Chelsea v Norwich will kick off at 12:30 on Saturday, 23rd October in Stamford Bridge. Referee Andrew Madley will take charge of the tie.

Manager Thomas Tuchel is happy to have his squad in victorious form. The Premier League leaders gave Sweden champions Malmo FF a firm thrashing in the Champions League midweek but could now be without two of their main forwards, Timo Werner and Romelu Lukaku.

Even with some missing, they still rank as second in the league away from home and second in goals per match. The team will now need players like Kai Havertz and Mason Mount to fill in.

On the other side of the pitch, Norwich have only managed two draws in their eight matches this season. Still, after this terrible start, a shock win would put Daniel Farke’s team up into 18th place.

Forwards Milot Rashica and Teemu Pukki will be the Canary’s only chance at finding a goal this week even though the club only has two goals in total this season.

This is the perfect match for Chelsea to keep their winning run going and improve their goal difference. The Blues have not lost any of their last 12 games, winning eight and drawing four.

Soon back at it! #CheNor comes next! pic.twitter.com/KtE0NwPjLL

— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) October 22, 2021

Chelsea v Norwich Probable Starting Teams

Chelsea

Formation

3-4-2-1

Probable Starting 11

Mendy (GK), Azpilicueta, Rudiger, Chalobah, Alonso, Kovacic, Saul, James, Mount, Hudson-Odoi, Havertz.

Injuries / Suspensions

Pulisic (Ankle), Lukaku (Sprained Ankle), Werner (Hamstring)

Norwich

Formation

3-5-2

Probable Starting 11

Krul (GK), Gibson, Hanley, Kabak, Giannoulis, McLean, Normann, Lees-Melou, Aarons, Pukki, Sargent.

Injuries / Suspensions

Gilmour (Personal reasons), Zimmermann (Ankle), Placheta (Overload), Byram (Hamstring), Cantwell (Achilles tendon injury)

Preparing for Norwich City!

[via @ChelseaFC] pic.twitter.com/vzATW306fF

— Absolute Chelsea (@AbsoluteChelsea) October 21, 2021

Chelsea v Norwich Match Betting

Chelsea to win: 1/6

Draw: 6/1

Norwich to win: 15/1

Score Prediction

Tuchel can take this game easily, this game seems set in stone before kick-off. Only eight games in and there are already 17 points between the teams. Even with the injury concerns in Stamford Bridge, the Blues’ squad depth should be enough to overcome a weak Norwich team.

Expect Chelsea to win the match 5-0.

Masters of the breakaway #OnThisDay in 2013! pic.twitter.com/CGqKwY2JzX

— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) October 22, 2021

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After his man of the match performance, opening the scoring for his new club, Lukaku was asked by Sky Sports to assess his own performance, in which he replied as ”dominant”.

Chelsea’s record signing produced a powerful performance, in which the West Londoners beat struggling Arsenal at the Emirates.

Signing for Chelsea back in 2011 from Anderlecht. Lukaku returned to the club after nearly 10 years after his first debut finishing off Reece James’s cross from close range after 15 minutes.

Man of the Match, @ChelseaFC’s Romelu Lukaku

Scored on 2nd Chelsea debut
8 Shots – most in match
2 On target – most in match
11 Touches in opp. box – most in match pic.twitter.com/Nb0CLgyM2h

— Sky Sports Statto (@SkySportsStatto) August 22, 2021

His brilliant hold-up play was instrumental in Arsenal’s demise, allowing many of his teammates to progress with the ball and bringing others into play.

Chelsea’s second goal came from James, with a powerful finish after Lukaku held up the play and was a major factor in both goals.

Albeit for a world-class stop from Arsenal goalkeeper Bernd Leno, he could have had a second.

The big Belgium was a thorn in the side of Arsenal defender Pablo Mari who was thoroughly outmuscled and brushed off the ball by the striker’s sheer strength and size.

After the game, Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville labelled the Belgian’s performance as the ”complete centre-forward performance”.

