Norwich City: 5 Reasons the Canaries Can Defeat Chelsea

Norwich City are enjoying life in the Premier League at the moment and will be in confident spirit going into another home game, this time against Chelsea.

The Canaries showed in the matchup at Stamford Bridge in August last year that they are no pushovers and can give even the top clubs a good game. The team may have lost 3-1 that day, but had things turned out a little bit differently they could have easily have come away with a well-deserved point.

Therefore, Norwich have already proved that they can give Chelsea a game. They may see the game at Carrow Road as a chance for revenge and grab all three points.

So with that in mind I have complied this slideshow to preview the game.

The League Record Benefits Norwich

Norwich City can go into this game knowing that they lead the head-to-head league record. Of the 33 meetings, Norwich have won 12, Chelsea 11 and the remaining 10 games have been drawn. Certainly there isn't much in it, but it could just be the edge the team needs on Saturday.

The Canaries' last Premier League win against Chelsea came in the 1994/95 season with Norwich winning 3-0 on 10 December 1994 at Carrow Road.

The Canaries Are on a Decent Run of Form

Norwich City are getting used to picking up points on a regular basis in the Premier League. The team is on a run of three consecutive wins in all competitions, and have taken seven points from the last three games in the league.

Therefore, the team should be in a confident mood for another home game.  

An Attack to Be Feared

Norwich City have one of the better attacking records in the league. Thirty-two goals have been scored from 21 Premier League games. Within that tally is a number of individual players that Chelsea will have to be wary of.

Steve Morison is Norwich's top scorer with eight league goals, followed by Grant Holt on seven and Anthony Pilkington on five. In recent games, Simeon Jackson and Andrew Surman have also been showing a keen eye for goal.

Pressure Is off

Norwich City go into this game knowing that most people will expect Chelsea to come and win the game comfortably. The team is sitting comfortably in the top half of the league table and 11 points clear of the relegation zone.

There is currently no fear of losing a game and being dragged into a relegation scrap. Therefore, they can go into game with a fearless spirit and just have a go. Paul Lambert will know that home fans expect their team to put on a performance.

If the circumstances were different, Norwich may line up with a defensive system and a lone striker. However, the Canaries have no need to do that, and an attacking team could bear fruit.

This Is Not the Chelsea Team of Old

The earlier game in the season at Stamford Bridge showed that this isn't a Chelsea team to be feared. Players have been performing below-par throughout the season and Fernando Torres as so far been a major flop, despite costing the club £50million.

There were high hopes for Chelsea at the beginning of the season, when they paid £13.3 million compensation to appoint Andre Villas-Boas as their new manager. However, they trail the league leaders by 11 points, and Saturday's opponents are only 12 points behind Chelsea.

This is also an ageing Chelsea team that Norwich City will hope their younger players can get some joy from.

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