Time to wrap up, so here’s Paul MacInnes’ report from Carrow Road. Thanks for joining me. It was better than expected. Enjoy your weekends. Bye!
Full time! Norwich 0-2 Watford
And there’s the final whistle. Well played Watford. They took their chances, and picked up a clean sheet to boot. This was a must-win game, and they won it.
94 mins: Drmic floats a cross into Foster’s arms. Watford are about to earn their first league win of the season.
92 mins: Godfrey sends a decent low effort a foot wide of Foster’s far post.
Catherine Marriott-Brown completes the circle! “I’m a disappointed Watford fan, gutted to be missing this game, because I am working ... at Champion Hill.”
90 mins: Five added minutes. Norwich don’t look like scoring if they had five hours – particularly with Drmic, a second-half substitute, clearly injured and struggling to move.
Carlisle have won 4-1 at Dulwich Hamlet, claiming a place in the FA Cup second round, and bragging rights in the John Little Derby.
88 mins: Adam Masina comes on for José Holebas.
86 mins: Holebas avoids going in the book after bringing down Aarons on the edge of the area. Norwich again fail to make the most of the set piece, and Vrancic commits a needless foul, sapping Carrow Road of any last traces of optimism.
82 mins: Andre Gray has the piping bag in hand, but can’t apply the icing to the cake. From a corner, Watford break away and with Krul off his line, the striker tries to chip him – and sends his effort over the bar.
3 - Andre Gray has scored more Premier League goals as a substitute in 2019 than any other player (three). Super-sub.
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) November 8, 2019
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80 mins: A third change for Watford, with Mario Vrancic replacing Jamal Lewis. Cantwell has the chance to hook in a free kick from wide on the left – but sends it into the stands. He looks pretty disgusted with himself.
Up in Scotland, Dundee United have won 2-0 at Dundee – but does anyone out there have a personal connection to both ... ah. Never mind.
78 mins: A rare foray upfield leads to a free-kick, which Holebas sends skidding across the six-yard box with nobody anticipating at the far post. Doucoure forces a corner, and Holebas’ looping delivery causes Krul some problems – but Norwich clear.
76 mins: Cantwell’s cross is turned behind by Janmaat, a little close to Foster’s near post for his liking. From the corner, Lewis fires a speculator miles wide, as desperation begins to set in.
74 mins: Holebas concedes a free kick, and Cantwell can whip it in again. Nope, this time he plays it short, and Norwich keep probing, side to side, in front of the Watford defence ...
72 mins: Cantwell’s delivery from a free kick is excellent, forcing Dawson to nudge away with a lunging header. The ball is played back to McLean, whose shot stings Foster’s palms from 30 yards! Norwich have a corner ... which Cantwell sends floating out of play. Gah!
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70 mins: Deulofeu trots off, taking the scenic route across the turf, to be replaced by Adrian Mariappa. Shop very much shut up by Quique Sanchez Flores. Hughes goes in the book for a scrappy foul.
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68 mins: Norwich pile forward but Watford repel any balls into the box. Just over 20 minutes for them to find two goals ...
“Rest assured, there is plenty more regarding that particular uncle of mine,” writes Mac Millings. “He left his second wife by leaving £5 on the kitchen table, and a note that said, ‘Here’s five pounds. Take the kids to the pictures. I’m leaving you.’ It was Christmas.”
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RED CARD! Kabasele sent off for Watford!
Is this a lifeline for Norwich? Kabasele, who has been abject, hauls Drmic down and earns an inevitable second yellow card. What was he thinking?
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62 mins: Left-back Jamal Lewis gets forward, and with a lack of options in the middle, belts a shot at goal. It’s heading for the top corner, but Ben Foster makes a fine diving save!
61 mins: A double change for Norwich, with Todd Cantwell and forward Josip Drmic replacing Stiepermann and Buendia, who stomps straight down the tunnel.
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59 mins: Norwich need a goal so very badly. Buendia’s dipping cross is cleared behind by Janmaat, and from the corner, Pukki fires an ambitious effort over the bar.
Over in the John Little Derby, Mike Jones has scored an absolute belter to put Carlisle 3-1 up.
