Plymouth Argyle host Norwich City this weekend, with the Pilgrims desperately needing the three points in their bid to survive relegation from the Championship.
With seven games remaining, the hosts are seven points adrift of safety, and they are currently rooted to the bottom of the Championship table.
Match preview
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Despite looking like outsiders in the race for survival, head coach Miron Muslic says that both he and his team are not giving up hope of surviving just yet.
Having stayed up by just one point last season, the Pilgrims were always likely to be involved in another battle against the drop.
Wayne Rooney was brought in as the club’s head coach in the summer, but left following a dismal run that saw Plymouth win just four league games in 23 attempts.
Rooney left the club bottom of the table, and so far, his replacement Muslic has picked up four fewer points than Rooney did, albeit in nine fewer matches than the former Everton man.
When Plymouth secured three wins in a row in February, including their shock 1-0 triumph over Liverpool in the fourth round of the FA Cup, there was some belief that Muslic was pulling the club in the right direction.
Their 5-1 win over Millwall just days after knocking the Reds out of the cup had Argyle just one point away from safety, but they have only won once in their nine matches in all competitions since thumping the Lions.
The hosts have notably improved in defence since Muslic arrived at the club, as only 24 of the 77 goals that Plymouth have conceded this season have been during the Austrian’s time at the club.
Unsurprisingly, that gives Argyle the worst defensive record in the league, and by quite some margin, as Cardiff City’s record of 63 goals conceded makes them the nearest club to Plymouth in that category.
Recent form has picked up slightly, with a 2-1 win away to Portsmouth in March, as well as a goalless draw last weekend away to Watford, indicating that the hosts are still fighting for an unlikely escape.
A win this weekend could potentially have Argyle to within four points of safety if other results go in their favour.
The hosts have performed significantly better at home than on the road this season, with 25 of their 34 points coming from matches at Home Park.
With four home fixtures in their last seven matches, the hosts will hope to make the most of their home advantage in those fixtures.
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This weekend, they come up against a Norwich team that still have an outside shot of making the playoffs this season.
The Canaries are currently five points off the playoff zone, but with two of the teams directly above them facing each other this weekend when Bristol City host Watford at Ashton Gate, at least one of those sides will be dropping some points in this round of fixtures.
Norwich’s attack will be licking their lips this weekend, as the second-strongest attack in the Championship comes up against the leakiest defence in the division.
Indeed, Johannes Hoff Thorup‘s side have scored 61 times in 39 games this season, a record only bettered by promotion candidates Leeds United.
Six of those goals came in the reverse fixture between these two sides back in November, as Norwich coasted to a 6-1 win against Argyle at Carrow Road.
After beginning March with a four-match winless run, the Canaries secured a vital three points at the weekend against fellow playoff hopefuls West Bromwich Albion, with Josh Sargent scoring a late winner in a 1-0 victory at Carrow Road.
That win has given the visitors a reason to believe they can still reach the playoffs, and up against a bottom-placed Plymouth side, they will certainly fancy their chances of further success this weekend.
The Canaries have only won four matches away from home this season, and with tricky fixtures on the road against Millwall, Burnley and Middlesbrough all to come before the end of the season, they cannot afford to drop points in this match.
Team News
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The hosts have several injury concerns, with Maksym Talovierov and Brendan Galloway out for the rest of the campaign.
Former Arsenal defender Julio Pleguezuelo (ribs) is expected to also miss out for this match, while Muhamed Tijani remains a doubt for Argyle.
Meanwhile, the visitors will be without Manchester City loanee Callum Doyle for this clash due to a calf injury.
Elsewhere, Lucien Mahovo (knee) is another absentee for the visitors, who were boosted by the return of first-choice goalkeeper Angus Gunn in last week’s win over West Brom, with the Scottish keeper expected to start once again this weekend.
Plymouth Argyle possible starting lineup:
Hazard; Puchacz, Palsson, Katic, Szucs; Gyabi, Randell, Sorinola, Obafemi; Bundu, Hardie
Norwich City possible starting lineup:
Gunn; Fisher, Cordoba, Duffy, Sorensen, Stacey; McLean, Ben Slimane, Crnac; Sargent, Sainz
We say: Plymouth Argyle 0-2 Norwich City
Despite a slight improvement in recent weeks, it is difficult to see the hosts winning this one.
Norwich have plenty of strength in attack, and Plymouth’s defence is the most generous in the division, so we only see this match going one way.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
