Stoke City will entertain playoff contender Norwich City in the EFL Championship. Both teams are coming off a 1-1 draw in their last matches. The Potters sit in the middle of the table, while the Canaries are just one spot behind the playoff places. Stoke City have a tough road ahead if they want to make it to the playoffs. While Norwich City need to be more consistent, and that can easily take them into the top six. As both teams look to earn three points, we look at some of the stats that could predict the outcome of the game.
Stoke City have won 13, drawn eight, and lost the remaining 16 matches. The Potters have netted 48 goals and conceded 45. They average 1.39 xG per match. By looking at the above pizza chart we can observe that Stoke City have a high percentile rank in the attacking stats. They have a decent percentile rank in possession and defensive department.
Norwich City have won 16, drawn eight, and lost 13 matches this season. They have scored 52 goals and conceded 41. The Canaries average 1.41 xG per match. Norwich City’s pizza chart shows that the team has a better percentile rank than their opponents. They are one of the few teams that have scored 50+ goals in the current season.
Stoke City’s recent domination
Stoke City were held to a 1-1 draw by Middlesbrough in their last match. The Potters dominated the stats but were unable to convert most of their chances. In the last three matches, Stoke City averaged 35.67 positional attacks and two counterattacks per match. Overall, they average 31.76 positional attacks and 1.51 counterattacks per match. There was also a significant improvement in the average number of shots. The Potters average 11.5 shots per match with a 37.1% accuracy rate. In the last three matches, the average has gone up to 13 shots and the accuracy rate has been 46.15%. The xG rate was also on the higher side at 1.69 per match.
In the last three matches, Stoke City have made most of the box penetration carries from the left side. A few of these carries have been diagonal penetrations, while the other penetrations have been made from the flanks. Norwich City will have to deal with the threat from the flanks.
The Canaries in the attack
Norwich City matches their opponents quite well. They average 30.97 positional attacks and 1.65 counterattacks per match. By looking at the positional attacks viz from the last match we can observe that Norwich can attack from the flanks and the centre. The Canaries take 12.84 shots on average and manage to hit the target 35.1% of the time. In the last seven matches, Norwich have netted 11 goals from 88 shot attempts. They have scored three goals each against Millwall, Birmingham City, and Hull City.
In the last three games, Norwich City have made 79 box penetration carries. They have made more diagonal runs than Stoke City. The players like to make full use of the field and the wide players like to make direct entries from their flanks into the penalty box. Norwich City carries more danger on the flanks.
Key players
Ki-Jana Hoever was signed on loan from Wolves in the winter transfer window. The right-back has started to show his quality as he has netted three goals in the last two games. He has taken six touches inside the penalty box and attempted three shots. The 21-year-old will look to score in three games in a row.
Gabriel Sara will be the key player for Norwich City. The 23-year-old midfielder has scored six and provided assists for four goals in his debut league season. In the last four matches, Sara has scored three goals. He has attempted 12 shots, with most of them coming from a distance. Sara will once again look to break the opposition’s defence with his goal-scoring ability.
Team news
Nick Powell is likely to miss the game for the Potters.
Marquinhos will miss the match due to suspension. Onel Hernandez, Adam Idah, and Ben Gibson are expected to miss the match.
Betting analysis
According to the 1×2 betting odds this is expected to be a tight game. The home team are the favourite and has an odds rate of around 2.45. Norwich City have an odds rate of 2.8. This is expected to be a tight game and the over lines might flourish. There are chances that the match might end with over 2.5 goals.
Both teams are highly attacking sides and the match could also end up as a high-scoring affair.
Visuals via Wyscout and the TFA data viz engine