57 mins: Capoue goes down under a challenge from Trybull, after both players chase down Kabasele’s weak clearance. Worrying for Watford given his recent injury woes, but Capoue looks OK to carry on.
“I’m a former Watford season ticket holder but now live in Brussels,” writes Aled Walker. “The Irish pub is showing the game with no sound, so I’m now just following the MBM. My girlfriend is from Norwich and doesn’t care about football, but at the moment we’re 1-0 up and that’s all that counts right?” Make that two, Aled. Make that two.
55 mins: Lewis gives Janmaat a shove as Norwich’s frustrations threaten to boil over. They were so passive in the buildup to Gray’s goal. What happened?
52 mins: A clinic in being, well, clinical from the visitors, with Hughes sliding a pass out left to Deulofeu, who slips past Tettey, then lifts in a cross towards Gray at the second time of asking. It’s slightly behind the striker, who spins and catches the ball sweetly with his heel, and it deflects in off the unfortunate Jamal Lewis.
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GOAL! Norwich 0-2 Watford (Gray 52)
Watford make them pay, Andre Gray’s outrageous heel-flick doubling their lead!
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51 mins: Watford are pinging it around midfield, with Norwich lacking the intensity they showed in the first half ...
49 mins: A first booking of the game, and no prizes for guessing it’s gone to Christian Kabasele, for a foul on Onel Hernandez.
@niallmcveigh I would like to hear more from Mac Millings, please.
— Paul Neilan (@PaulNeilan_) November 8, 2019
47 mins: Doucoure ambles forward and has a shot that never looks like troubling Tim Krul.
@niallmcveigh I did purchase one of Delia's cookbooks in Watford high street once, does that count?
— Andrew Bridges (@AndrewBridges61) November 8, 2019
Kick off 2
We’re back under way at Carrow Road. At Champion Hill, Dulwich have pulled one back through Christian Smith.
“We’re Norwich fans by geography, but when my nan moved to Stevenage she suggested we pick up Watford as the Hertfordshire team,” writes Stephen Rainbird. “When it comes to Norwich v Watford we’re all too emotionally attached to the Canaries – although I have a soft spot for Stevenage. At the rate things are going, I wouldn’t be surprised if Stevenage and Watford end up playing the Hertfordshire derby every season.”
“I’m a Watford supporter, and I was taken to my first match at Vicarage Road by my uncle,” writes Mac Millings. “The Norwich connection is that my uncle’s third wife tried (unsuccessfully) to poison him, and she was from that fine and ancient city. They stayed together, mind.”
Your big half-time read
Half time! Norwich 0-1 Watford
After an absolutely dreadful start, Norwich were the better side for much of that first 45 minutes. They’ve shown plenty of attacking verve and invention, but can’t kind the breakthrough. Watford have looked cagey as they try to defend their lead, but could have gone 2-0 up through Andre Gray. More soon.
47 mins: Pukki and Buendia link up well, but the latter can’t prod the ball through to McLean. From the throw-in, Pukki has another go with an awkward volley which Foster claims.
46 mins: There’ll be three added minutes. Pukki shoots low through a crowd of bodies, but it’s easy for Foster.
45 mins: It just won’t quite happen for Norwich in front of goal. Buendia surges into the area and pulls back for Pukki, but the striker is on his heels and Kabasele makes a terrific tackle. In August, those were going in.
44 mins: Deulofeu also takes a moment to clear his head after taking a ball to the face. He’s fine to carry on.
42 mins: Pukki is down holding his face after a challenge from Doucoure. Replays show the Watford midfielder used his arm to hold him off, but nothing more sinister than that.
41 mins: A lull in the intensity with half-time approaching. Can Norwich (or, indeed, Watford) make something happen?
39 mins: Norwich go close again! Hernandez finds Pukki, who has drifted away from his central position. The Finn’s sharp cutback finds Buendia, who fires over under pressure.
37 mins: Kabasele manages to deal with Hernandez this time, digging the ball out and winning a free kick. In the John Little Derby, it’s now 2-0 to Carlisle. Those outrageously overpriced coffees will taste all the sweeter if they can hold on.
