STATS: Norwich vs Hull

Norwich vs Hull 15:00

Norwich continued their winless run last weekend as they lost 2-0 at the hands of Roberto Martinez’s Everton. Chris Hughton conceded that they were up against a strong team in the Toffees but he will be hoping for more from their game this weekend.

Leroy Fer remains the most heavily penalised player in the league this term, the Dutchman’s abrasive style drawing the attention of officials probably a little too much for Chris Hughton’s liking. Fer has racked up 39 fouls this season according to the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index.

Steven Whittaker was on strong form last time out, despite the eventual scoreline. He racked up the joint highest number of interceptions of any player in the league during the last round of fixtures with 7. Similar solidity from the rest of Norwich defense, along with more communication with the midfield, should see them start to plug the gaps that have lead to them to their current run of results.

Chris Hughton will know that his midfield needs to start contributing more goals to the cause to supplement the efforts of his front men if they are to maintain a challenge for survival this season. Both Bradley Johnson and Robert Snodgrass had 3 attempts each during the last round, yet neither of them managed to hit the target.

Gary Hooper has already registered five goals for the Canaries in the league since his arrival from Celtic, but if his ever-improving shots accuracy statistics are anything to go by, it won’t be long before he adds to that total. Hooper now has the best shot accuracy rate of any player in the Norwich squad, working the ‘keeper with 68.4% of his 19 attempts. Hooper is 2/1 with 888sport.com to score at any time this weekend.

Hull are also coming of a loss coming into this weekend, following their 0-2 defeat to Chelsea last time out. Despite the scoreline suggesting the Blues won at something of a canter after two early goals, Steve Bruce’s men actually managed to starve Chelsea of too many scoring opportunities and they will need to do mindful of the same against Gary Hooper & co this weekend.

If Maynor Figueroa and Curtis Davies continue in their current defensive form, Hull will have a good chance of staying in the Premier League come May. The pair have 101 interceptions this term, the second highest club pairing in the league behind Crystal Palace’s Mile Jedinak and Joel Ward according to the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index.

Tom Huddlestone is impressing in the midfield for Hull so far this season, but so is his former Tottenham colleague Jake Livermore. He’s hot on Huddlestone’s heels for the distinction of being Hull’s leading passer this term, with 411 completed passes in the opponent’s half to Huddlestone’s squad best 433.

More often than not, when Liam Rosenior has committed to winning the ball this season, he’s come out on top. He currently has the best tackle success rate of any Hull player, winning 85.3% of his 34 attempted challenges.

Robbie Brady has had to endure a difficult time of it this season, the Irish international struggling to get a consistent run of games due to injury. When he has played though, he’s certainly been effective. He may have only had 5 shots on goal but 80% of these have worked the ‘keeper.