English Premier League - Norwich City vs. Southampton - Preview & Prediction

Currently sitting at the very rock bottom in the Premier League, Norwich City will try to improve their misery while hosting 14th-placed Southampton, who have lost four of their past five games. Kick-off - at 13:00 PM ET on Friday, June 19.

Norwich Dwell At The Bottom

Having won the lowest amount of Premier League games so far this season (5) and having lost the highest (18), Norwich City returns to action while occupying the dead-last place in the league (W5 D6 L18), albeit sitting just six points below safety. The Canaries have won just one of their previous six contests (W1 D1 L4) and have scored just one goal in their last five matches, with left-back Jamal Lewis netting the only snipe in a 1-0 home victory over 3rd-placed Leicester City on Feb. 28. The team has, however, lost just one of its past five home games (W2 D2 L1).

Finnish striker Teemu Pukki leads Norwich City with 11 Premier League strikes this season. Dutchman Tim Krul, meanwhile, is 4th in the league among goalies, having made 96 saves. He has picked up five clean sheets in 27 appearances this year and allows a goal every 54 minutes on average. The Canaries have scored the absolute lowest quantity of goals during the ongoing campaign (25) while posting the 12th highest amount of shots per game (11.6). The team is 9th in both ball possession (50.5%) and passing accuracy (80.6%).

Saints Thrive On The Road

Despite posting just one victory in their last five Premier League outings (W1 L4) and losing five of their past seven games (W2 L5), Southampton still find themselves seven points clear of the bottom three, currently sitting 14th in the league (W10 D4 L15). That achievement is largely due to a five-game unbeaten run the Saints managed to conduct between Dec. 21-Jan. 11, beating the likes of Chelsea (2-0) and Tottenham Hotspur (1-0) along the way. Southampton have also performed extremely well on the road lately, losing just two of their past six travels (W4 L2).

With 15 snipes collected in the league this season, Danny Ings leads the Saints in scoring, sitting 5th in most goals netted in the whole Premier League. Goalie Alex McCarthy, meanwhile, is 16th in England's top-flight with 58 saves. He has recorded four clean sheets in 19 games this year and gives up a goal every 63 minutes of play. Southampton have scored the 10th highest number of goals this season (35) while delivering the 8th highest amount of shots per game (12.8). The team is 11th in ball possession (48.1%) and 2nd from the bottom in passing accuracy (71.7%).

Prediction

Both teams were struggling before going into the enforced coronavirus break. Norwich lost three of their past four outings (W1 L3) to find themselves at the bottom of the league, while Southampton managed to collect just three points from a possible 15 (W1 L4), presently residing seven points above the drop-zone. The Saints have won four of their previous six travels (W4 L2) and have dropped just two of their last 14 head-to-head outings against Norwich City (W7 D5 L2), going unbeaten in the very last three (W2 D1). Still, the South Coast team has failed to triumph on any of its last four trips to Norfolk in all competitions (D2 L2) and will be facing a squad, which has posted just one defeat in its last five home games (W2 D2 L1). A draw is the most likely outcome here!

Best bets:

Draw (+255)

Correct score: 1-1 (+485)