Norwich gives Potter a chance to stop writing unwanted Brighton history
Hands up, who else has quite enjoyed two-and-a-half weeks without having to watch the Albion? Not only has the break from football given Brighton fans a chance to stop despairing every weekend about another defeat, but it has provided Graham Potter with an opportunity to press the reset button ahead of the visit of struggling Norwich City.
Six consecutive losses have started to cause concern amongst Seagulls supporters. Whilst relegation seems nigh-on impossible this season thanks to the Albion’s form over the opening 23 games, the longer that ruts like these go on, the harder they become to break.
If Brighton were not to win again this season, then there becomes a danger that this relegation form continues into the following campaign.
Tony Bloom knows this, as Chris Hughton found out to his cost. Brighton sacked their popular promotion-winning boss after a desperate set of results and performances at the end of the 2018-19 season, even though he secured top flight survival.
Brighton v Norwich takes on the look of such an important game because it is hard to see where the Albion’s next win will come from otherwise.
The Canaries are arguably the worst team in the Premier League this season. After their visit, Brighton face Arsenal, Spurs and Manchester City all away from home.
Do not beat Norwich and the Albion’s winless run will in all likelihood extend to 10 games by the full time whistle at the Etihad Stadium.
Lose to Norwich and there is every chance Potter could end up overseeing 10 consecutive defeats. That would give the man hailed as the “Best English manager in the world” the same losing streak as Martin Hinshelwood and edge him closer to equalling the Albion club record of 13 defeats in a row, set in the 1972-73 campaign.
That would be some history lesson for Our Graham. And it is why three points – or at the very least a draw and a goal – is needed from Brighton v Norwich.
Norwich City this season
The ultimate yo-yo club look likely to continue their yo-yoing between the Premier League and the Championship. Having won the second tier at a canter last season, the Canaries took their normal approach of not spending much to survive in favour of pocketing the riches from the reaching the promised land (again).
Norwich tend to come in for heavy criticism for this, but when you see the bank account of a club like the Albion you can understand why.
Brighton’s latest set of figures showed that they have lost £270 million in four Premier League seasons. That money has been spent merely to survive with the Albion never finishing higher than 15th.
The form and performances of the past six weeks have made it unlikely they will be much higher this time around.
With Norwich not being lucky enough to have a billionaire benefactor like Mr Bloom happily spending such large sums, then their approach begins to make sense.
Lots of clubs have overstretched themselves in the past in an attempt to survive in the top flight, only to crash and burn financially when relegated to the Championship. There is no chance of Norwich doing that, which at least guarantees the stability and future of the club.
For 2021-22, they took the unusual step of sacking their manager in a bid to survive. Daniel Farke went in November to be placed by Dean Smith and although that has led to improved results, every other club in the bottom five or six has also enjoyed an upturn as well.
That leaves Norwich bottom of the table, eight points adrift of safety. Canaries fans can at least console themselves with the knowledge that they will the Championship title next season.
Team news
The main concern for Potter will be the continued absence of Adam Webster. Brighton’s form diving off a cliff coincided with the defender picking up his annual minor knock which ends up ruling him out for six weeks.
With Potter not trusting Shane Duffy to start games anymore, that means Brighton reverting to a back four. Defensively, they are not as strong playing that way.
Going forward, neither Marc Cucurella or Tariq Lamptey has the sort of freedom to attack which they thrive with. As a result, the Albion have managed just one shot on target in their past two matches at the Amex.
Alexis Mac Allister picked up an injury on international duty and is also a doubt. It is not all bad news though – Potter said in his pre-match press conference that Robert Sanchez and Tariq Lamptey should both be available despite being struck down last weekend with Covid-19.
Brandon Williams and Max Aarons are both out for Norwich. Josh Sargent has an ankle problem which may mean he does not get the chance to reproduce the astonishing miss he managed when the sides met at Carrow Road in October. Christoph Zimmermann and Grant Hanley are both in contention after missing recent matches.
Key battles
Another reason along with Webster’s absence for Brighton being so shit recently has been the form of Leandro Trossard. The Albion’s most creative player has failed to spark, the result being Brighton scoring only one goal in this run of six defeats.
That came via a Lewis Dunk header from a Pascal Gross free kick in the 2-1 loss at Newcastle United, so it is actually even longer since the Seagulls managed a goal from open play.
In what will hopefully be a good sign for Brighton ahead of the Norwich game, Trossard looked like his old self as he claimed two assists and scored in a man-of-the-match performance for Belgium against Burkina Faso in midweek.
If he can bring that form into the clash with the Canaries, then Brighton’s chances of winning will surely increase. He has a good record against Norwich too, scoring in two of his three career appearances against them so far.
