Norwich City will be eager to get their first win of the season when they host Bournemouth in the EFL Cup second round on Tuesday evening.
The Canaries have made a winless start to life back in the Premier League, while the Cherries are shaping up as early promotion contenders from the Championship.
Match preview
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No points, no goals and eight conceded in two games in the league does not make for great reading for Norwich, but of course it comes with the caveat that their opening fixtures have been against Liverpool and Manchester City.
A 5-0 defeat to the champions on Saturday followed a 3-0 loss at the hands of the Reds, and a match against Leicester City next will complete a very tough first fortnight back in the big time.
Daniel Farke will therefore hope that the EFL Cup provides some respite, but the Canaries have not made it into round three since 2018.
The 1962 and 1985 winners have been knocked out by opposition in a lower division in two of the last three seasons, in the form of Portsmouth and Crawley Town.
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Meanwhile, Bournemouth have made it through to at least the third round in each of the last seven seasons, reaching the quarter-finals in 2015, 2018 and 2019.
The Cherries thrashed MK Dons 5-0 in the first round this year, with David Brooks (two), Dominic Solanke, Philip Billing and Christian Saydee all getting on the scoresheet.
In the Championship, Scott Parker's side are still unbeaten after four games with two wins and two draws to their name; both of those victories came away from home.
On Saturday, Bournemouth led Blackpool 2-0 at half time thanks to a brace from Solanke, but conceded twice in four second-half minutes to only take a point.
The south coast side won both fixtures against Norwich in the Championship last season and knocked the Canaries out of this competition three years ago.
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Team News
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Daniel Farke will weigh up whether he wants to use this game to give his first choice XI confidence or hand opportunities to players who have not featured in the Premier League so far.
It is likely that summer signing Angus Gunn will come in for his debut in goal, while fellow new arrival Josh Sargent may also get a chance.
Christoph Zimmermann missed the defeat to Manchester City through illness so is a doubt for this one and Przemyslaw Placheta continues to recover from symptoms of coronavirus.
Junior Stanislas suffered a hamstring injury against Blackpool on Saturday so will be unavailable for Bournemouth – Ben Pearson or Emiliano Marcondes should replace him in midfield.
There could be an opportunity for new signing Orjan Nyland in goal; the Norwegian spent the first half of this year with Norwich but didn't play a game.
Jefferson Lerma is still suspended, while Jack Stacey, Lewis Cook and Steve Cook are injured.
Norwich City possible starting lineup:
Gunn; Mumba, Hanley, Omobamidele, Sorensen; McLean, Gilmour, Dowell; Sargent, Idah, Tzolis
Bournemouth possible starting lineup:
Nyland; Mepham, Rossi, Kelly, Davis; Pearson, Kilkenny, Billing; Brooks, Solanke, Anthony
We say: Norwich City 0-1 Bournemouth
If Norwich decide to rotate at Carrow Road then we think Bournemouth might progress at their expense. The Cherries have made a strong start to the Championship season and will be keen to keep momentum going against a Canaries squad shell-shocked by defeats to Liverpool and Manchester City.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Bournemouth win with a probability of 37.81%. A win for Norwich City had a probability of 35.45% and a draw had a probability of 26.7%.
The most likely scoreline for a Bournemouth win was 0-1 with a probability of 10.2%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-2 (8.23%) and 0-2 (6.61%). The likeliest Norwich City win was 1-0 (9.81%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.71%). The actual scoreline of 6-0 was predicted with a 0% likelihood.
