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2021/22 English Premier League
Matchday 25
Norwich City v Manchester City
Carrow Road
Norwich, England
Saturday, 12 February 2022
Kick-off is at 19h30
Norwich head coach Dean Smith will be hoping to avoid the same fate of his predecessor when
Premier League leaders Manchester City visit Carrow Road on Saturday, February 12.
Daniel Farke was in charge for the previous two meetings against the Citizens, who hammered his team 5-0 on both occasions as payback for the 3-2 defeat they suffered at the hands of the Canaries in September 2019.
Smith's side recently arrested an eight-match winless streak in the league with back-to-back wins over Everton (2-1) and Watford (3-0) to breathe new life into their survival bid.
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The Norfolk outfit beat top-flight rivals Wolves 1-0 in the FA Cup on February 5 to advance to the fifth round and Smith was delighted with the performance of his players in both defence and attack.
"It was a hard-fought win. We showed lots of steel and grit in terms of how we defended," he said after the cup-tie at Molineux.
"I wasn't quite happy with the first 10 minutes of the second half. I think we presented them a few opportunities to win the ball back on the edge of our box and it caused a few flutters.
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"But it was a really good performance from the players today. I thought on the counter we looked a real threat and we created some really good chances in the game.
"Our only defeat since the New Year has been West Ham away and I thought we were ok in that game. We look a threat and have got plenty of strength in attack moving forward into a busy period."
City recently saw their 12-match winning streak come to an end with a 1-1 draw at Southampton before the two-week break, although they bounced back by beating Fulham 4-1 in the FA Cup fourth round this past weekend.
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Pep Guardiola's men still have a healthy lead over the chasing pack, but second-placed Liverpool do have a game in hand.
Guardiola is backing his troops to get over any adversity in the coming months and stressed the importance of reacting positively to bad situations.
"We started really well (against Fulham), had one or two chances and the first chance they got they scored a goal," the Spaniard said in a press conference.
"That's why it's always more difficult to win and win again. I know how difficult it is, but I don't need to win or draw or lose today to know that.
"(But) Phil [Foden] immediately got the ball and made a diagonal and we scored a goal. This is what I like, because the toughest moments are coming, and it is how you react.
"How you react in the bad moments, that's what the big teams do. That is what I want to see in my team. For me, what's more important than winning 5-0 is how we react to the bad moments in 90 minutes.
"Maybe against adversity you don't get what you deserve. That's not a problem and the next game is the same but one day, when you fight against adversity, you will get what you deserve."
Head-to-Head (Last Five Premier League Meetings)
Matches - 5
Norwich - 1
Man City - 3
Draws - 1
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