That’s all from me today. Thanks for following. I’ll leave you with Nick Ames’s report from Carrow Road …
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While we wait to hear from the managers, here’s something for Leicester fans to ponder
3 - Leicester have now lost three of their last four Premier League games against teams starting the day in the bottom half (W1 D0 L3), having lost just one of their first 18 games of this kind under Brendan Rodgers (W13 D4 L1). Slack. pic.twitter.com/u1zzT0KCDy
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) February 28, 2020
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More here from goalscorer Lewis, who thinks Norwich can still make it.
“When the season started we knew it would be a battle from the beginning but with the squad and togetherness we always thought we could push through and survive in this league.”
Norwich’s flying fullbacks Jamal Lewis and Max Aarons have been revelling in their victory tonight.
“I cut across it and aimed for that spot,” says Lewis of his goal, which came from an Aarons cross.
“The finish wasn’t a surpise for me, he works on it every day,” adds Aarons. “This is massive for us. We will go to Sheffield United with all guns blazing.”
Leicester’s poor run continues and that unexpected defeat means it’s just one win in the last seven for them in the Premier League. Their top four spot is looking more precarious by the week but they still have quite a gap to defend so I’m sure Brendan Rodgers won’t be panicking just yet.
That’s Norwich’s fifth win of the season and second clean sheet at home. More importantly, it leaves them four points from safety with 10 games still to play. Not impossible with a fair wind...
Full-time: Norwich City 1 Leicester City 0
They couldn’t, could they? Norwich have given themselves a fighting chance of survival with a crucial win. Well done them.
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90min+4 Norwich have a free kick deep in the Leicester half with only a minute to play Drmic almost makes it 2-0. Time’s almost up now anyway and Carrow Road is jumping...
90min+1 Five minutes added time as another cross from Chilwell goes astray. Norwich are almost home and hosed.
Summary
89 min Nothing doing again as Leicester are frustrated in attack. A break from Norwich then sees Schmeichel called into action to deny Stiepermann.
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87 min Stiepermann enters the fray in what will be the last change of the night. He comes on for Duda, who has played well but should really have scored.
85 min It’s not looking great for Leicester, who are struggling to create anything as the clock ticks down. Lots of sideways passing but no killer ball.
81 min That’s enough for Pukki, who has been replaced by Josip Drmic as Norwich look to see this through.
“It may not look sexy stats-wise but this has been a very watchable match between two likeable teams,” emails Speakeasy Ray seven minutes ago. “Norwich hardly look cowed and the Foxes look dangerous - that Canaries goal sets this up for a brilliant 20 minutes.”
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78 min Barnes smashes a wayward shot into the River Yare. They’ll need a boat for that one. On comes Marc Albrighton for Perez in a last throw of the dice for Rodgers.
75 min Leicester are pushing forward and almost found a way through down the right just now after good play from Ricardo. Can Norwich stand firm for a second clean sheet of the season at home?
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73 min That’s Norwich’s first goal from open play for nearly 700 minutes and a first Premier League goal for Lewis. The ball came to him after a cross from Aarons from the right eluded everyone in the middle but the finish was briliant, swerving right into the corner to leave Schmeichel helpless. Meanwhile Ndidi spurns a chance to equalise almost immediately...
GOAL! Norwich City 1 Leicester Cty 0
Jamal Lewis scores from a crazy angle to give the Canaries hope. What a strike!
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68 min Wilfred Ndidi is on for Leicester in his first appearance since 22 January. Meanwhile a knackered Cantwell is replaced by Lukas Rupp
66 min Best chance of the night so far for Norwich and Duda should really have made it 1-0 after a lovely pass from Buendia. He went for power over placement though and Schmeichel was able to make a comfortable save.
65 min Barnes has been a real livewire for Leicester all night and he is the latest to test Krul but again his shot is straight at the goalkeeper. Where’s Jamie Vardy when you need him? At home nursing his calf injury probably.
61 min Schmeichel produces an important reaction save to deny a fierce shot from Duda. Much better from Norwich, who haven’t had a shot on target since the ninth minute apparently. Then Praet brings down Aarons and is duly booked.
