Chris Hughton admits Norwich City’s home form will be crucial in their bid to avoid the drop.
The Canaries have only won once since mid-December, a run taking in 15 matches, and this has seen them fall from mid-table comfort to the brink of the relegation zone. Indeed, should results conspire against them on Sunday, they could be just two points above the bottom three.
It looked as though they were on their way to maximum points against Swansea City on Saturday, until a Luke Moore goal on 75 minutes earned the visitors a 2-2 draw. This was particularly tough to take as Hughton accepts they are relying on their results at Carrow Road to keep them up.
“Whether it is this stage of the season or the start of the season, you are always looking at your home form,” he told Sky Sports. “We are tough to beat here. We have got three very difficult games away from home. Whether it will come to our home form, we will have to see.”
Next up for Norwich is a trip to the Emirates Stadium on Saturday to face an Arsenal side which has found its form of late, having won seven of their last nine. They then have a home match against Reading, who look almost certain to be relegated following a 2-0 home defeat to Southampton on Saturday, before heading to the Britannia Stadium to face a sinking Stoke City.
If Hughton is to be proved right with his assessment of the importance of home games, then successive visits from Aston Villa and West Bromwich Albion in May will be massive. They will certainly have hoped to have picked up enough points for survival by the time they travel to the Etihad Stadium to face Manchester City on the final day of the season.
