Neither of these teams have anything to play for and both will be looking to put this disappointing season behind them as they fell below expectations.
Norwich were looking at bouncing straight back to the Premier League this season but have failed to do so meaning a difficult second season is now on the cards. Having said that, they do have momentum going into next year with two wins and one draw in their last three.
The Canaries’ strength has been their performances in the final third which have been electric with 81 goals in 45 matches – the third-best in the division. Norwich have also found the back of the net in each of their last five matches – an incredible 16 times in fact. Defensively though, there have been big problems and that is the main reason why they will not be going up this season. The Canaries have kept just one clean sheet in their last seven games whilst their Goals Against record of 69 and clean sheet ratio of 22% is the one of the worst in the top 20. It is no wonder that 69% of Norwich’s matches have contained three or more goals.
A huge positive from Norwich’s season has been their home form where they have earned 69% of their points as well as scoring in 91% of home matches. Additionally, they have lost just one of their last 12 games at Carrow Road and scored in each of their last 15.
Queens Park Rangers managed to secure survival in the Championship a long time ago but, given the club’s generally lofty ambitions, you have to say that this has been a poor season. Although they won last time out, QPR have had a atrocious end to the campaign with six straight defeats prior to that win at home to relegation-threatened Nottingham Forest.
Rangers have been pretty poor at the back for the majority of the season with an alarming 62 goals conceded in 45 matches. Furthermore, prior to their win to nil against Forest, QPR had kept just one clean sheet in their previous 18. Having said that, despite their disastrous run, they have actually been okay in front of goal, finding the back of the net in each of their last five games.
Ian Holloway’s men have been having a miserable time on the road of late with just one point taken from a possible 18 in their last six away from Loftus Road, scoring just three goals in the process.
Given this is an end-of-season dead rubber, I am a bit wary of picking a winner here as both sides could have their foot off the gas. However, given these two teams have been poor at the back all season and are likely to care even less about defence given the nature of the match, With the pressure off, the goals could flow nicely. ‘Over 3.5 Goals’ is the bet to go for.
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