Norwich City vs. Leicester City Preview

Norwich City are enjoying an excellent season back in the top flight of English football and the Canaries will be keen to supplement their fine Premier League display with a victory in the F.A Cup fifth round against Nigel Pearson’s Leicester.

Reaching the quarter-final of the world’s most famous domestic cup competition will certainly rubber-stamp Norwich’s tremendous progress and if they can overcome their Npower Championship opponents, a potential visit to Wembley would be by no means out of the equation.

Leicester had themselves hoped to make more of an impact in terms of the league this season however they have been unable to fulfil their expectations hence the reappointment of fans favourite Pearson who claimed that he still had ‘unfinished business’ at the club.

The Foxes have, overall, been plagued by inconsistency throughout the campaign, the main reason why they are currently drifting in mid-table of the second tier as opposed to making a serious promotion push.

Pearson will be confident that there is enough games left in the season to do so, however he will also be keen for his side to continue their strong start in the F.A Cup and win through to the latter stages.

But it is the benefit of home advantage, as well as their rapid progress, which should see Norwich through to the last eight.

Boss Paul Lambert has essentially set a great example for other managers through his work and impact at Norwich and opposite number Pearson will be aiming to replicate the same kind of headway with his Leicester side over the next couple of seasons.

The Foxes have introduced some quality players to their squad since the start of the campaign however their overall team ethic, consistency and standard is not yet on a par with Lambert’s men. It will of course take the respected Pearson a sizeable amount of time to achieve his goals at the club and this fixture may well prove to be an important learning curve along the way.

Norwich’s most impressive feature has been their ability to bounce back straight away from defeat and they managed this yet again most recently at home to Bolton Wanderers.

The hosts have been a formidable outfit on their own turf for the majority of the season, scoring at will and losing only to Arsenal, Manchester City and West Brom – defeats which have been offset by five good wins against the likes of Newcastle United and Sunderland.

This is likely to be a good scrap but it is Norwich who are likely to have that little bit of extra attacking impetus and they can confirm superiority over Leicester having recorded a league double over the Foxes in 2010/2011.

The Canaries are generally a 5/6 shot and will be a mainstay in many punters’ doubles and trebles over the weekend.

Leicester could snatch a draw if they play to the best of their ability but this is not really something to rely upon based on the volatility of their results and performances.

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12/02/2012     © Frixo 2024