35 mins: Watford inch upfield, and Holebas lays the ball inside to Capoue. 25 yards, he sends a daisy-cutter roughly 40 feet wide.
34 mins: And again! Hernandez whips a cross in from the byline, and McLean connects with an angled header that Foster saves.
33 mins: Janmaat and Kabasele have been chatting about how to stop Hernandez rinsing them so relentlessly. It doesn’t work, the Cuban powering away again and cutting back to Stiepermann, whose control lets him down.
32 mins: Oooof, that’s so nearly 2-0 to Watford! From Deulofeu’s pull-back, substitute Gray turns his man neatly and looks to fire into the bottom corner – but Godfrey makes a terrific block and it squirms wide! Holebas heads over at the near post from the corner.
“This is a bonkers game already,” says Stephen Carr. “It’s as if it’s the 89th minute and somehow both teams are losing.”
30 mins: McLean’s sweeping diagonal almost sets Hernandez away, but he’s a fraction offside. Pereyra is unable to continue – perhaps there are worries over a concussion – and Andre Gray replaces him.
28 mins: A welcome breather for both sides as Roberto Pereyra requires some treatment. By the way, does anyone have a personal connection with Watford and Norwich? Get in touch.
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Over in the John Little derby, Carlisle still lead 1-0 through Olufela Olomola’s early goal. And no, I won’t be fielding questions over whether East Dulwich is really part of Peckham.
26 mins: The pace of this game is ridiculous. Now Watford charge downfield, but Pereyra is isolated – and well held up by Aarons. Doucouré then gets involved, charging in from the right as Norwich defenders skitter around him. His deflected shot loops into Krul’s clutches.
24 mins: Norwich’s midfield movement is causing Watford all sorts of problems. This time, Hernandez jinks inside from the left, and his shot so nearly deflects into the path of Pukki!
23 mins: Watford break, and Hughes fires over from a narrow angle. This has been cracking so far.
22 mins: Another opening for the hosts, as Hernandez races onto a pinpoint through ball. Foster is off his line and makes a crucial intervention, and even though the ball rebounds to Pukki, he is crowded out and can’t lift the ball back towards the empty net.
20 mins: Penalty shout for Norwich, as McLean muscles into the box, then goes down under a challenge from Holebas. Andre Marriner waves it away ...
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“I used to live in East Dulwich (or Peckham as it was then) and my parents are from Carlisle, so I would agree that is the biggest game of the night. References to the John Little derby much appreciated” writes John Little.
18 mins: Buendia opts to cross from the right-hand corner of the area, and Cathcart is there again to get a useful touch.
17 mins: Cuba’s Onel Hernandez is proving effective on the left wing, surging into space and almost picking out the lurking Pukki. Catchcart hoiks it clear, and although Watford deal with the corner, they concede a free-kick seconds later ...
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15 mins: McLean and Stiepermann link up nicely, causing Kabasele to slip on the edge of the box. A big shout for handball, but nothing doing.
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14 mins: Norwich’s last win after going behind in the Premier League was against … Watford, in 2016. The hosts are trying, but have done nothing to trouble the visiting defence so far.
12 mins: Deulofeu slices Norwich open with an outside-of-the-foot pass out wide to Janmaat, whose tempting cross eventually falls to the Spaniard. His shot from a tight angle rolls wide, but that was a warning.
10 mins: Watford wing-back Holebas has a go from 25 yards out, but his shot is charged down by Aarons, who asks Buendia for a little help in defending that right side.
“Norwich have a goal-poaching option among their substitutes,” writes Peter Oh. “But he Cantwell score from the bench, can he?”
Now we’ve started!
8 mins: While I imagine what ‘Dulwich Hamlet’ sounds like in an American accent, Norwich try to get a foothold in the game, with Hernandez trying to make inroads down the left. He fails, but Watford have been happy to sit back since going ahead.
5 mins: Norwich win a corner, but can’t do anything with it. What a rough start that was – the crowd are understandably a little subdued.
“This isn’t even the only massive game going on right now!” writes JR in Illinois. “Dulwich Hamlet are hosting Carlisle United in hot FA Cup first round action. For some reason they are showing that game here in the US, so I’m going to keep an eye on that as well as this one.”
