Afternoon all. The international break is upon us, but not before Norwich City play host to Chelsea at Carrow Road today. Both sides need the three points for different reasons, so it should be a very watchable contest.

Right, even though there is still around 50 minutes until we get started, the team news is just starting to filter through. Let's take a look at the hosts first...

NORWICH XI: Ruddy; Martin, Bassong, Turner, Olsson; Howson, Tettey, Fer, Pilkington, Snodgrass; Van Wolfswinkel

Some may be surprised, but Chris Hughton has kept faith with Ricky van Wolfswinkel, rather than turn to the fit again Gary Hooper. The Dutchman will play as a lone striker, with the support being provided by the likes of Anthony Pilkington and Jonny Howson. The big news for the Canaries is that Sebastien Bassong has returned from injury to take up a role alongside Michael Turner at centre-back.

And now let's have a look at how the visitors will start this fixture...

CHELSEA XI: Cech; Ivanovic, Luiz, Terry, Cole; Ramires, Lampard; Oscar, Mata, Schurrle; Ba

Well, a penny for Samuel Eto'o's thoughts right now. With Fernando Torres injured and suspended, the Cameroon international looked a sure bet to start. Jose Mourinho has plumped for Demba Ba to lead his attack, though, while Juan Mata has also kept his place. Elsewhere, Andre Schurrle's performance in the Champions League on Tuesday night was enough for him to also retain his wide role ahead of Eden Hazard.

Staying with Hazard, he has been deemed fit enough for a place on the bench after a recent spell on the sidelines with an injury. Before we go any further, let's take a closer look at who will be joining the Belgian among the substitutes...

NORWICH SUBS: Bunn, Whittaker, Johnson, Hooper, Elmander, Redmond, R Bennett

CHELSEA SUBS: Schwarzer, Azpilicueta, Cahill, Essien, Willian, Hazard, Eto’o

The big plus for Norwich is that Nathan Redmond has returned to the squad. A muscular problem kept him out of the win at Stoke and although Norwich were able to collect a positive result in the Potteries, they still missed his influence. The England youth international will certainly be a good option if things are not going their way today.

Talking of that Stoke game, someone that impressed for Norwich was Pilkington. The winger, who has recently been reinstalled to the team after an injury, has just been talking to Sky Sports News. Here's some of what he had to say:

"These are massive games and everyone enjoys playing in them. You are on the biggest stage and you want to show them what you are capable of. We are going to try to play the same way that we did against Stoke - press high."

Meanwhile, also speaking to Sky Sports News, Chelsea's Mata has expressed a determination to help his side win for the first time away from home in the Premier League this season:

"The last two or three games we've played really well. I'm enjoying my football and I want to give my best every time. It's time for us to win away, today we will try to win because we need it."

It's quotes galore at the moment! Here's Norwich boss Hughton, who has just spoken to Sky Sports News: "I'd like to think we are going in to today's game with a lot of confidence.

"You've got to be able to stop them getting into a flow. If you let them have chances, it's only a matter of time. We're at home and it is a difficult place to come. I've got a group of lads and every single one of them wants to be involved in these sorts of games."

Sticking with Hughton and he must have some belief in Van Wolfswinkel. The club's record signing made an instant impression on his debut by scoring against Everton, but he hasn't found the net since then. What's more, he was largely on the fringes of last week's win a Stoke, although the reports were that he was suffering with a toe injury. It wouldn't be a bad way for him to reward his manager for his faith with a goal today, would it?!

Of course, such are the options available to Hughton now, he can turn to either Hooper of Johan Elmander if Van Wolfswinkel fails to fire. Add to that Redmond among the subsitutes and you can see that he has started to assemble an impressive squad at Carrow Road.

Talking of impressive benches, those Chelsea replacements will take some beating! Hazard and Willian between them cost around £60m - that's more than the entire Norwich squad!

And now we've heard from Mourinho, who has been talking to Sky Sports News about his decision to include Ba in the starting lineup: "The thinking is that first of all he works hard. He is a good professional and good professionals deserve respect and deserve a chance now and then.

"Also this is a typical English match, on a small pitch against an opponent that plays quite aggressive and we believe this game is adapted for someone who has lots of matches in the Premier League."

The Portuguese coach went on to add: "Normally we are fine. We won the last match and played very well. It's difficult to play here - they have a good team and a very good support."

Some positive news for Norwich midfielder Leroy Fer just before this match gets underway:

Leroy Fer is named Norwich City player of the month for September - probably the only real candidate! #ncfc #pinkun — Michael Bailey (@michaeljbailey) October 6, 2013

Right, the players are now making their way on to the pitch. There's a good atmosphere inside what is a sunny Carrow Road this afternoon. Not long now until we are off and running.