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57 min Kenny McLean tried his very best to take out Barnes with a cynical challenge but the winger is too quick for him! Lucky boy...
55 min Perez connects well with Chilwell’s cross but the header is well off target. Just had another look at that Iheancho decision and it was incredibly harsh, with the ball just brushing his hand as it fell to his feet.
53 min Grant Hanley takes one for the team to bring down a flying Harvey Barnes and is shown a yellow card for his troubles. The free kick is cleared but it’s been a strong start to this half from the visitors.
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51 min The decision to disallow the goal certainly hasn’t gone down well with the Leicester fans, who serenade Carrow Road with a chorus of ‘Fuck VAR’. It was harsh but them’s the rules these days
49 min Iheanacho has the ball in the net but it’s been disallowed by VAR after replays showed the ball hit his arm as he was bringing it under control. A shame because it was a brilliant finish from outside the box.
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47 min Teemu Pukki thought he was in for a second but was correctly flagged offside. There needs to be a big half coming up for him if Norwich are to kick off their great escape.
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The teams are back out and it doesn’t look like there have been any changes. Let’s go!
Some half-time reading if you will forgive the shameless self-promotion....
"It's important for him not to lose his mind because all of hard drive passwords are in his head". Rui Pinto's evidence has already contributed to Man City's Champions League ban and numerous other high-profile investigations. But what else does he know? https://t.co/mC7wxN2pLp
— Ed Aarons (@ed_aarons) February 28, 2020
Half-time: Norwich City 0-0 Leicester City
Both sides had their chances but Leicester will be more disappointed not to be ahead. Now where’s Delia?
45 min+2 Another foul from Maddison gives Norwich a late opportunity in stoppage time but they can’t make it count.
44 min Leicester’s latest chance from a corner falls to Evans but his header is tame and easy for Tim Krul to gather. Maddison is always such a danger from set-pieces.
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42 min Cantwell’s mazy run sets up Pukki for a shot at goal but the Finland striker scuffs his shot well wide. Some lovely touches again from the England Under-21 player in the buildup, he’s having a great season despite Norwich’s struggles.
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39 min Iheanacho wastes a brilliant opportunity to give Leicester the lead after a mistake from Jamal Lewis but the Nigerian blazes the chance over from six yards out. Replays suggested it may have been disallowed anyway by VAR but it was still a bad miss.
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35 min Delia Smith has just been spotted in the stands but it doesn’t look like she is in the mood for another speech. That could change if Norwich concede before half-time of course...
33 min Cantwell prevents Ricardo from whipping in another cross but concedes a corner in the process. But Soyuncu’s overhead kick is so bad it doesn’t even go for a throw-in!!
30 min Ben Chilwell has been receiving treatment next to the dugouts which has allowed Brendan Rodgers to have a quick chat with Maddison and Jonny Evans. More of the same is the instruction I’d imagine. Chilwell is back on his feet again now so we’re all good.
28 min Grant Hanley comes to Norwich’s rescue after great work from Ayoze Perez sees him square the ball across the box. A corner routine then almost sees Iheanacho steal in to convert a brilliant cross from Maddsion. The pressure is building.
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26 min Leicester hit the post! Ricardo’s cross from the right is diverted onto the woodwork by Praet, much to the relief of the home supporters.
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24 min Some more free-flowing football from Norwich with Cantwell at the heart of it once more. But then his mistake allows Praet to break only for Iheanacho to plant his shot into the river.
22 min Caglar Soyuncu is good looking enough to be a Hollywood movie star but is also pretty good at defending. He had to be at his best to block Pukki’s shot there after some nice buildup play from Norwich.
19 min Nice footwork from Harvey Barnes to set up Dennis Praet for a shot outside the area but it’s straight at the keeper. This game is bubbling up nicely...
14 min Maddison lucky to escape a booking after a foul on Aarons. “Next one,” says referee Craig Pawson
12 min Todd Cantwell is a real talent, as shown by his burst up field just now that saw him brought down for a foul 35 yards out. Buendia shapes to take it but only finds the wall.