Indeed, JR. Carlisle have taken an early, atmosphere-sapping lead at Champion Hill.
2 mins: Emi Buendia has to take some of the blame, attempting a daft stepover in midfield and losing the ball. There’s still plenty for Gerard Deulofeu to do, but the Norwich defence refuse to close him down and he just keeps going, sashaying into the area and slotting the ball beyond Krul!
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GOAL! Norwich 0-1 Watford (Deulofeu 2')
Watford take the lead after 76 seconds!
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Kick-off!
After a minute’s remembrance, the game gets under way. Norwich are in green and gold, Watford in a navy/purple change kit.
The teams are heading out of the tunnel. Right on cue, the rain has started falling at Carrow Road.
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This isn’t the only massive game on this weekend – Liverpool are playing Manchester City on Sunday, in case you hadn’t heard.
Quique Sánchez Flores, the charismatic detective to Farke’s rugged supervillain, has made three changes to his Watford team, with José Holebas, Étienne Capoue and Will Hughes replacing Adam Masina, Nathan Chalobah and Andre Gray. Troy Deeney joins Gray on the bench, with Gerard Deulofeu and Roberto Pereyra forming an unusual strike duo.
Here’s Martin Laurence on what Flores needs to do to get Watford out of trouble:
This fixture has regularly delivered goals in recent years, as Simon Burnton notes in this week’s 10 things to look out for:
“This could be a barnstorming 10-10 draw, fit to make Liverpool and Arsenal blush,” writes Bill Jones, “but only if their inability to score succumbs to their failure to keep goals out.”
Who’s this beautiful man with a lovely voice? It’s Annie Lennox Daniel Farke, who is positively chipper despite his team’s recent struggles.
““It’s an important game, but it’s not all over whether we win or lose,” he says. “Even after Man City, we knew there would be difficult times, and we’ve had an injury crisis.”
“In football, all topics are connected. We’ve had to be more solid in defence, but now we’re not so fluent as before, so we’ve got to find that balance. To play football with the knife between your teeth, but with a smile on your face, it’s difficult.”
The teams
Norwich (4-2-3-1): Krul; Aarons, Tettey, Godfrey, Lewis; Trybull, McLean; Buendía, Stiepermann, Hernández; Pukki.
Subs: Fährmann, Byram, Vrancic, Cantwell, Drmic, Amadou, Srbeny.
Watford (3-4-1-2): Foster; Kabasele, Dawson, Cathcart; Janmaat, Capoue, Doucouré, Holebas; Hughes; Deulofeu, Pereyra.
Subs: Gomes, Mariappa, Deeney, Masina, Chalobah, Gray, Femenía.
Referee: Andre Marriner.
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Preamble
It’s nights like these that make you wonder how the Premier League gets away with it. The top flight’s Friday live slate rarely captures the imagination, but this clash between the league’s bottom two looks the most unappealing prospect on paper since [insert your own Brexit joke here].
That said, nobody expected a nine-goal thriller when Southampton hosted Leicester, and this early six-pointer does have the potential to be eminently watchable. Despite both being odds-on for the drop, these two teams are still capable of playing fluid, intelligent attacking football when everything clicks.
Unfortunately, both are also waist-deep in existential crises, weeks spent in the bottom three eroding their sense of identity. Watford brought in Quique Sánchez Flores to tighten up their defence, and have scored two goals in their last six league games. As for Norwich, well, they’ll always have Manchester City.
Since that statement win, Daniel Farke’s side have lost to a host of mid-table teams (Brighton, Burnley, Palace, Villa, United) without putting up much of a fight. Like his opposite number, Farke is caught between sticking to his team’s attacking ideals and buckling down for a dogfight, and is currently doing neither well.
As a result, all bets are off tonight. We might get a feast of attacking flair, or a buffet of defensive howlers. Either team could conceivably do what Leicester did, and turn what looks a tight contest into a shooting gallery. Who knows, maybe Elton or Delia will feel compelled to intervene – and maybe the Man know’s what he’s doing after all.
Kick-off: 8pm GMT. Team news and buildup to follow …
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