Norwich host Millwall on Friday night, looking to pick up a second straight win, while the visitors look to continue their momentum after a most unlikely draw against Swansea in midweek.
The Canaries finally picked up their first win of the season at the fourth time of asking, beating Huddersfield 2-1 on Tuesday night. The win will go some way to allaying the concerns of Canaries backers – of which there were plenty – but we’re still very early into a long season, and the underlying numbers suggest there’s little reason to panic.
Norwich have had the most shots and the most shots on target in the division, but have struggled to overturn deficits, having fallen behind to Cardiff, Wigan and Hull, going on to pick up just one point from their first three matches.
Star striker Teemu Pukki is yet to get off the mark, missing the Huddersfield game through injury, with Josh Sargent scoring in his place, but will be welcomed back on Friday night. Dean Smith is keen to keep hold of the Fin, despite only having a year left on his contract.
Visitors Millwall meanwhile have got off to a strong start, with their only defeat coming on the road to Sheffield United, and will go to Carrow Road on a high after the ridiculous finale to their clash with Swansea, coming from 2-0 down.
Outsiders may deem the Lions fortunate to have escaped with a point, benefitting from two own goals in the 93rd and 95th minute after a poor first-half showing, but Gary Rowett’s men did hit the bar twice, and were eventually rewarded for a much-improved second half.
Carrow Road has proved far from a happy hunting ground for Millwall, though, having failed to win in East Anglia since 1968.
Both games finished 0-0 the last two times they met, but I can see goals in this one; maybe not the 4-3 that we saw in 2018 or the 6-1 from 2014, but Both Teams to Score will be my first selection with the two sides leaking goals.
The Canaries have been rather porous, yet to keep a clean sheet this season, and giving up a total of 24 shots in their last two games.
However, they haven’t found the net as often as they might have expected given their dominance in recent games, but with new signings bedding in, the Huddersfield game may have been a turning point, and I’m struggling to see Millwall keeping them out with Rowett’s men shipping two in each of their last three games.
One of those new Norwich signings is 22-year-old Marcelino Nunez, who’s impressed since his move from Chilean champions Universidad Catolica, racking up nine shots in his first 240 minutes in the Championship – around one in seven of Norwich’s total shots this season.
When you think Millwall and Gary Rowett, you may think of a tight defensive unit, but they’re giving up over 12 shots a game and we’ve already seen that Nunez loves a pop at goal, having three that have forced a save from the opposition keeper. He’s my play to make Bartosz Bialkowski work on Friday night – Nunez Over 0.5 Shots on Target.
You may be aware that I’m prone to a centre half from set plays and in Grant Hanley and Murray Wallace, we have two that love to attack the ball. I’m not brave enough to put them up on this Bet Builder but I’m backing there to be Over 9 Corners in the match with the hosts already having 35 and Millwall averaging over five a game.
Click here for Norwich v Millwall odds
Both Teams to Score – 5/6
Marcelino Nunez Over 0.5 Shots on Target – 6/4
Over 9 Corners – 8/11
Bet Builder boosted from 13/2 to 17/2
By Steve Freeth
