Aston Villa v Norwich Preview: Team News, Predicted Line-Ups, Squad Sheets, Match Facts And More!

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Paul Lambert faces his old side at Villa Park.

Check in to Aston Villa vs Norwich City

Aston Villa manager Paul Lambert meets his old team Norwich City, but what kind of reception will he receive?

Venue Villa Park, Saturday, 12.45pm

Tickets £22-40 (0800 612 0970)

Last season Aston Villa 3 Norwich 2

Referee Phil Dowd

This season’s matchesY13, R1, 3.50 cards per game

Odds Aston Villa 10-11 Norwich 3-1 Draw 11-4

Aston Villa

Subs from Given, Hutton, Baker, N’Zogbia, Albrighton, Westwood, Benteke, Bowery, Bannan, Weimann, Stevens, Lichaj, Herd

Doubtful Baker (ankle), Clark (knee)

Injured Gardner (knee, May), Dunne (groin, unknown), Petrov (leukaemia, unknown)

Suspended None

Form guide LLDLWD

Disciplinary record Y18 R1

Leading scorer Bent 2

Norwich City

Subs from Rudd, Steer, Howson, Jackson, Surman, Fox, Morison, Barnett, C Martin, Snodgrass, Butterfield, Tierney, R Bennett

Doubtful None

Injured Bunn (knee, 3 Nov), Whittaker (ankle, 3 Nov), Kane (metatarsal, 10 Nov)

Suspended None

Form guide WLLLDD

Disciplinary record Y6 R0

Leading scorer Holt 3

CaughtOffside Predicted Line-Ups

football formations

Head-to-head

Norwich beat Villa for the first time in eight attempts on the final day of last season.

Villa are enjoying a four-match unbeaten run at home in this fixture since a 3-2 defeat in November 1992.

Aston Villa

Five points from eight games equates to Villa’s worst start to a season since 1986-87, when they were last relegated from the top flight.

Paul Lambert’s side need to win on Saturday to avoid the club’s poorest start to a campaign for 43 years. They drew two and lost seven of their first nine games in the old Second Division in 1969.

Villa have only won two of their last 16 home matches since beating Norwich in last season’s corresponding fixture nearly a year ago (W2, D6, L8).

Gabby Agbonlahor’s last league goal came in the 3-2 win over Norwich on 5 November 2011. He has failed to score in his last 27 league appearances. He could make his 200th Premier League start on Saturday.

No top-flight team has scored fewer than the six goals mustered by Villa in their opening eight matches.

They have won three of their 27 league matches in 2012, picking up 20 points in total – the lowest tally of any Premier League club.

Paul Lambert won 70 of his 142 matches in charge of Norwich between August 2009 and May 2012, drawing 35 and losing 37.

Norwich

Last weekend’s victory against Arsenal was only their second triumph in the last 13 Premier League games (W2, D4, L7).

Norwich, like Villa, have scored just six goals in the Premier League this season. They have the worst shots-to-goals conversion rate in the division (7%).

Only Southampton have conceded more than the 17 goals shipped by Norwich.

The Canaries have conceded a division-high five goals from outside the penalty area this season.

Grant Holt has scored in Norwich’s last three league matches.

Michael Turner could make his 300th career league appearance, and Elliott Bennett his 200th.

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