One of the standout ties in the second round of this season's EFL Cup will take place at Carrow Road on Tuesday evening as Championship outfit Norwich City welcome Premier League side Bournemouth.
Norwich will enter the match off the back of a 2-0 win over Millwall in the second tier on Friday, while Bournemouth lost 3-0 to Arsenal in the Premier League on Saturday.
Match preview
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Norwich are back in the second tier of English football, having finished bottom of the Premier League last season, and they have made a solid start to their 2022-23 Championship campaign, picking up seven points from five matches, which has left them in eighth spot in the table.
The Canaries are expected to be one of the challengers for promotion this term, and they will enter this contest off the back of successive victories, beating Huddersfield Town 2-1 on August 16 before running out 2-0 winners over Millwall on Friday.
Dean Smith's side, who have a huge game away at Sunderland in the Championship next Saturday, needed penalties to overcome Birmingham City in the first round of this season's EFL Cup.
The two teams played out a 2-2 draw, with Birmingham coming from two goals behind to level late on, but Norwich were able to win the shootout to advance to the second round of the competition.
Norwich have won the League Cup on two previous occasions, with their last success coming in 1985, when they recorded a 1-0 victory over Sunderland in the final.
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Bournemouth, meanwhile, will enter this match off the back of a 3-0 home loss to Arsenal in the Premier League on Saturday, which followed a 4-0 defeat at Manchester City.
Scott Parker's side opened their 2022-23 Premier League campaign with a 2-0 victory over Aston Villa, but they have another difficult league fixture at Liverpool next weekend, so it could potentially be three straight defeats for the Cherries, who were promoted from the Championship last term.
The EFL Cup will not be too important for Bournemouth this season, but the match will provide the perfect chance to get minutes in the legs of some of the players who have not been heavily involved thus far.
The Cherries suffered a 6-0 defeat to Norwich in the second round of the League Cup last season, so Parker's side will be looking for some revenue on Tuesday night.
Bournemouth have won two of the last three meetings between the two sides, though, and the Premier League side will believe that they are the favourites heading into the contest at Carrow Road.
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Team News
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Norwich will again be without a number of first-team players for this match, with Sam McCallum, Jakob Sorensen, Sam Byram, Isaac Hayden and Dimitris Giannoulis on the sidelines.
Head coach Smith will make changes from the side that started against Millwall in the league last time out, with Angus Gunn, Ben Gibson, Gabriel Sara and Teemu Pukki potentially coming into the XI.
Aaron Ramsey could also feature in an advanced area for the Championship side, with Joshua Sargent, who scored twice against Millwall, potentially dropping to the bench.
As for Bournemouth, David Brooks, Joe Rothwell and Ryan Fredericks will again be absent, while Dominic Solanke is not expected to be risked as he bids to overcome an ankle injury.
Parker will make changes from the side that started against Arsenal, with Neto potentially making his debut between the sticks, while Ryan Christie, Lewis Cook and Jaidon Anthony should be among those to start.
Emiliano Marcondes is also expected to come into the XI, but Kieffer Moore could again lead the line for the Premier League side on Tuesday night.
Norwich City possible starting lineup:
Gunn; Gibson, Tomkinson, Hanley, McCallum; Dowell, Gibbs, Sara; Ramsey, Pukki, Hernandez
Bournemouth possible starting lineup:
Neto; Stacey, Senesi, Hill, Zemura; Cook, Christie, Pearson; Anthony, Moore, Marcondes
We say: Norwich City 1-2 Bournemouth
This has all of the makings of a very interesting match, and we are predicting an entertaining contest on Tuesday evening. It would certainly not be a surprise to see Norwich triumph, but we have a feeling that Bournemouth will just about have enough to emerge victorious.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Matt Law
