West Ham faces a sharp turnaround with a midweek clash against relegation candidates Norwich City in the Premier League. The Hammers did do the double over the Canaries in the 2019/20 season. Prior to that, they had struggled to take all three points against Norwich, with six draws in the previous ten meetings between the two sides.
Norwich City has an awful record when traveling to face West Ham. Their last away victory over the Irons came in the late 1980s. Their last victory of any kind against West Ham came in 2013 by a 3-1 margin at Carrow Road.
West Ham vs Norwich FYIs:
Kick-off time: 7:45 PM GMT, 12lth January 2022
Team News: go here
Premier League Podcast: go here
Form Guide (All Competitions): West Ham (LLWWW) Norwich (LLLLW)
I am not afraid to say I was wildly off-base with my starting xi prediction for the Hammers in their FA Cup clash. David Moyes surprised me by going almost full strength against Leeds.
Let’s see if my crystal ball can help me redeem myself here as we predict the Hammers starting XI for this one.
Lukasz Fabianski will receive the goalkeeper’s gloves. He got a well-deserved rest in the FA Cup and should be raring to go come kick-off against Norwich City.
The full-back positions will get a refresh also following the FA Cup victory over Leeds. I am predicting a Vladimir Coufal return from illness to fill the right-back slot. At left-back, I think Ben Johnson gets a rest, opening the door for Arthur Masuaku to play in his preferred position.
The center backs will be Craig Dawson and Issa Diop. The defensive midfield pivot will be the world-class pairing of Declan Rice and Tomas Soucek. The Czech and the Englishman seem to be getting back to their best form after a minor dip in December. When they are at their best, there are not too many duos better than them.
Just ahead of those two will be Pablo Fornals as he returns from COVID-19. He has had a torrid time of things lately with poor form and COVID. I am sure he will want to put that behind him with a virtuoso performance from the middle of the park against Norwich.
Jarrod Bowen continues on the right of the Hammers’ attack. He is having a career-best season this year. On the left of the attack, I am going to put Manuel Lanzini.
The Argentine has been in dominant form since forcing his way back into the first eleven, so I couldn’t leave him out.
In the number 9 role will be Michail Antonio. Another who is having a career-best season. You’d be a brave man to back him not to score here.
West Ham seems to have things back on track after a mid-season blip in form. I expect them to record an easy home victory against Norwich City.