Leicester City are the visitors at Carrow Road on Friday night as Norwich seek three important points to close the gap to 19th in the Premier League.
Our Match Preview uses expert insight from a local journalist to discuss Leicester’s season so far, looks at the officials taking charge of the game, and provides important information for supporters attending the game or following from afar.
The opposition
Leicester’s terrific start to the 2019-20 campaign means that a recent dip in form has not seen them drop outside of the league’s top three.
The Foxes have won just three of the last nine games in all competitions – a run which includes surprising defeats to Southampton and Burnley as well as a League Cup exit courtesy of Aston Villa in the semi-finals. On the road, Brendan Rodgers’ side haven’t won in the league since New Year’s Day away to Newcastle United.
Those results have coincided with a slight goal drought for star striker Jamie Vardy, who hasn’t scored in nine matches in all competitions. Jordan Blackwell, who covers the club for the Leicester Mercury, gave us his thoughts on why that might be.
“I think it’s a case of things averaging out a little bit,” he said. “He scored a lot of goals in the first half of the season from a low amount of shots. He was extremely clinical. When he got to ten goals, I think he’d only had 21 shots which isn’t sustainable.”
To read the full interview with Jordan, click here.
Ref watch
Craig Pawson will oversee the fixture and be assisted by Richard West and Neil Davies. Jarred Gillett will be the fourth official. Graham Scott and Andy Halliday are overseeing VAR.
Pawson has refereed 24 games across the Premier League, Champions League, Europa League, FA Cup and Euros qualifiers this season, dishing out 108 yellow cards and three reds in those fixtures.
Friday night represents Pawson’s first time officiating a Norwich City game this season. The last time he did was back in May 2016 for a 1-0 defeat at home to Manchester United.
Info for supporters
Supporters are reminded that Norwich City does not tolerate discrimination of any sort at the Club, on the pitch or in the stands.
If you experience any form of discrimination or abuse, help us to eliminate it from football by reporting it.
Text us on 07931235513 or complete the form here and we will treat your correspondence in the strictest confidence.
We'll be showing our support for Level Playing Field's Weeks of Action on Friday night. To find out more information about the initiaitive, click here.
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 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 fans can enter the stadium from 6pm.
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.
The Junior Canaries FanZone is not open for this match.
How to follow
Supporters can sign up to Canaries TV to watch our matchday show, #NR1Live. The broadcast on Friday will start at 7.30pm and feature pre and post-match reaction from presenter Darren Eadie and his studio guests, Norwich United manager Cédric Anselin and former player Adrian Forbes. During the match, supporters will be able to listen to commentary from BBC Radio Norfolk's Chris Goreham.
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.