When asked to describe his own performance in a post-match interview after being awarded his man of the match award, Lukaku said;

"How would you assess your performance?"

"Dominant."

Romelu Lukaku speaks to Sky Sports after his man of the match performance in #CFC's win at Arsenal… pic.twitter.com/DiwMAvpLTM

— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) August 22, 2021

“Dominant, I would say. I try to improve every time, I have a long way to go, but today was good to win and to start well.”

“Now we have to keep working, keep building and keep getting stronger because the Premier League is a very competitive league. We’re ready for the challenge and hopefully, we can improve on this”.

“You want to work hard for the team, you want to win, you want to score your chances. It’s something I’ve learnt and worked really hard on, and I keep working at it because this team is very talented. They’re the European champions but they want to keep building, I want to keep winning. We have to keep fighting, working hard and keep delivering performances like this.”

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Earlier this week, Lukaku asked his club, Inter Milan, to allow him to leave this summer. He plans to return to Chelsea, the team he left in 2014.Inter fans have made protests to their Chinese owners at their most recent friendly, a 2-0 win over Parma on Sunday.

The first part of the Lukaku’s medical has taken place in Milan while the club lawyers negotiate a transfer sum. The striker is expected to sign on a five-year deal.

Inter Milan have rejected at least two previous bids made by Chelsea, for more information see here Inter reject Chelsea’s £85m plus player offer.

Thomas Tuchel has been speaking about Romelu Lukaku and Chelsea's transfers pic.twitter.com/BfJS5Hoowi

— Goal (@goal) August 5, 2021

Since leaving Chelsea seven years ago for Everton, Lukaku has become one of the most consistent strikers in Europe. Despite having one poor season for Manchester United, he has claimed the Premier League and Serie A golden boot awards.

These performances made him a major part of Belgium’s Euro 2020 squad. He score four goals and was named in the Team of the Tournament this summer.

Chelsea have already started making room for the Belgian by selling veteran striker, Oliver Giroud to AC Milan for €1 million. The club have also been in talks with Atalanta to offload Tammy Abraham.

Been exactly 10 years when we signed Romelu Lukaku the first time. pic.twitter.com/pKW3NowxZN

— Frank Khalid (@FrankKhalidUK) August 7, 2021

Is Lukaku worth the money for Chelsea?

Although it seems that Lukaku has been around for a long time, the player in still only 28. Last season, the big striker scored 24 and assist 11 in 36 matches. This was a slight improvement on the 23 goals he got the previous year.

Standing at over 6’2”, he is known worldwide for his physical presence, strength and speed. His dribbling has been the butt of many critics jokes in recent years but no one can deny his ability to finish in front of goal with his head or left foot.

After missing out on the summer transfer window two years ago, the money is still burning a hole in Roman Abramovich’s pocket. Even though this is a major investment, the reigning Champions League winners can be confident of Lukaku’s ability.

Just remembered this is Lukaku’s last ever goal for Inter pic.twitter.com/gRIhxZjBKo

— Uncle $harma (@RSharmzz) August 9, 2021

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The Belgium striker has jumped back on top of Chelsea’s wanted list of strikers after talks for Erling Haaland has reached a dead-end.

It has been reported by many outlets that Chelsea have already had two ”secret” bids turned down for Lukaku.

Inter’s board turned down the player plus cash deal as they see Lukaku as ”untouchable”.

Romelu Lukaku has jumped back to the top of Chelsea’s wanted list of strikers with Borussia Dortmund showing no sign of altering their stance on Erling Haaland – @Matt_Law_DT reports #CFC
https://t.co/uGpK7yZVyn

— Telegraph Football (@TeleFootball) August 2, 2021

Thomas Tuchel is keen to sign a world-class striker after Timo Werner failed to deliver in front of the goal so far.

Borussia Dortmund striker Erling Haaland has been touted as Chelsea’s main priority this summer.