9 min Poor defending from Ben Chilwell gives Ondrej Duda the opportunity to cross from the right after a corner and Ben Godfrey’s header is on target but straight at Schmeichel.
7 min An excellent corner from Maddison picks out Hamza Choudhury totally unmarked but his header flies over the bar. A decent chance that
5 min A big night for Kelechi Iheanacho, who has enjoyed something of a revival under Brendan Rodgers. He gets the better of his marker but Leicester can’t make the most of it in the end
2 mins And we’re under way with Max Aarons putting in an early cross for Teemu Pukki which is easily gathered by Schmeichel
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The rain is coming down hard now in Norwich as the teams emerge onto the pitch. The home manager knows they are up against it but clearly won’t be giving up before it’s all over.
“It’s difficult - we’re realistic,” admits Daniel Farke. “But you have a chance in every game.”
Perhaps they could do with some kryptonite at the back, suggests Richard T. W. Arthur via email
“On my way to the ophthamologist’s, I notice that Norwich have Supermann on the bench,” he writes. “Surely he should be playing? They could certainly use his help.”
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Norwich have the fewest points at home this season in the Premier League with just 12 so it’s no surprise they are rock bottom. They have kept just one clean sheet at home this season and will be wary of the threat posed by Leicester even in Vardy’s absence.
A nice interview with James Maddison, who has admitted he has been looking forward to facing his former club all season. He spent two seasons at Carrow Road after joining from Coventry in 2016 but says there will be no room for any sentimentality once the game has started.
“It’ll be a nice occasion but, make no mistake, we’re here to get three points,” Maddison told Sky just now.
The erudite Efan Ekoku is a pundit for Sky this evening and he has been assessing why his former side Norwich have struggled so much this season . “I’m disappointed,” said the former striker. “There have been lots of good performances but they’ve not been able to get across the finishing line enough.”
By way of pure coincidence, it happens to be exactly 15 years to the night since Delia Smith’s infamous half-time teamtalk during their match against Manchester City. Here’s a reminder of her stirring words as you’ve never heard them before...
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So much for my bit about Vardy in the preamble then! As well as Leicester fans, I’m sure there are a few Fantasy League managers also reeling from his absence tonight. This could be a big opportunity for Norwich to get three points but then again it’s not all about Vardy with this Brendan Rodgers’ team...
And there’s a boost for Norwich fans who like their playmakers with the news that Emi Buendia is back in the team having been left on the bench recently by Daniel Farke.
🚨 TEAM NEWS 🚨
— Norwich City FC (@NorwichCityFC) February 28, 2020
◾ @Em10Buendia is back in the XI
◾ Rupp drops to the bench
◾️ McGovern among the substitutes#NORLEI
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Some early team news and it’s a big shock with Jamie Vardy not in the Leicester squad due to a reported calf injury. Kelechi Iheanacho comes in up top
Leicester City's starting XI for #NorLei, brought to you by @eToro 🦊
— Leicester City (@LCFC) February 28, 2020
Preamble
Evening all. Welcome to our coverage of tonight’s Premier League game between Norwich and Leicester at Carrow Road. It’s almost do-or-die for the Canaries with games quickly running out to save themselves from the drop as they prepare to welcome the high-flying Foxes to East Anglia.
Seven points stand between Daniel Farke’s side and safety going into this match but you can bet their supporters will be up for a bit of Friday football under the lights, even with Storm Jorge expected to wreak havoc in the UK this weekend. Can Norwich end their five-match wait for a victory just when they need it most?
Meanwhile, Leicester having been licking their wounds after the late defeat to Manchester City last week and will be keen to bounce back tonight with a victory. They still have a nine point lead over Manchester United in fifth but will know that this is a great opportunity to extend that before Ole Gunnar Solskjær’s side face Everton on Sunday.
The last time Jamie Vardy scored in the Premier League against city on 21 December no one had heard of coronavirus and he was five goals clear of his nearest rival in the race for the Golden Boot. Fast forward 10 weeks and Arsenal’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has drawn level on 17 so it’s up to Leicester’s talisman to hit back.
It could be a thriller. Join me...
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