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Norwich vs AFC Bournemouth
When: Saturday, April 17 – 20:00 BST
Where: Carrow Road in Norwich, Norfolk, England
Weather: Partly cloudy, 6°C
Norwich will clash with Bournemouth on Saturday, April 17, in what could be their most important game of the season. A single point from the match would be enough for Norwich to return to the English top-flight, whereas three points for Bournemouth would set them up nicely to finish the season inside the top-six.
With both sides hungry for a win, we can expect an exciting night of football. The question, however, is how exciting this match can get, considering we have seen only two goals in their last three meetings.
Norwich Look to Cross the Promotion Line
Daniel Farke’s men have been playing the best football in the English Championship and enter this match with a 27-9-5 record. With 90 points to their name, the Canaries need only one more to secure promotion back to the Premier League.
Given how convincing Norwich are this season, securing a point from four fixtures shouldn’t be too difficult. But they will be eager to get it done tonight.
Norwich picked up 11 points from their last five games, with BTTS landing in only two – against Preston (1-1) and Blackburn (1-1). The Canaries have scored 12 goals during that stretch.
The hosts have scored at least once in 85% of their games this season, and at least two in 45%. They’ve conceded at least once in 45% of their fixtures and kept a clean sheet in 55%.
Norwich enter the 42nd round of the English Championship as the second-best scoring team in the league – behind only Bournemouth who scored one more goal (66) goals in 41 games. On the other side, Norwich are the best defensive team with only 28 goals conceded, whereas Bournemouth conceded 40 thus far.
Bournemouth’s Defence Needs to Step Up
Jonathan Woodgate is expected to stick with the IX that started against Huddersfield last time out. Bournemouth are undefeated in their last five league games, and have lost only two across their last 10 in all competitions.
The visitors enter this match off wins against Swansea (3-0), Middlesbrough (3-1), Blackburn (2-0), Coventry (4-1), and Huddersfield (2-1). Like Norwich, Bournemouth are very efficient in the attack but tend to concede a few too many goals.
AFC Bournemouth have scored at least once in 75% of their games, and at least twice in 35%. They’ve also conceded in 70% of their games and kept a clean sheet in only 30%.
Beating Norwich definitely won’t be an easy task if Bournemouth’s defence doesn’t step up. The home side have scored in the last six games at home, and are unbeaten in their last 13.
On a more positive note, Bournemouth are unbeaten in their last four away games. and have scored in the last five on the road.
Norwich vs AFC Bournemouth Betting Picks
Norwich’s Academy graduate Andrew Omobamidele has been a key factor in his side’s impressive performances of late. Since coming in to replace the injured Ben Gibson, he has yet to lose a challenge and is shaping up to be one of the biggest prospects in the league.
The 23-year-old Kieran Dowell is another man to keep an eye on, having scored twice in his last two starts. He has three goals to his name across the last five outings and looks set to add another against AFC Bournemouth’s leaky defence.
While Norwich’s attack is nothing to sneeze at, neither is Bournemouth’s. The Cherries have been very efficient in front of the opponent’s goal this season and have scored at least once in nine out of the last 10 outings.
Scoring on the road is not an issue for Bournemouth either. They found the back of the net in eight out of their last 10 road games – dating back to January.
Despite these team’s goalscoring prowess, only one of their last five meetings ended with over 2.5 goals. That number, however, doesn’t mean much since the teams are now playing much more aggressive football.
Six of the last seven Bournemouth games saw over 2.5 goals, as well as three out of their last five away games. Everything points towards an exciting and high-scoring affair on Saturday night.
Prediction: Over 2.5 goals – 1.869 Pinnacle
