West Ham United will be looking to put aside their Europa League heartache when they travel to Carrow Road to face already-relegated Norwich City in the Premier League on Sunday afternoon.
The Canaries have lost four of their last five league games on home soil, while the Hammers have lost seven of their last eight matches on the road across all competitions.
Match preview
© Reuters
A 2-0 defeat away at Aston Villa proved to be the final nail in the coffin for Norwich City, whose relegation to the Championship was confirmed last weekend.
Dean Smith was unable to get one over his former side at Villa Park, with goals either side of half time from Ollie Watkins and Danny Ings condemning the Canaries to their 23rd league defeat of the season.
Norwich now hold the unwanted record of being the team to have suffered the most Premier League relegations (six) since the division's formation in 1992.
Smith has admitted that the club began planning for pre-season three months ago before their fate was confirmed, but he and his side will now look to try and finish the campaign on a high, starting with Sunday's contest against West Ham.
The Canaries have lost their last three league matches against the Hammers by an aggregate score of 8-0, but victory this weekend would see them become the 23rd different side to register 100 Premier League wins.
© Reuters
West Ham's memorable Europa League journey came to an end on Thursday night when they suffered a slender 1-0 defeat to Eintracht Frankfurt in the second leg of their semi-final, losing 3-1 on aggregate.
Aaron Cresswell's 19th-minute dismissal was a huge turning point in the tie before Rafael Borre scored the only goal on the night seven minutes later, ending the Hammers' hopes of reaching their first European final in 47 years.
David Moyes – who was also dismissed for kicking a ball in frustration at a ball boy – will be keen to ensure that his players bounce back quickly from such a disappointing defeat as they turn their attention back to the Premier League and qualifying for Europe.
Success in the Europa League would have seen West Ham automatically qualify for next season's Champions League regardless of their league position, but now hopes of a top-four finish are over as they currently sit seventh in the table, 11 points behind fourth-placed Arsenal who have a game in hand.
A top-six finish is still on the cards, however, as the Hammers could move to within three points of Manchester United if they were to win their game in hand on the Red Devils.
West Ham head into Sunday's game after losing five and drawing one of their last six Premier League away games, albeit losing to Man United, Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea during this run.
A favourable-looking fixture against Norwich is up next for the Hammers and they should be confident of success this weekend as they are unbeaten in their last 14 league games against teams sitting bottom of the table, winning each of the last seven in a row.
- L
- D
- W
- L
- L
- L
- L
- W
- L
- D
- L
- L
- W
- D
- L
- L
- L
- L
Team News
© Reuters
Norwich quintet Adam Idah (knee), Andrew Omobamidele (back), Christoph Zimmermann (groin), Kenny McLean (broken toe) and Ozan Kabak (thigh) are all set to miss the rest of the season due to injury.
After missing four games with an ankle injury, Joshua Sargent came off the bench midway through the second half against Aston Villa but he only lasted 14 minutes after aggravating the same problem. Smith, however, is hopeful that the American forward will make a quick recovery.
Ben Gibson is expected to replace Sam Byram at centre-back, while Billy Gilmour, Pierre Lees-Melou and Mathias Normann are all set to retain their places in centre-midfield, with Kieran Dowell and Milot Rashica supporting Teemu Pukki in attack.
As for West Ham, Moyes revealed to the press on Friday that a couple of unnamed players have picked up 'niggles', but as things stand Angelo Ogbonna (ACL) is their only injury concern.
Lukasz Fabianski is set to replace Alphonse Areola between the sticks, while Vladimir Coufal and Ben Johnson will be battling to start at right-back.
Michail Antonio, who scored all four goals in a 4-0 win at Carrow Road last season, is expected to lead the line, and he could be joined in attack by Jarrod Bowen, Manuel Lanzini and Pablo Fornals.
Norwich City possible starting lineup:
Krul; Aarons, Hanley, Gibson, Williams; Gilmour, Normann, Lees-Melou; Dowell, Pukki, Rashica
West Ham United possible starting lineup:
Fabianski; Johnson, Dawson, Zouma, Cresswell; Soucek, Rice; Bowen, Lanzini, Fornals; Antonio
We say: Norwich City 1-3 West Ham United
While Norwich only have pride to play for on Sunday, West Ham will view this fixture as a must-win if they are to finish the campaign in the top six.
The Hammers have endured a miserable run of form on the road in recent weeks, but we expect them to bounce back and secure all three points against the Canaries.
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats, suggests the most likely outcome of this match is a West Ham United win with a probability of 48.23%. A win for Norwich City has a probability of 26.7% and a draw has a probability of 25.1%.
The most likely scoreline is Norwich City 1-1 West Ham United with a probability of 11.91% and the second most likely scoreline is Norwich City 0-1 West Ham United with a probability of 10.74%.
