CAN GERRARD GET BACK TO WINNING WAYS? Hello and welcome to our live coverage of this evening's match between Norwich and Steven Gerrard's Aston Villa™. Norwich are looking to recover from consecutive defeats to Tottenham and Manchester United, while Villa come into the game on the back of a narrow 1-0 loss to Liverpool at Anfield.
Premier League / Matchday 17
Carrow Road / 14.12.2021
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- J. Ramsey(34')
- O. Watkins(87')
Live
Live Updates
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Updated 14/12/2021 at 22:36 GMT
7'
WHAT A HIT! Having grown frustrated with watching his teammates pass the ball around the box, John McGinn thunders one from 30 yards and forces Krul into an acrobatic save.
5'
Villa continue to make inroads down the flanks but seem hesitant with their crossing, despite Watkins and Buendia roaming the area menacingly.
2'
Matty Cash makes a marauding run down the right only to be tackled by Brandon Williams at the cost of a corner. Douglas Luiz's delivery is cleared but Villa recycle the ball and eventually get their first shot on target through Ollie Watkins, who heads straight at Tim Krul.
1st Half
19:45
KICK OFF! With the pitch wreathed in smog following a choreographed burst of green and yellow smoke, the game has begun.
19:40
FIVE MINUTES TO GO UNTIL KICK OFF. The warm-ups are done and dusted, the players have jogged back down the tunnel and excitement is gradually building in the stands. Let's do this!
19:30
WARM-UPS UNDERWAY. With 15 minutes to go until kick off, the players are putting the final touches on their preparations.
19:25
LIVERPOOL VS ASTON VILLA RECAP. He may not have got his dream win at Anfield, but Gerrard took plenty of positives from Villa's performance against Liverpool. Need a quick refresher on the game? We've got you covered.
19:20
NORWICH VS MANCHESTER UNITED RECAP. Just in case you missed Match of the Day on Saturday, here's our report from Norwich's last outing at Carrow Road.
19:10
SMITH REUNITED WITH FORMER CLUB. Having been sacked by Aston Villa just over a month ago, this game will feel somewhat surreal for Norwich's new manager. As a lifelong Villa fan, his personal investment in the club may make this an evening of mixed emotions.
Nonetheless, he's insisted that he won't treat the match differently to any other. "It's the next game to be honest," he said in his pre-match press conference. "I was manager there a month ago and somebody made a decision where I'm not the manager any more. I'm not in control of that so I move on very quickly."
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Image credit: Getty Images
19:00
NAKAMBA OUT, BUENDIA IN. Other than Marvelous Nakamba, who suffered a knee injury at the weekend, Gerrard has named the same starting line-up which faced Liverpool. Nakamba is replaced by Emi Buendia, with Jacob Ramsey presumably dropping deeper to accommodate him.
18:55
NORWICH MAKE CHANGES. Dean Smith has made four alterations to the side which lost 1-0 to Manchester United on Saturday, with the injured Grant Hanley replaced by Ben Gibson while Dimitris Giannoulis, Lukas Rupp and Josh Sargent swap out for Brandon Williams, Jacob Sorensen and Todd Cantwell respectively.
18:45
CONFIRMED TEAMS - NORWICH: Krul, Aarons, Kabak, Gibson, Williams, Sorensen, Gilmour, McLean, Placheta, Pukki, Cantwell. /// ASTON VILLA: Martinez, Cash, Konsa, Mings, Targett, McGinn, Douglas Luiz, Ramsey, Buendia, Watkins, Young.