Talking Tactics | Norwich City v Swansea City
Swansea City head to Carrow Road to face Norwich City on Saturday seeking their fourth league win on the spin (3pm).
Ahead of the trip, WhoScored.com take a look at what to expect from the Canaries, a key battle and a key stat.
What to expect from Norwich
The Canaries currently occupy the final play-off spot with two games remaining of the 2023-24 season, and they come into this fixture on the back of just one defeat in their last eight league fixtures.
Last time out, David Wagner’s side came from behind against Bristol City to earn a valuable point.
Norwich’s home form has been impeccable since the turn of the year, in fact the Canaries are undefeated at Carrow Road since the end of November when they were beaten by Blackburn.
In terms of formation, Wagner has found success in utilising a 4-2-3-1 shape this season, opting for it in 37 league fixtures this season.
Key Battle
Since joining Norwich in 2022, Gabriel Sara has been a fan favourite at Carrow Road.
The Brazillian picked up Norwich’s player of the year award for his efforts last term, and looks likely to finish this season as the Canaries highest-rated player with a WhoScored.com rating of 7.44.
In fact, the 24-year-old is the fourth highest-rated player in the league this season, with only Jaden Philogene (7.45), Jack Clarke (7.55) and Crysencio Summerville (7.69) boasting higher figures.
To further demonstrate Sara’s importance to the output of Wagner’s side, the midfielder has been awarded 10 player of the match awards – the second highest haul of any player in the Championship.
Sara has been one of Norwich’s key creative players this season, having scored 12 goals and provided 11 assists in the league for the best return of his career to date. He also ranks third for key passes with 110 this season.
The player likely to be tasked with the role of keeping Sara under wraps is Josh Tymon, who himself boasts a strong rating for his efforts this season (6.75).
The Swansea defender top the charts amongst his colleagues for assists in the league this season, tied with Jamie Paterson on six.
The 24-year-old is also averaging 1.5 key passes per game, the second highest figure in the Swansea squad.
Tymon is averaging 1.5 tackles and 1.2 interceptions per game for the Swans and will want to to continue his fine form.
Key Stat
Norwich are the league’s second-best xG overperformers this season with a total of 74 goals scored from an expected tally of 64.96, a positive difference of 9.04 goals.
In fact, Jonathan Rowe is the league’s second-best individual overperformer, with 12 goals from just 6.24 xG.
Swansea continue to operate at roughly six goals behind their expected tally, but of they have not lacked goals recently with eight in their last three fixtures.