Two Premier League teams will lock horns in the fourth round of the FA Cup on Saturday afternoon as Wolverhampton Wanderers welcome Norwich City to Molineux.
The hosts have won their last two home matches, scoring three goals in each, while the Canaries netted three times in their most recent away win at Watford.
Match preview
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Since mid-December, Wolves have enjoyed a positive run of form, winning five and drawing one of their last six matches across all competitions. A run of three successive Premier League victories in January has seen manager Bruno Lage nominated for the Manager of the Month award and midfielder Joao Moutinho shortlisted for the player's equivalent.
The Wanderers currently occupy eighth place in the Premier League table, but as they are only four points behind Manchester United in fourth with a game in hand, dreams of Champions League qualification cannot be ruled out just yet.
Lage's men will now head into Saturday's FA Cup fixture seeking to advance to the fifth round in consecutive seasons for the first time since 1993-94 and 1994-95.
Wolves have won five of their last seven FA Cup ties at Molineux, including a comfortable 3-0 win against Sheffield United in the third round this term, which saw Daniel Podence score a brace; the Portuguese winger has now netted in each of their three domestic cup matches this season and he will be hoping to add to his tally this weekend.
The four-time FA Cup winners will be keen to enjoy a cup run this campaign and continue their journey with a victory against a Norwich side who they are unbeaten against in their last five meetings.
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While Norwich fans would welcome an FA Cup run, Premier League survival remains their priority and the appointment of Dean Smith has certainly boosted their hopes of remaining in the top flight.
Successive league wins against Everton and Watford – cruising to a 3-0 away win against the latter last time out – have helped the Canaries climb off the foot of the table and out of the relegation zone for the first time since the opening week of the season, though all three teams below them in the bottom three have at least one game in hand.
Smith will be keen for his side to build momentum with another victory when they face Wolves on Saturday; however, Molineux is a stadium where Norwich have struggled at over the years, winning just two of their last 31 visits.
Norwich have never won the FA Cup in their 120-year history, and have only reached the fifth round once in the last nine years, suffering defeat at the quarter-final stage against Manchester United in 2019-20.
The Canaries also suffered defeat in their two previous FA Cup ties with Wolves, losing 5-1 in the third round in 1971 and 3-2 in a fourth-round replay in 1980.
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Team News
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Wolves will be without Pedro Neto, Willy Boly and Yerson Mosquera due to injury, while Jonny and Hee-Chan Hwang – who made his loan move to Molineux permanent in January – are both doubtful and will be assessed ahead of kickoff.
Romain Saiss and Raul Jimenez are also doubtful as their spells away on international duty with Morocco and Mexico respectively have only just come to an end.
John Ruddy could be handed a start in goal ahead of Jose Sa, while 21-year-old winger Chiquinho, who joined the club from Portuguese side Estoril last month, will be in contention to make his debut, competing with the likes of Podence and Francisco Trincao for an attacking role in behind lone striker Fabio Silva.
Wolves can no longer call on the services of powerful winger Adama Traore, following his return to Barcelona on loan in the January window.
As for Norwich, Billy Gilmour, Lukas Rupp, Mathias Normann and Andrew Omobamidele could all return to the matchday squad after spells out with injury, but Tim Krul remains sidelined with a shoulder problem, so Angus Gunn is set to continue between the sticks.
Kenny McLean missed the victory at Watford due to COVID-19, but the Scotsman is now available to play and could start in centre-midfield.
Joshua Sargent starred against the Hornets with his first two league goals for the club, and the American could start again along with Milot Rashica on the flanks, with Teemu Pukki and Adam Idah leading the line in attack.
Wolverhampton Wanderers possible starting lineup:
Ruddy; Kilman, Coady, Gomes; Semedo, Neves, Dendoncker, Ait-Nouri; Chiquinho, Podence; Silva
Norwich City possible starting lineup:
Gunn; Byram, Kabak, Gibson, Giannoulis; Sargent, McLean, Lees-Melou, Rashica; Pukki, Idah
We say: Wolverhampton Wanderers 1-0 Norwich City
A goalless draw was played out the last time that these two sides faced each other in the Premier League, and another low-scoring affair could be on the cards this weekend.
Both Wolves and Norwich have decent form under their belts, but the hosts will be the favourites to edge into the fifth round.
Top tip
Oliver Thomas
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Wolverhampton Wanderers win with a probability of 44.14%. A win for Norwich City had a probability of 28.96% and a draw had a probability of 26.9%.
The most likely scoreline for a Wolverhampton Wanderers win was 1-0 with a probability of 11.93%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (8.81%) and 2-0 (8.26%). The likeliest Norwich City win was 0-1 (9.2%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.73%). The actual scoreline of 0-1 was predicted with a 9.2% likelihood.
