The Dugout Discussion – Norwich City vs Sunderland

Following months of strategising, Norwich City and Sunderland beckon in a bumper Gameweek 34 at Carrow Road. The Canaries will look to rebound from their defeat at Crystal Palace, while the Black Cats endeavour to register their first victory in seven outings.

Norwich’s attack was underwhelming across their last four starts, ranking in the bottom five for attempts (38), shots inside the box (22), big chances (three) and shots on target (11). Intriguingly, though, only five teams have fashioned more big chances (28) in home fixtures than Alex Neil’s troops, despite the fact they place joint-second-bottom for shots inside the box (100). At the defensive end, the Canaries proved hard to beat over the same period, conceding just three goals and the joint-second-fewest big chances (three).

Although Sunderland ranked fifth for attempts (62) and fourth for shots inside the box (38) over their last quartet of match-ups, they suffered from the third-worst shot-conversion rate (3.2%). That being said, only five sides boast a superior shot-conversion rate (11.6%) on the road, which paints a more positive picture of their attacking prospects in Norfolk. On the flip side, Norwich will be encouraged by the fact that Sunderland chart joint-top for goals conceded in away ties (39).