Norwich vs Aston Villa: Little time for Dean Smith to savour first victory
It is for the best that Dean Smith knows the Championship inside out, as the new Villa boss has inherited a fixture list that would surely have come as a shock to an outsider.
A win in his opening match at home to Swansea on Saturday was the perfect start and it was clear to see the nascent ‘Smith way’ being put into operation in front of the 41,000-plus crowd who roared him into Villa Park.
A high-press on the opposition, players employed in their best positions and plenty of attacking intent (until his side tired in the second half), it was an important win. But, with barely time for breath, the grind of the Championship is apparent with a 330-mile round trip to Norwich tonight, followed by a visit to West London just 72 hours later as Villa take on Queens Park Rangers.
And it is not only the fixture schedule that is congested – the league is too – a mere nine points covers leaders Middlesbrough down to Bolton in 18th.
And, despite their miserable recent run which put paid to Steve Bruce’s tenure, Villa sit just three points behind tonight’s sixth-placed opponents. Villa head to Carrow Road, though,without midfield driving force John McGinn. The £2.5million buy – surely the best £2.5million spent this summer – will be a huge miss in the centre of the park.
Conor Hourihane looks the likely candidate to replace him, though Smith could opt to bring in the more defensively-minded Mile Jedinak alongside Birkir Bjarnason against the resurgent Canaries.
These are the kind of games Villa must ensure they do no lose to get themselves back on a promotion-chasing footing. Norwich came from behind to win 2-1 at Nottingham Forest on Saturday as defender Timm Klose grabbed the first brace of his career.
Looking ahead to Villa, and reflecting on the City Ground triumph, Canaries chief Daniel Farke said: “Aston Villa are a massive club and got a win (on Saturday) so the mood will be lifted and they are aiming for promotion.
“But one thing is for sure, when we are there with these performances and we have again this unity with our fans and this support and outstanding atmosphere, then we are capable to be there with good performances and win some points, and that’s what we want to do. It feels like a big family, they are standing behind us like a yellow wall.
“We now have to go back to Carrow Road and produce this same level of performance and same unity, and if we do that we can reach extraordinary heights.”
It is a match which will reveal much to Smith about his Villa squad.
Likely line-up:
Subs: Bunn, Jedinak, Bolasie, Hourihane, Kodjia, Whelan, Hogan.
Norwich City (4-2-3-1): Krul; Aarons, Zimmerman, Klose, Lewis; Tettey (c). Leitner; Cantwell, Stiepermann, Hernandez; Rhodes
