Norwich City host Aston Villa this weekend for the return of Premier League football at Carrow Road on Saturday (3pm KO).
The Canaries haven't played in NR1 since that historic 3-2 win over Manchester City three weeks ago, and will be looking to get back to winning ways following 2-0 defeats on the road at Burnley and Crystal Palace.
Our Match Preview includes a look at the opposition in detail, an overview of this fixture’s history, and a look at who will be the man in the middle at Carrow Road.
There are also details for Villa fans travelling to Norfolk, including security information, as well as a guide on how to follow the action for those who aren’t at the ground.
Opposition guide
Despite what the Premier League table might suggest, Aston Villa haven’t had a terrible start to the season. The least favourable statistic is that Dean Smith’s side have dropped more points than anyone else from winning positions (nine) since they were promoted back to the top-flight ahead of this season.
However, they’ve had to get into those winning positions in the first place, and in doing so they boast the second deadliest attack in the bottom seven with eight goals, second only to Norwich who have scored nine.
One man who’s been pivotal to that is the player who’s had Fantasy Premier League managers across the country licking their lips – John McGinn. The Scotsman has three goals and one assist from his first seven games in the league, and has had 21 shots on target, second only to Raheem Sterling.
The highlight of Villa’s opening seven games has to be their sole victory – a 2-0 win at home to Everton towards the end of August. McGinn didn’t score in that one, but Wesley Moraes – who has filled in well in the absence of Chelsea forward Tammy Abraham – did, alongside Anwar El Ghazi.
Last time out, Villa twice gave away a lead to draw 2-2 at home to Burnley. El Ghazi’s first half strike was cancelled out by Jay Rodriguez, before McGinn’s goal was immediately countered with Chris Wood’s.
Head-to-head
History doesn’t favour Norwich City in this fixture. It’s one Aston Villa have won on 32 of the 70 occasions, while there have been 16 draws and 22 wins for City since 1936.
Last time they met, Norwich lifted the Championship trophy, coming away from Villa Park 2-1 victors on the final day of last season thanks to goals from Teemu Pukki and Mario Vrancic. In fact, City have won each of the past three meetings between the two sides, including a memorable Carrow Road victory and Josh Murphy wondergoal in April 2018.
Ref watch
Andy Madley will be the man in the middle for Saturday afternoon’s fixture. Madley has overseen one Premier League game and three Championship games so far this season, handing out 13 yellow cards and one red card across those matches.
He was last appointed to officiate a Norwich game in April 2019 for a Championship game at home to Blackburn Rovers. City won 2-1 thanks to early goals from Marco Stiepermann and Mario Vrancic, and Madley showed four yellow cards in the match.
For this weekend’s fixture, his assistants will be Scott Ledger and Derek Eaton, with Darren Bond the fourth official. Stuart Attwell and Constantine Hatzidakis will be overseeing VAR.
Info for supporters
We have a guide for all supporters heading to Carrow Road. It has lots of information about getting to Carrow Road, prohibited items, stadium opening times and much more. Click here to view it.
Away fans now have a dedicated venue to attend prior to the match kicking off. The Waterfront, situated on King Street, has a beer garden with a licensed bar offering a range of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks, and food vendors.
Away supporters can enter the stadium from 1pm.
The Junior Canaries Family FanZone returns this weekend. For more details, click here. Junior Canaries will have the opportunity to meet Norwich City legends Darren Huckerby, Adam Drury and Jeremy Goss at the members-only area at the Family FanZone. Click here for more details.
Please note that the majority of kiosks in the stadium this season have contactless-only tills. In the away end, the left-hand lanes of kiosks are contactless-only.
How to follow
The match will not be broadcast live in the UK but fans can watch highlights on the Norwich City YouTube channel 48 hours after the final whistle.
We will be running regular updates on our Twitter account, including reaction after the final whistle.
There will also be a minute-by-minute live match blog on canaries.co.uk and you can also receive updates on our Instagram and Facebook pages.
Canary fans can also sign up to the Norwich City WhatsApp group to receive the starting line-up ahead of the game sent straight to your phone, as well as the half-time and full-time score and game highlights. Click HERE to sign up.