GAME ON! Here we go then - Norwich, attacking from left to right in the first half, get this contest underway.

Just moments after Ba is denied a penalty by the referee, he turns creator for Oscar. It's a great touch from the striker initially, before he gets his head up to pick out the Brazilian on the edge of the area. Instead of taking a touch, Oscar opts to strike the ball first time with the outside of his boot and the ball curls into bottom corner of John Ruddy's net. Lovely goal from the away side's point of view, but a nightmare start for Norwich.

Not much yet from the Canaries in terms of a reaction. If anything, it's been all Chelsea, who are seeing so much of the ball. Norwich need to settle, and quick, because if the Blues score again, that could well be game over.

If Norwich are to gain a foothold in this game, you get the impression that Fer is going to be involved. Moments ago he picked up the ball inside the Chelsea half and drove towards the penalty area. The Dutchman then tried to pick out Van Wolfswinkel, but Ashley Cole retreated to clear the danger. Decent signs for Norwich nonetheless.

SAVE! Ba looks like a man with a point to prove today. He finds himself with time and space inside the area following Mata's through pass. The frontman decides to shoot despite a narrow angle, but he would have scored had Ruddy not got down quickly to his left to turn the ball around the post.

Another sign of promise for Norwich as they string together a neat passing move. It ends when Jonny Howson overhits a pass over the top for Russell Martin and the ball rolls out for a goal kick. Had the full-back been able to catch that, he would have a decent chance to equalise.

CHANCE! What is happening to English goalkeepers at the moment? The usually dependable Ruddy rushes off his line, but then loses out in a battle with Ba. The Norwich stopper is stranded, but Ba's effort is scuffed and Bassong is able to retreat and stop the ball from rolling over the line.

SAVE! First piece of action for Petr Cech and boy does the Chelsea goalkeeper do well. Van Wolfswinkel drives the ball into the area from the right byline and it looks as though Howson is going to score from six yards out. Cech sticks out a boot, though, and somehow he diverts the ball over the crossbar. The resultant corner comes to nothing, but it has brought the home faithful to life.

Some fouls are starting to creep into Norwich's game, which is not helping their cause. It's allowing Chelsea to slow the game down to their pace. Van Wolfswinkel has just committed two unlawful challenges on Luiz and is now on a final warning following a chat with Neil Swarbrick.

CHANCE! Whatever has been wrong with Joe Hart recently, Ruddy appears to have caught it! A routine ball is hoisted into his area, but under pressure from Ba, he drops the ball. Luckily he is able to recover the situation by flicking it out of play as Ba looked to pounce, but that's two escapes that he has had now.

CHANCE! Ba has arguably been Chelsea's best player so far, but he's just got his shot from inside the area horribly wrong. He's left one-on-one with Bassong and having reached the area, he cuts inside on his left foot. From there it all goes wrong as the ball flies high, wide and not very handsome.

Not too much happening at the moment, with Chelsea having slowed the contest right down. The likes of Oscar and Mata, as you'd expect, have looked extremely composed on the ball as they try to carve out an opening for Ba. The next goal is very important here.

Better from Norwich as both Howson and Snodgrass see half chances closed out by Chelsea, before the ball breaks to Alexander Tettey some 25 yards from goal. It's not a great hit from the midfielder and it eventually flies a coupe of yards wide, but it has surely given the home side some encouragement.

CHANCE! An audacious effort from Luiz, who spots Ruddy off his line from just inside the Norwich half. To be fair to Ruddy it looks as though he is in control of the situation as the ball lands on the roof of his net. Meanwhile, one minute of stoppage time has been signalled.

The half-time whistle goes just as Bassong sees his volleyed effort held by Cech. It felt towards the end of that half that the home side had grown in belief and perhaps the break has not come at the best time for them.

From Chelsea's point of view, Mourinho will probably be largely pleased with what he has seen. His side look dangerous in possession and have rarely been stretched at the back. The Portuguese coach should also be impressed with what he has seen from Ba, who has caused the home side no end of problems.

And here is how former Norwich striker Dion Dublin saw the first half:

Norwich are doing ok so far but BA is proving to by a massive handful for the boys at the back #concentrationiskey — Dion Dublin (@DionDublinsDube) October 6, 2013

To be fair to Norwich, they settled after a poor start to the match. The danger in the second half will be that at some point, they are going to have to commit more players forward in search of an equaliser. That will leave gaps in defence and with the likes of Mata and Oscar on the pitch, they could well be punished. It's a risk they will have to take, though.

