With the Euro 2020 results now entered into the history books, the focus of football fans returns to club action. Major leagues around Europe prepare to kick-off in August, with the English Premier League set for a Friday 13th return. The opening match pairs newly-promoted Brentford and Arsenal in a London derby.
Liverpool fans won’t have to wait long to see their team in action. The Reds visit Carrow Road on matchday one with a 17:30 GMT kick-off in a fixture that is scheduled to be shown live on TV. Fans are back, and Anfield will be packed to capacity with millions more watching worldwide on television and live streaming sites.
This is a crucial season for all at the club as Jurgen Klopp’s men aim to wrestle the title back from Manchester City following last season’s disappointment. The football betting odds available in pre-season suggest we are in for a fiercely competitive campaign.
To give themselves the best chance of challenging for the title, Liverpool must get off to a winning start, bagging all three points against Norwich. Will they achieve the perfect start? Our in-depth match preview explains all.
Reds dominate the head-to-head
The head-to-head stats often give us a clue as to how a game might play out, and there’s plenty to discuss when looking at Norwich versus Liverpool. These teams have played 64 times in the past and Liverpool have dominated over the years. That comes as no great shock to followers of English football. The current head-to-head scores stand at Liverpool 36 wins with 14 draws and Norwich on 14 victories.
The most recent game was played in February 2020 when Liverpool nicked a hard-fought 1-0 victory at Carrow Road thanks to a goal scored by Sadio Mane with 78 minutes on the clock. That win went against the recent trends as these sides are often involved in high scoring matches. Looking through the results we see the Reds and Canaries have produced five or more goals in six of their last eight meetings. Some of the highlights included in that run was a 4-1 home win at Anfield in 2019, 5-4 victory at Carrow Road in 2016, 5-1 Liverpool in 2013, and 5-2 Liverpool in 2012.
Armchair fans and neutrals hope this is another high-scoring match with plenty of talking points but Liverpool fans and the coaching staff would settle for three points by any manner. Getting off to a winning start and building confidence is far more important than putting on a show for the fans, scoring lots of goals but looking fragile again at the back.
Sticking with the stats we jot down that both teams have scored in five of the last six renewals. Norwich may not enjoy too many wins over Klopp and co but they are capable of finding the net and at home, on Saturday evening they’ll be eager to take any chances that come their way.
Spotlight on the hosts
What can we expect from the home team on matchday1 Norwich City are managed by Daniel Farke who has been busy in the summer transfer window. His most impressive capture was the loan signing of Scottish wonderkid Billy Gilmour from Chelsea. The Blues have high hopes for the midfielder and have sent him to Carrow Road to ensure he plays more regularly and continues his impressive development. He wowed pundits at Euro 2020 in Scotland’s draw against England at Wembley and was the standout in pre-season friendlies for Norwich.
Farke took to the media recently to ask fans not to get too carried away and put unnecessary pressure on the young talent’s shoulders but Gilmour does seem the real deal, a grounded and humble professional who can be as good as he wants to be. Norwich looks the perfect place to progress as he’ll be a regular in the starting line-up. This product of the Glasgow Rangers youth academy will want to impress, starting with a big performance against Liverpool live on TV.
Norwich come up to the Premier League after winning the Championship last season. They are eager to avoid going straight back down and followers will get a taste of what to expect this year from the game against Liverpool.