MATCH PREVIEW: NORWICH CITY vs CARDIFF CITY

Norwich, managed by Alex Neil, had an ideal start to life back in the Championship when they thrashed Blackburn Rovers 4-1 away from home on the opening day.

 

In more recent times, however, the Canaries’ fortunes have been rather mixed with a win, draw and loss from their last three outings. They narrowly beat Bristol City 1-0, drew 1-1 with arch rivals Ipswich Town before suffering a comprehensive 3-0 defeat to Birmingham City last time out.

The Bluebirds may have to be wary of Nelson Oliveira, a recent capture for the Canaries from Portuguese outfit Benfica. The striker has Championship experience, having scored nine goals in 29 appearances whilst on loan at Nottingham Forest last season.

Cardiff could come up against their former striker Cameron Jerome on Saturday. The forward made his professional debut for the Bluebirds in 2004 and was City’s top scorer in the 2005/06 campaign, finishing with 20 goals in all competitions.

Other players to feature for both teams include, club legend Robert Earnshaw, who received a standing ovation from City fans when scoring against the Bluebirds for Norwich at Ninian Park in April 2006. Tom Adeyemi, Leon Barnett, Gary O’Neill and Craig Bellamy have also represented both the Bluebirds and the Canaries in recent years.

An impressive Championship win over Saturday’s opposition came on 30th October 2010 at Cardiff City Stadium. The Bluebirds put in a stunning first half performance, scoring three goals and went on to comfortably win the game 3-1.

City raced out of the traps and broke the deadlock inside the opening ten minutes, Peter Whittingham sent in a trademark corner that Gabor Gyepes directed across goal for Jay Bothroyd to turn in.  

Bothroyd went from scorer to provider just three minutes later when he latched onto an aerial pass and squared it to strike partner, Michael Chopra who calmly slotted the ball past John Ruddy in the Norwich goal. Despite the Bluebirds’ blistering start they were pegged back just after the half-hour mark, Wes Hoolahan heading home future Bluebird, Simon Lappin’s cross.

Cardiff responded almost immediately to restore their two-goal cushion when they were awarded a penalty. The ever-reliable Whittingham stepped up and stroked the ball into the back of the net to round off an exhilarating half of football.

The Bluebirds saw out the second half without conceding to record a victory which meant they ascended to the summit of the Championship, two points ahead of QPR.