Norwich City visit Selhurst Park this weekend for their 11th Premier League meeting with Crystal Palace on Saturday (3pm KO).
Our Match Preview includes insight from a local journalist to discuss the opposition in detail, an overview of this fixture’s history, and a look at who will be the man in the middle at Selhurst Park.
There are also details for City fans travelling to London, including security information, as well as a guide on how to follow the action for those who aren’t at the ground.
The opposition
Crystal Palace's start to the season hasn't been dissimilar to their last six years in the Premier League as a whole - stable and consistent. Palace are 12th in the standings ahead of this fixture, with two wins, two draws, and two defeats from the opening six games.
The highlight of that run was a 2-1 win against Manchester United at Old Trafford, in which Patrick Van Aanholt sent the Palace faithful into wild celebrations with his last-minute winner.
However, more recently, the Eagles were given their own taste of such medicine, conceding a last-minute equaliser to Wolverhampton Wanderers at Selhurst Park on Sunday.
Goals haven't been flying in at either end for Roy Hodgson's side, who boast the best defence in the bottom half of the table (having only conceded seven goals), but also the joint-least potent attack, scoring just four goals so far this season (only Newcastle United and Watford have failed to score more).
The opening month of the season saw Palace grind out results against Everton and Aston Villa (a draw and a win), as well as that victory against United, earning Hodgson a nomination for the Premier League Manager of the Month award for August.
Since they won promotion back to the Premier League in 2013, Palace have impressively finished between 10th and 15th each season, despite going through nine manager changes in that time.
Expert view
Earlier this week, canaries.co.uk caught up with The Athletic's Crystal Palace writer Matt Woosnam. Here's a snippet of what he had to say on the Eagles...
"The home form has slightly picked up. It’s been a good start to the season for Palace and is probably about on par with where they would expect to be.
"Maybe the football isn’t as entertaining as people might like, and maybe they’re not scoring enough goals, but at the same time, the defence is generally solid.
"[Norwich is] a club that should do well, and even if they don’t stay up, which I think they should and will, there’s a long-term plan that will help them in the future to secure a place in the Premier League and kick on, finishing higher up eventually."
To read the full interview with Matt, click here.
Head-to-head
The meeting of Crystal Palace and Norwich City has historically provided plenty of unpredictable outcomes, with the head-to-head record just about favouring the former. In the 112 meetings since 1914, City have won 44 times, Palace have won 48, and there have been 20 draws among the two sides.
Last time they met, Jason Puncheon's second-half strike was enough to give Alan Pardew's Palace a 1-0 win in the Premier League in 2016.
City's last win against Palace came at Carrow Road in 2013, again in the Premier League. Gary Hooper made the difference for the Canaries on that day, as they saw out a 1-0 victory against a Palace side then at the foot of the table.
Ref watch
Jonathan Moss will be the man in the middle for Saturday afternoon’s fixture. Moss has overseen four Premier League games so far this season, handing out 17 yellow cards and two red cards across those matches, including last weekend's sending off of Ainsley Maitland-Niles against Aston Villa.
He was last appointed to officiate a Norwich game in January 2017 for an FA Cup clash against Southampton. Saints won that game 1-0 at St. Mary's Stadium, and Moss didn't show any yellow or red cards!
For this weekend’s fixture, his assistants will be Marc Perry and Simon Bennett, with Tony Harrington the fourth official. Peter Bankes and Peter Kirkup will be casting an eagle eye over proceedings as they oversee VAR.
Info for supporters
- There will be no pubs open in the local vicinity that will allow visiting supporters, but turnstiles will be open 2 hours before kick off.
- The visiting supporters concourse has its own DJ, and there will be a competition for younger supporters with Norwich branded prizes to be won. Two under-12 supporters will have the opportunity to take part in the half-time challenge which will take place on the pitch (weather permitting).
- The Fan Zone will be open from 12pm - all supporters are welcome on production of a valid matchday ticket.
- The early bird offer consists of a burger or hotdog with a beer for £7 and is available inside the stadium for up to 1 hour before kick-off.
- With the exception of programme sellers, who only accept cash payments, Selhurst Park is a cashless stadium, so supporters will need to make sure that they bring a debit/credit card with them.
- The price of a programme is £3.50.
- The visiting supporter’s ticket office is located at Entrance 4 on Park Road and will be open from 11am for collections and duplicates.
- On match days there is a text alert system for supporters who wish to report any issues/incidents of discriminatory abuse/antisocial behaviour. The number is 07507 477669 and supporters should include the nature of the issue/incident and the exact location in the text.
Further information, including concourse menus and prices, can be found in the Travelling Supporters guide: https://www.cpfc.co.uk/siteassets/pdfs/faqs-and-guides/1920-visiting-supporters-guide-1.pdf
How to follow
Canaries TV subscribers can listen to live BBC Radio Norfolk commentary from Chris Goreham by purchasing a match/monthly/yearly pass. For more info, click HERE.
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.