for the win and Burton took advantage, countering from a corner to take the points.
Wagner critical
David Wagner was critical of his team afterwards, especially in their attempts to breakdown a defensive Burton. He also gave his view on the tactics employed by Nigel Clough and other visiting teams; basically he doesn’t like it.
What he expects opposition teams at the wrong end of the table to do I don’t know. They’re tactics he’ll need to learn if they do go up though because they aren’t good enough to play open expansive football in the Premier League.
After losses to relegation threatened sides either side of the international break the Terriers need to start picking up points and form again quickly if they want to get promoted.
Canaries rebuilding
Norwich spent most of the mid-part of the season backing Alex Neil to turn things around, even when fans were calling for his head. He was finally given his marching orders nearly a month ago now with a play-off spot still an unlikely possibility.
It appears that the board took the realistic viewpoint that it wasn’t going to happen and have taken the last portion of the season to rebuild. They’ve yet to appoint a new full-time manager instead opting to restructure the upper management first.
Fans appear to be happy with the route the club are going about their business with a rebuild starting from the top down. In the long-term they may reap the benefits of doing so.
Stats against the visitors
The Canaries have yet to beat any of the eight teams above them in the league this season and with six of their last seven games coming against teams above them, things may get worse before the seasons out.
One plus point is the form at Carrow Road and 12 wins and two draws from 14 against teams below them in the league. Obviously this game is away and also against a team above them in the league so the stats are already against them.
Add in the fact that Norwich have only won four games away from home all season and it’s tempting to just back Huddersfield. They on the other hand have lost just four at home this season.
The betting angle
It’s a tough game to call to be honest. Logic says that a home win seems the obvious outcome but I can’t quite be confident enough in Huddersfield considering their last two performances. Instead I’m siding with goals.
The home side have scored in all but two of their home games whilst conceding in 13. Norwich are also typically a team that likes goals. Twenty-six of their games have seen Over 2.5 Goals and in 25 Both Teams To Score has landed.
BTTS hasn’t landed in either teams last two matches but I’m backing that to change in this one. Over 2.5 Goals has been chalked up at evens but I want to play slightly safer with Both Teams To Score at 4/5 with BetStars.
Best Bets
Huddersfield v Norwich – Both Teams To Score (4/5 BetStars)