However, with Dortmund in no rush to sell and with a £150 million price tag, the deal for Lukaku is seen as a more realistic target.

The Italian side has already sold Achraf Hakimi to PSG to receive funds after financial difficulty held the club to ransom after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Chelsea, who have put Tammy Abraham up for sale, and have recently sold Oliver Giroud to AC Milan, are in much need of a clinical striker.

Chelsea striker update:

• Chelsea have had two bids rejected for Romelu Lukaku in recent weeks, & will likely go in with a third bid soon. [@TheAthletic]

• This week is the deadline to agree a deal for Haaland – Chelsea are likely to make an informal offer. [@JanAageFjortoft] pic.twitter.com/eLOMgnncAH

— LDN (@LDNFootbalI) August 2, 2021

Other options such as Robert Lewandowski and Tottenham’s Harry Kane has been touted as potential signings.

The latter being unlikely, with Daniel Levy’s stance on selling to rivals.

Lukaku left Chelsea back in 2014, after being sold to Everton, and was on the verge of re-signing with the London side in 2017 before Manchester United came in last minute with a deal.

After the departure of manager Antonio Conte, Inter announced Simone Inzaghi as their new coach.

He (Lukaku) has held productive talks with Inzaghi and remains happy at Inter.

Despite the interest from his former club, Lukaku has not pushed for a move, and will likely wait to see if Chelsea does match Inter’s demands before the deadline shuts on the 31st of August.

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Just over a week after kicking off, the European Championship group stages have come to an end. The next step being the knockout rounds in which 16 teams will compete for a place in the final – the ultimate hope being to lift the trophy.

With each team playing just 3 games in their group, it’s still difficult to gauge just how well some will fare in the knockouts.

During those games, there has been a number of players who have impressed.

That said, we’ve compiled a list (in no particular order) of 5 footballers who have impressed us the most in the tournament so far.

ROMELU LUKAKU | BELGIUM | STRIKER

One of the favourites to claim top scorer before the tournament commenced, Romelu Lukaku has certainly lived up to expectation so far.

The Inter Milan striker had a prolific season at club level and appears to have continued that form into the Euros, scoring 3 goals in 3 games.

Not only has Lukaku been impressive in terms of goal contributions, he’s also received praise for his general play. His role in the build-up for Belgium’s 2 goals against Denmark being particularly evident of his improved link-up play over the years.

Naturally, Belgium are one of the favourites to win the tournament and with Lukaku up top complimented by the creative talents of Kevin De Bruyne among others, they’ll be hard stopped.

63 goals in 96 games for Belgium.

Romelu Lukaku is special pic.twitter.com/ZhzaJNyiC3

— B/R Football (@brfootball) JUNE 21, 2021

CRISTIANO RONALDO | PORTUGAL | STRIKER

You wouldn’t think Ronaldo was one of the oldest players at the tournament. 3 games in with a massive 6 goal contributions (5 goals, 1 assist), the Portuguese legend is showing no sign of slowing down. In fact, he currently leads the top scorer table by 2 goals with the aforementioned Romelu Lukaku being tied second.

Not only is Ronaldo top scorer at the Euros, his last goal against France left him equal at the top with Iran’s Ali Daei for the top men’s international goal scorer of all time with 109 goals – incredible.

Although Portugal have qualified for the knockouts, their reliance on Ronaldo so far has been worrying. The Juventus striker has been involved in all but one of their goals and to tell the truth, their hasn’t been many standout performers other than him.

Even Bruno Fernandes – who is Manchester United’s main source of goal contributions – was dropped against France for his lacklustre performances in the other games.

That said, though, Portugal did manage to win the last European Championships despite poor performances in the group stages. Time will tell.

Goal machine Cristiano Ronaldo doing his thing…

178 caps
109 goals#EURO2020 | #POR | @selecaoportugal pic.twitter.com/kybDLZgdRz

— UEFA EURO 2020 (@EURO2020) JUNE 24, 2021

PAUL POGBA | FRANCE | MIDFIELDER 

Often a scapegoat for when things go wrong at club level, the same can’t be said for Pogba on the international scene.

