Norwich v Chelsea predictions: Lukaku may relish a crack at Canaries' defence

Free football tips, best bets and analysis for Norwich v Chelsea in the Premier League on Thursday.

When to bet

7.30pm Thursday

Best bet

Romelu Lukaku to be first goalscorer
1pt 9-2 BoyleSports

Team news

Norwich
Ozan Kabak is a doubt and Adam Idah and Andrew Omobamidele are injured. Chelsea loanee Billy Gilmour is ineligible.

Chelsea
Marcos Alonso and Cesar Azpilicueta will be assessed. Ben Chilwell is a long-term injury absentee.

Match preview

Chelsea's Premier League trip to Carrow Road has been overshadowed by the news that the club is one of the assets frozen by the UK government as part of their sanctions on Roman Abramovich and other Russian oligarchs.

On the pitch, the Blues eased to a 4-0 win at struggling Burnley on Saturday and they will be hoping for similar success against bottom club Norwich, who were beaten 7-0 in October's reverse fixture at Stamford Bridge.

This is the first of four matches in the space of ten days for the Blues so Thomas Tuchel may shuffle his pack at Carrow Road and it could be an ideal opportunity for Romelu Lukaku to boost his confidence.

The Belgium striker has fallen down the pecking order when it comes to big games and his last four goals came against Chesterfield, Al Hilal, Palmeiras and Luton.

Lukaku has scored in two of his last four Premier League outings against teams outside the top eight, however, and odds of 9-2 about him breaking the deadlock against the second-worst defence in the top flight look too big to ignore, especially as he is as short at 11-4 elsewhere.

Key stat

Norwich have lost all seven of their games against top-four clubs by an aggregate score of 28-1.

Inside info

Norwich

Penalty taker Teemu Pukki
Free-kick wizard Milot Rashica
Set-piece aerial threat Grant Hanley
Card magnet Brandon Williams

Chelsea

Penalty taker Jorginho
Free-kick wizard Hakim Ziyech
Set-piece aerial threat Antonio Rudiger
Card magnet Reece James

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