PREMIER LEAGUE: The Striker previews the Premier League clash on Wednesday between WEST HAM v NORWICH with a recommended BETDAQ bet and extended match stats.
WEST HAM V NORWICH
7.45pm All eyes might be on Spurs v Chelsea tonight in the Carabao Cup on BETDAQ Betting Exchange, but we have more midweek Premier League action to enjoy as West Ham host Norwich. Both sides recorded wins at the weekend in the FA Cup, with West Ham beating Leeds 1-0 and Norwich beating Charlton 1-0. That would have been a big boost for Norwich as it’s been a while since they won a game. They are still nailed to the bottom of the Premier League though, and there are no signs of that changing.
Norwich had a brief run of good results around November, but that was basically just to stay in touch with 19th and 18th position to be honest and they never looked like they would get out of the bottom three. If you recall at the time, their two wins against Brentford and Southampton were lucky as they conceded a higher xG than they created in both games, and their fortune was always going to turn back at some point. In their 2-1 win over Brentford, they conceded an xG of 2.92! It seems though that they have hit a wall now, and they are just going through the motions until the end of the season.
They have conceded 14 goals in their last five Premier League games, and while they have had to play Spurs, Manchester United and Arsenal in that run – they also lost 3-0 to Crystal Palace and 2-0 to Aston Villa. West Ham are a better side than both those teams. The market is fully expecting an easy home win here, with West Ham trading 1.3 at the time of writing. I don’t actually recall seeing West Ham at a shorter starting price in the Premier League! They have definitely confirmed that they are a top team this season though, and last season just wasn’t a once off.
Despite falling out of the Top Four recently after a bad run, they have held their own to bounce back with wins against Watford and Crystal Palace. They have held onto fifth place for the moment, and they’re only one point behind Arsenal in fourth. They are probably more worried about Spurs behind them with games in hand, but they should win easily here. Norwich are shipping goals for fun at the moment, and although that FA Cup win will give them a boost, this is a completely different level. Charlton aren’t having a good season either.
I feel this is a case of how many goals will West Ham score rather than will they win. Norwich have been conceding chances for fun, with their recent xG conceded figures reading 2.64, 2.66, 1.70, 2.18 and 2.14. A similar type of standard here will see West Ham cover the 1.5 goal handicap which is very appealing at 1.84 and that will be my best bet.
The Striker Says:
Three points win West Ham -1.5 goals to beat Norwich at 1.84 with BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE.
You can view all markets here -> https://bit.ly/BDQWesnor
MATCH STATS
● West Ham won home and away against Norwich in the Premier League in the 2019-20 season, having won just two of their previous 10 against the Canaries in the competition (D6 L2).
● Norwich haven’t won any of their last eight away league games against West Ham (D4 L4) since a 2-0 victory in March 1989 thanks to goals from Andy Linighan and Malcolm Allen.
● West Ham lost 2-1 at home to Brentford earlier this season – only three times before have they lost home games against more than one promoted side in a single Premier League campaign, doing so in 2002-03, 2006-07 and 2017-18.
● Norwich have won just one of their last 28 Premier League away games against London sides (D6 L21), though it did come against Brentford earlier this season. The last time the Canaries won away at two different London sides in the same top-flight campaign was in 2011-12 (vs Spurs and QPR).
● Norwich haven’t lost their first league game in any of the last eight calendar years (W5 D3), since a 2-1 defeat at West Ham in 2013.
● After a run of just one win in seven Premier League games (D2 L4), West Ham have won their last two in the competition. The Hammers have netted seven goals in these two victories, as many as they had in their previous seven league games combined.
● Norwich have netted just eight goals in their 19 league games this season. In English top-flight history, no side has netted fewer 19 matches into a single campaign, with Leicester in 1977-78 the only other side to have as few goals at this stage.
● Michail Antonio has scored five goals in his last four games against Norwich in all competitions, netting all four of West Ham’s goals in a 4-0 win at Carrow Road the last time the sides met.
● Norwich manager Dean Smith has won none of his five Premier League meetings with West Ham (D2 L3). His first game against the Hammers in the competition ended goalless, with his sides conceding one more goal than the last in each of the subsequent four meetings, losing 4-1 with Aston Villa earlier this season.
● Manuel Lanzini netted a brace in West Ham’s 3-2 win at Crystal Palace last time out, having netted just two goals in his previous 29 appearances in the competition. The Argentine is looking to score in consecutive Premier League games for the first time since April 2016.
T