He has his critics, but his performances so far in the tournament should silence them – at least for the time being.

Arguably France’s best player so far, Pogba has shown his importance to the national side, dictating play and spraying some magnificent passes to find his team mates.

Pogba was one of the key players when his country lifted the World Cup in 2018, can he be just as instrumental in this tournament?

Paul Pogba. World class.#EURO2020 pic.twitter.com/V6BDtiyZ2M

— UEFA EURO 2020 (@EURO2020) JUNE 23, 2021

GEORGINIO WIJNALDUM | NETHERLANDS | MIDFIELDER

The newly-signed PSG man wasn’t necessarily known as a goal scorer during his time at Liverpool, but his time with the national team and previous sides would say otherwise.

Wijnaldum is currently the joint-second in the scoring charts after scoring 3 goals in 3 games from midfield.

His scoring record for the national team is so impressive in fact, that he has more goals than AC Milan and Ajax legend Marco van Basten.

Not only is he scoring at will, he also has a highly impressive pass completion rate of 90% over the 3 games which is nothing to be scoffed at.

Three goals in three games for #NED captain Gini Wijnaldum at #EURO2020

Liverpool are letting him join PSG for free pic.twitter.com/pSJvxNPLnF

— Goal (@goal) JUNE 21, 2021

EMIL FORSBERG | SWEDEN | WINGER

It would be unfair not to include a Swedish player on the list. Not many fancied the Scandinavian side before the tournament but they’ve arguably been the biggest surprise package so far, winning 2 of their 3 games and drawing the other.

In fact, they’re still being overlooked by many despite reaching the quarter final being a realistic target. They’re up against Ukraine in the round of 16 who were less than impressive in their most recent showing.

There are a number of players we could have picked including Alexander Isak, who despite not scoring a goal as a striker has earned himself plenty of fans or alternatively, Victor Lindelöf, who’s been a rock at the back for his county.

But we’ve gone for Emil Forsberg.

The winger has long been regarded as one of the best talents in the Bundesliga, but inconsistency has been a problem for the 29-year-old over the years. But so far this tournament, he’s been nothing but consistent.

Like Wijnaldum and Lukaku, Forsberg currently sits second in the scoring charts having scored 3 goals.

His last performance was particularly impressive, scoring 2 brilliantly taken goals as his side ran out 3-2 winners over Poland.

With Forsberg and a recently fit Kulusevski on either wing, Sweden will be a tough challenge for any team to get past.

Emil Forsberg has scored the second fastest goal in European Championship history.

It took him just 81 seconds to open the scoring. pic.twitter.com/tRUbZOCygg

— Squawka Football (@Squawka) JUNE 23, 2021

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In League B’s Group 4, Ireland suffered a 1-0 defeat against Finland in what was another disappointing result for the boys in green. The only goal of the match came through Fredrik Jensen, a man Ireland fans will be familiar with having also scored the winner in the Aviva. The goal was a result of an uncustomary mistake from Darren Randolph, who carelessly gave the ball away which resulted in simple finish. The loss means Ireland remain in 3^rd, but are looming dangerously close to an automatic relegation spot.

Frustrating result in Helsinki

FT | Finland 1-0 Ireland

Jensen’s goal the difference as Ronan Curtis’ header denied in the final minutes #COYBIG | #FINIRL pic.twitter.com/7nnkxtXevC

— FAIreland (@FAIreland) October 14, 2020

Elsewhere in the group, Wales’ late winner against Bulgaria mean they remain on top of the table by 1 point.

In League A, Poland trounced Bosnia with a 3-0 win in Group 1. Bosnia did themselves no favours after getting a man sent off just 14 minutes into the game. Polish talisman Robert Lewandowski exploited Bosnian misfortune by netting a brace. This result means that Poland jump above Italy and Netherlands after they played out a 1-1 draw elsewhere in the group.