SECOND HALF UNDERWAY! The players are back with us and Chelsea get proceedings restarted.

CHANCE! What an opportunity for Chelsea to double their advantage and it's Ba again. Ramires is the creator as he gets to the left byline before drilling the ball low into the area. Inexplicably the Norwich defence has left Ba all alone, but his contact is minimal and he can only flick an effort wide of the target. A big escape for the home side.

PENALTY APPEAL! Big shout from Norwich for a penalty, but Swarbrick is not interested - much to the disgust of the home supporters! It's Pilkington who takes a tumble under pressure from Ramires, but the referee waves play on. It did look clumsy from the Chelsea midfielder it must be said.

More lively work from Pilkington as he nips in on the blindside to steal possession from Branislav Ivanovic, before beating a hesitant Luiz. He then goes for goal from 25 yards out, but can only succeed in dragging the ball well wide of the target. The Republic of Ireland international has been bright since the restart.

CHANCE! What a great move from Norwich and they are mightily unlucky not to be level. Howson clips the ball over the top for Robert Snodgrass, who in turn heads it into the path of an onrushing Van Wolfswinkel. He improvises and uses his chest to lift the ball over Cech, but his effort skids inches wide of goal. The Norwich faithful have reacted to that and are trying to lift their team.

Fantastic defending from John Terry, who has just thrown himself in the way of Pilkington's goalbound effort. He then gets up quickly to hack clear the danger. Norwich are starting to turn the screw, but can they make the most of their domination? Meanwhile, Oscar has been booked for dissent.

CHANCE! What a miss from Oscar, who having just been booked, should have been celebrating his and Chelsea's second goal. Mata frees him inside the area with a deft pass, but as the Norwich defence parts like the Red Sea, the Brazilian lashes his shot well wide of the target from eight yards out.

A sign that Hughton is plotting a change? He has just sent both Hooper and Redmond out to get warmed-up.

The Canaries are level and you'd have to say that they deserve to be. Van Wolfswinkel should receive a lot of the credit because he gets up high and early to nod down the ball. From there it is a battle between Pilkington and Luiz, which the Norwich midfielder wins and he sends the ball underneath Cech with a skimmed header from six yards out. Soon after, Tettey goes into the book for a foul on Schurrle.

SUBSTITUTIONS: It's time for Hooper and he replaces Van Wolfswinkel. He is yet to score in the Premier League for Norwich - can he break his duck today? Also looking for his first Chelsea goal is Eto'o and he is on for Ba.

SUBSTITUTION: Another switch for Chelsea and it is Ashley Cole who comes off with what looks to be a rib injury. It's an attacking change from Mourinho, because instead of bringing on a defender, he's called for Hazard.

SAVE! That's much more decisive from Ruddy as he gets down low to turn away Ivanovic's low strike from the edge of the area that had flown through a number of bodies. Moments later Hazard swivels himself free 10 yards from goal, but he cannot make a clean connection and only drags the ball wide.

SUBSTITUTIONS: Another swap for Norwich and credit to Hughton because it appears that he is trying to win this match. He has taken off Snodgrass and replaced him with the lively Redmond. Chelsea have also made their last switch as Mata is given a breather and on comes Willian.

SAVE! An instant impression from Redmond as he collects possession and runs at Luiz. The winger fashions out a shooting chance for himself and powers the ball towards goal. Cech is behind it, but it takes both hands to clear the danger. What an impact from the young Norwich substitute.

What a howler from Tettey, who may have gifted Chelsea all three points. Chelsea break from a Norwich corner, but Oscar's lofted pass falls to Tettey. That should have been the end of the danger, but the midfielder's touch is too heavy and it allows Hazard a free strike at goal. He fires low and the ball squirms over the line despite Ruddy's best efforts.

Game, set and the match Chelsea and what a way to seal it! Willian has done very little since arriving at the club, but he has just scored a goal of the month contender from the edge of the area. It looks as though the Brazilian has little on, so he opts for a curling effort, which flies into the top corner of Ruddy's net. That's unstoppable and to be honest it's harsh on Norwich as well.

There will be four minutes of stoppage time at the end of this second half. Unsurprisingly, things have gone rather flat at Carrow Road.

Well they left it late, but Chelsea have their first win on the road in the Premier League this season. Norwich, with some justification, can feel hard done by, but that is the cruel nature of the Premier League.

That is all we have time for from Carrow Road. Thanks for joining us this afternoon and be sure to check out our analysis of the clash, which will be on the site shortly. Until next time, goodbye.