Norwich City vs. Chelsea: Team News, Live Stream, TV Info, Ticket News
Chelsea travel to Norwich City on Tuesday with the possibility of breaking into the top 10 for the first time this season in sight.
As the reigning Premier League champions, it remains a moot point that their season has come to clinging to such positives, but in the here and now it's a signal of how things have dramatically improved for the Blues.
Guus Hiddink's side is moving in the right direction, and they will be hoping that continues at Carrow Road.
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"When I started in December we were close to the relegation zone, one point away," Chelsea's interim manager explained on Monday.
"Of course this club must have big objectives, but it was a side objective to get away from the relegation zone as soon as possible.
"The team did well with draws and victories, so in a relatively short time we’ve accomplished that in-between target. That encourages us to go on."
What also encourages Chelsea to go on is how many of their key players are starting to find form together. Up front, Diego Costa has returned to the goalscoring menace we knew last season, while Cesc Fabregas and Willian are driving the Blues forward from midfield.
Defensively, the makeshift centre-back pairing of Gary Cahill and Branislav Ivanovic has also been a big positive for Hiddink.
With John Terry out injured in recent weeks, Chelsea looked like they may struggle without their captain. Ivanovic and Cahill have looked excellent together, though.
"They’ve managed to encourage the team as well," Hiddink explained. "They defend strongly and play the simple ball in the constructive part.
"It's always nice as a manager to have a lot of players and you want the ones who come in to do it with big will."
There's a big will for Chelsea to seal another three points on the road on Tuesday, too.
Match Details
Date: Tuesday, March 1
Time: 7.45 p.m. GMT/2.45 p.m. ET
Venue: Carrow Road, Norwich
TV Info: Match of the Day, BBC1 (10.45pm, Wednesday, UK only)/NBC Sports (U.S. only)
Live Stream: No UK live stream/NBCSN (U.S. only)
Last 5 Games
| Jan. 23 | Norwich City 4-5 Liverpool |
| Feb. 2 | Norwich City 0-3 Tottenham Hotspur |
| Feb. 6 | Aston Villa 2-0 Norwich City |
| Feb. 13 | Norwich City 2-2 West Ham United |
| Feb. 27 | Leicester City 1-0 Norwich City |
| Feb. 7 | Chelsea 1-1 Manchester United |
| Feb. 13 | Chelsea 5-1 Newcastle United |
| Feb. 16 | Paris Saint-Germain 2-1 Chelsea |
| Feb. 21 | Chelsea 5-1 Manchester City |
| Feb. 27 | Southampton 1-2 Chelsea |
Predicted Lineups
The big news coming out of Stamford Bridge is that Alexandre Pato could make his Chelsea debut at some point on Tuesday evening.
"He is eager and of course we now have healthy competition between the strikers, in a very good atmosphere, with Diego the No. 1," Hiddink explained.
Terry remains injured, as does Pedro after he limped out of Saturday's 2-1 win over Southampton.
As for Norwich City, Sebastien Bassong and Wes Hoolahan are both doubts. Andre Wisdom is out.
Norwich City (5-4-1): Ruddy; Pinto, Bennett, Martin, Klose, Brady; Redmond, Tettey, Howson, Naismith; Jerome.
Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Courtois; Azpilicueta, Cahill, Ivanovic, Rahman; Mikel, Fabregas; Willian, Oscar, Hazard; Diego Costa.
Key Players
Nathan Redmond
The Norwich City midfielder has to be among one of the most underrated players in the Premier League. There are still sides of his game that he must improve, yet equally he is an exciting talent.
He's still only 21 years old, so it's to be expected that he remains raw. Those qualities are some of his best, though. Redmond likes to test defenders by using his pace to get at them, exposing his opposite number on the flank as he seemingly plays without caution.
He's an outlet on the wing, allowing the Canaries to break at speed, and he also has the odd wonder goal in his locker.
Branislav Ivanovic will be thankful he's playing through the centre on Tuesday evening as Redmond's pace will cause Chelsea a lot of problems.
Cesc Fabregas
Chelsea's Spanish midfielder continued his renaissance at the weekend with the goal that got his team level against Southampton. It was slightly fortuitous in that Fabregas' effort was initially a cross to Eden Hazard that eventually evaded Fraser Forster.
They all count, though, and it put Chelsea in a position from where they would go on to win the game 2-1 and edge closer to the top 10.
Fabregas has been a big part of the recovery under Hiddink. When he's on form, this Chelsea team ticks, so if he can carve out another positive display from the middle, it could be curtains for Norwich on Tuesday.
Ticket Information
For ticket information on all Premier League games, visit the official site or go to the ticket page on Norwich City's official website.
Prediction
Norwich City 1-3 Chelsea
Odds
Home Win: 329-100
Away Win: 25-32
Draw: 263-100
First Goalscorer: Alexandre Pato (6-1)
Odds via Odds Shark and Oddschecker
Garry Hayes is Bleacher Report's lead Chelsea correspondent. All quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Follow him on Twitter @garryhayes