Group 2 seen Denmark defeat England in what was a disastrous performance from Harry Maguire. Maguire picked up his second yellow in the 31^st minute which led to Christian Eriksen converting from the spot. His performance will only have further compounded his misery after a turbulent few weeks. England now drop to 3^rd, having been in 1^st before yesterday’s fixtures.

Belgium also defeated Iceland 2-1 with Romelu Lukaku impressing as he scored 2 goals. Belgium have now leapfrogged England to claim 1^st position in the group.

Group 3 standings remained the same as France defeated Croatia and a Diego Jota inspired Portugal comfortably dispatched of Sweden. The newly signed Liverpool man claimed an assist and two goals in what was a man of the match performance, showing that he could do the business in Cristiano Ronaldo’s absence.

There were no group 4 matches played yesterday. Spain remain top of the group on 7 points despite a shock loss to Ukraine on Tuesday. Germany and the aforementioned Ukraine are just one point behind on 6 points.

Back to League B and Norway overcame Northern Ireland by way of a Stuart Dallas own goal in Group 1. Erling Braut Haaland failed to find his form against the North after netting his first international hat trick against Romania on Sunday. He will however be happy with Norway’s league position as they remain 2^nd, only level on points with Austria.

On the topic of Austria, they managed to overcome Romania in a match which ended 1-0.

Scotland retained their 100% unbeaten record in Group 2 with a win against Czech Republic, despite being dominated for much of the game. Ryan Fraser scored the only goal of the game after some great work by Lyndon Dykes to ensure the win.

Israel and Slovakia played out a memorable game in the same group, with a late Eran Zahavi goal awarding Israel a 3-2 scoreline. Zahavi will be taking home the match ball after scoring 2 goals prior to his winner in what was a man of the match performance. He will be hoping to make his mark on the Dutch league having recently signed for PSV Eindhoven.

Hat-trick for Zahavi tonight! #NationsLeague https://t.co/QCYBMX5MVM

— UEFA Nations League (@EURO2020) October 14, 2020

There were two draws in group 3 as Russia played out a stalemate with Hungary and Turkey drew 2-2 with Serbia. The results mean that Russia remain on top with 8 points, having not lost so far in the group.

Onto League C and there were no matches played in Group 1 yesterday. Luxembourg and Montenegro are currently battling for promotion to League B as both teams are stuck on 9 points.

Group 2 seen two 1-1 draws with Estonia playing Armenia and North Macedonia facing Georgia. North Macedonia and Georgia are level on top with 6 points while Armenia lurk just behind on 5 points.

Perhaps the best team in League C, Slovenia stayed atop of Group 3 as they slotted 4 past Moldova while maintaining a clean sheet. Haris Vuckic bagged a hat trick as he finished two opportunities from the spot.

Elsewhere in the group, Greece and Kosovo played out a scoreless draw despite Greece controlling a large majority of the game. Arijanet Muric didn’t make it easy for Greece as he produced a man of the match performance in the net for Kosovo. Greece are just 2 points off top while Kosovo and Moldova are embroiled in a relegation battle.

Group 4 seen Belarus defeat Kazakhstan while Lithuania managed a scoreless draw against Albania. Albania are underachieving in the group so far, sitting in 3^rd while Belarus remain on top and Lithuania remain in 2^nd.

All of League D’s matches were played on Tuesday so there was no fixtures yesterday.

Faroe Islands sit comfortably on top of Group 1 with Malta in 2^nd, Latvia in 3^rd and Andorra sitting at the bottom of the table.

Gibraltar have a 100% winning record in Group 2 and remain on top while Liechtenstein are two points behind in 2^nd. Minnows San Marino are stuck at the bottom of the table, but they will be happy as they managed to gather their first ever Nations League point with a draw against Liechtenstein on Tuesday.

Best Performers:  Eran Zahavi, Robert Lewandowski, Diego Jota, Haris Vuckic, Arijanet Muric

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