Canaries Chirp In Toon

Newcastle United have to be opposed as favourites in Sunday’s Premier League game based on their hopeless run of form alone (W1 D4 L14). That’s the equivalent of 7 points from half a season.

It therefore wouldn’t take much more encouragement to back Norwich at best odds of 2/1 but there’s plenty to be found nevertheless.

Firstly, the Canaries have performed admirably on their travels since their return to the top flight, only losing when reduced to 10 men for an hour against Southampton. Apart from that they beat Sunderland 3-1 and picked up great points at Anfield and Upton Park.

But Alex Neil’s team have actually played better than their bare results when you consider the shot statistics which are so often illuminating. They have outshot their opponents on average over 2015-16 while the Magpies have been outplayed consistently:

Average shots per game for Norwich: 14.38
Average shots per game against Norwich: 13.88
Differential: +0.50

Average shots per game for Newcastle: 8.38
Average shots per game against Newcastle: 18.13
Differential: -9.75

Everything points to an away victory and we should ignore club stature as any indicator of success.