The English Premier League matchday 35 sees West Ham looking to bounce back after crashing out of the Europa Conference League semi final in midweek taking on Championship bound Norwich at Carrow Road. The hosts were officially relegated for a record sixth time after a 2-0 loss to Aston Villa in their last match and they currently sit rock-bottom of the table with 21 points. The Canaries have now lost three straight and nine of their last 11 as another disappointing season comes to an end. Their opponents have undergone a rather disappointing last few weeks of their own as a terrible run of one win, one draw and four losses over their last six league matches has extinguished any hope continental qualification. The Hammers now sit seventh in the table on 52 points, trailing Manchester United by six points and fifth-place Spurs by nine with only three matches remaining. West Ham’s last match was a 1-0 away loss to Eintracht Frankfurt which saw them ultimately lose the tie by an aggregate score of 3-1.
This line does look a bit suspicious with the seemingly excellent price offered for a West Ham win. We’re instead going to attack the goals market as this is a fixture that looks like it could see some scoring. Norwich’s defensive woes have been well-documented as the Canaries have conceded 71 times and have only managed to keep six clean sheets this season. It’s the visitors defensive record that could play a part in deciding this match. West Ham have only kept one more clean sheet than the hosts at seven with only three coming on the road. Norwich have of course struggled to find the net all season but have at least been a tad more consistent when playing at home. In their 17 home matches, Norwich scored in nine compared to scoring in only six of their 17 away matches. Combined with West Ham’s uninspiring defense, the hosts should be able to find the net in this match.
We’re going to back both teams to score as our selection for this match. West Ham have struggled offensively away from home in recent weeks but a matchup against Norwich should prove to be the perfect remedy. The hosts are also likely to breach this Hammers defense as it has been a long time since they have kept a team scoreless in the Premier League away from home. West Ham should win this game, although a 1-1 draw wouldn’t come as a surprise.