Sky Sports pundit David Prutton has predicted that Aston Villa will come away from Carrow Road with a win when they face Norwich City in the Championship this weekend.
Villa head into Saturday’s early kick-off in good spirits after a big 3-0 win over struggling ten-man Reading at Villa Park on Tuesday, which was their first victory in four.
In his predictions for Sky Sports, Prutton sees a 2-1 win for Villa with Albert Adomah to score first, saying: “Norwich were playing like a team already on the beach at QPR on Easter Monday, and Aston Villa will be hoping that it’s that type of Canaries performance again on Saturday.
“Villa rolled Reading over pretty comfortably on Tuesday, but it was important for them to get the win after their brief blip in form. They’ll need maximum points between now and the end of the season if there’s any chance of them gaining automatic promotion, and I think they’ll get three points at Carrow Road.”
The outstanding Birkir Bjarnason opened the scoring against the Royals just after the break as the Iceland international curled an absolute beauty past Vito Mannone, with David Edwards having seen red in the first-half.
Midfielder Conor Hourihane reached double figures for the season with a smart header to double Villa’s lead, before Scott Hogan capitalised on a Mannone error to make it three.
That win saw Villa remain in fourth and looking good for a play-off spot come the end of the season in four games time, holding an eight-point advantage over fifth-placed Derby County, who have a game in hand.
OPINION
It is not surprising to see Prutton predict a Villa win in this one, although it most certainly won’t be as easy as their win over Reading last time out. The Royals put in an absolutely dire performance that would have disappointed new boss Paul Clement, and Norwich will not roll over so easily. James Maddison has the skill to unlock any defence, and Villa will need to be at their best to secure another win that puts them closer to the play-offs.