Recent form
Both sides have lost their past six Premier League matches in a row. Whereas Brighton cannot create a chance for love nor money – let alone do something radical like score a goal – Norwich have at least fared slightly better in that regard, notching four times.
- 16/03/22: Brighton 0-2 Spurs
- 12/03/22: Brighton 0-2 Liverpool
- 05/03/22: Newcastle 2-1 Brighton
- 26/02/22: Brighton 0-2 Aston Villa
- 19/02/22: Brighton 0-3 Burnley
- 15/02/22: Man United 2-0 Brighton
Eyebrows were raised amongst Brighton supporters when the Albion released home tickets in the South Stand as Norwich had not sold out their away end.
The Canaries are traditionally very well supported. But who could blame them for not travelling to Sussex in numbers when their away record reads two wins, two draws and 10 defeats?
They are ghastly on the road and that should be another reason to expect a Brighton win, even if the Albion have won only three times in front of their own fans this season.
We say should, because Burnley rocked up to Brighton in February with even poorer form on their travels. The 800 Clarets fans who trekked down from Lancashire were treated to their first away win of the campaign.
Not so much a win actually – an absolute pummelling of the Albion in one of the worst afternoons Brighton have served up in a decade at the Amex.
- 13/03/22: The Leeds United 2-1 Norwich
- 10/03/22: Norwich 1-3 Chelsea
- 05/03/22: Norwich 1-3 Brentford
- 02/03/22: Liverpool 2-1 Norwich
- 25/02/22: Southampton 2-0 Norwich
- 19/02/22: Liverpool 3-1 Norwich
Last time Brighton played Norwich City
It finished 0-0 at Carrow Road. The only thing anyone will remember other than being bored shitless is Sargent somehow missing an open goal.
The U-S-A, U-S-A, U-S-A forward rounded Sanchez and simply had to roll the ball into the net to give Norwich three precious points.
Remarkably, his effort was so weak that Shane Duffy – not exactly blessed with pace – managed to race back and hack clear as it trickled towards the line.
Brighton v Norwich City head-to-head
Norwich are one of the sides who Brighton have faced the most in their history, largely though frequent meetings during the 1920s and 1930s in the old Division Three South.
Across 93 previous meetings, the Albion have won 31 times with Norwich triumphing on 33 occasions. 25 matches have ended level, although not many can have been as boring as that last game in Norfolk.
With so many matches taking place prior to 1935, Brighton were lucky enough to visit the Canaries’ former home of the Nest on a frequent basis.
The stadium was built into a giant chalk pit and a quick Google image search reveals how utterly incredible it was, with stands propped up against rock faces.
Sadly, the FA deemed the Nest unsafe when a corner of the pitch collapsed due to subsidence. The governing body forced Norwich to close it with Carrow Road being built as a replacement in only 82 days.
It was described as “the largest construction job in the city since the building of Norwich Castle”, although the redevelopment of the Linton Travel Tavern and the pedestrianisation of Norwich High Street have since proved worthy rivals to that title.
A reason why Brighton will win
Having had 17 days to consider why the Albion’s season has turned more sour than sucking on a lemon for two weeks, Potter will have realised that he needs to return to what worked earlier in the campaign.
Three at the back returns. Lamptey and Cucurella are used as wing backs. Trossard is given the freedom he needs to run at and trick people rather than passing relentlessly sideways like a robot.
Neal Maupay has support and chances created for him. Pascal Gross takes every set piece. Brighton rediscover their mojo playing the way that so clearly brings out the best in this group of players and everything seems right in the world again come 5pm.
A reason why Norwich will win
Potter continues his dalliance with a back four or reaches for evermore crazy ideas to try and break the losing habit, thinking himself to be some tactical genius who can end the rut by playing Gross at left back and Jakub Moder as a lone striker.
For the love of God, just keep it simple please, Graham. Otherwise those “history lesson” comments will continue to bite you on the arse.
Brighton v Norwich City betting
We have already hammed up Trossard as the man who can win it for the Albion. He tends to score and play well in patches, so fingers crossed starring against the likes of Burkina Faso is the start of a golden patch of form.
The Vampire of Genk is 11/4 to score anytime. If you feel less confident about Brighton’s chances, then the draw looks a decent bet as a result which would not be helpful to anyone.
You can find that at 13/4 with a repeat of the 0-0 draw from Carrow Road earlier in the campaign available at 11/1.
Predictions
Prediction of score: Brighton 0-0 Norwich City
Prediction of number of shots on target: One per team
Prediction of empty seats by full time: 25,000. Which should at least prevent the Albion being booed off and Potter and Paul Barber having a tantrum at the reaction of the crowd.
