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Scouting the opposition: Norwich City

By Durim Halimi

BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND - MAY 05: Teemu Pukki of Norwich City celebrates winning the title after the Sky Bet Championship match between Aston Villa and Norwich City at Villa Park on May 05, 2019 in Birmingham, England. (Photo by Matthew Lewis/Getty Images)
BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND - MAY 05: Teemu Pukki of Norwich City celebrates winning the title after the Sky Bet Championship match between Aston Villa and Norwich City at Villa Park on May 05, 2019 in Birmingham, England. (Photo by Matthew Lewis/Getty Images) /
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Newcastle United will travel to Carrow Road this weekend to face a tricky opponent in Norwich City.

After suffering a minimal defeat to Arsenal at St. James’ Park on Sunday, Newcastle United have turned their attention to Norwich City. The Canaries earned automatic promotion to the Premier League after winning the title in the EFL Championship last season, but Liverpool welcomed the newly-promoted side to the Top Flight with a 4-1 thrashing at Anfield.

Both teams will enter this match with the objective of claiming their first victory of the season, but it will not be an easy task for either side. On one end, Newcastle United have horrible luck on the road against newly-promoted sides early in the season. For the third season in a row, the Magpies are tasked with playing Premier League newcomers on the road in the second week of the season and their record consists of one draw and one loss. The atmosphere will be booming at Carrow Road, so Newcastle United will surely be tested. The atmosphere is only one factor that can hurt the Magpies, though. Here is what we know about Norwich City.

Scouting Report: Norwich City

Manager: Daniel Farke

Key Players: Teemu Pukki, Emi Buendia, Marco Stiepermann

Norwich City are being tapped as relegation favorites by most pundits because of their lack of spending in the transfer window, but their young squad believes in Daniel Farke’s philosophy. On paper, Norwich City set up in a 4-2-3-1 formation, but they hardly stick to that shape during the match. As a result, the Toon must be attentive and aware of their surroundings, especially when the Canaries send their full-backs forward to provide more offensive support.

Norwich City are not the type of team that will try to settle for a point by parking the bus. Instead, they are a team that looks to keep the ball and attack frequently. Their offensive efficiency will take a major hit in the top tier of English football, but Farke has made it clear that his style of play from last season will remain the same.

He stayed true to his word and we saw it for ourselves last Friday at Anfield. Despite losing 4-1 to Liverpool, Norwich City refused to back down as they constantly looked to get forward. In fact, Norwich City had 12 shot attempts against Liverpool, with five of those shots being on target. The Canaries star player, Teemu Pukki, scored an incredible 29 goals last season and he picked up where he left off with a goal against Liverpool.

Next. Toon Takeaways from the loss against Arsenal. dark

The Finnish international striker will be the primary target man on Saturday, so Jamaal Lascelles and Fabian Schar need to keep a narrow, compact line in the back to limit Pukki’s movement around the box. Isolating Pukki does not guarantee a victory for Newcastle United, but the likelihood of winning would increase significantly.

Overall, Newcastle United will have their hands full this weekend, especially since Norwich City will perceive Newcastle United as a lenient opponent when compared to Liverpool, so look for the home side to play with confidence on the ball.