SM
Club Brugge vs. Aston Villa: 17 hrs 16 mins
Upcoming predictions and previews
Collect News Data

Daniel Farke insists Watford game is not 'must win' for Norwich

:Headline: Daniel Farke insists Watford game is not 'must win' for Norwich:
The Canaries have so far come up short on their return to the top flight.
Sports Mole

Norwich head coach Daniel Farke rejects the showdown with Watford is a "must win" game – and launched an impassioned defence of his squad, which has lost all four of their opening Premier League matches.

The Canaries swept to a second Sky Bet Championship title under the German last season, but so far have again come up short on their return to the top flight.

Following arguably the toughest of starts – against Liverpool, Manchester City and Leicester before losing 1-0 at Arsenal after the international break – the visit of fellow new boys Watford would appear to offer the perfect platform to kickstart the campaign.

Farke, though, maintains it is not just about the need to finally get some points on the board and everyone must keep the bigger picture in mind.

"The outside world is quite often pretty quick to judge the game as 'must win' – I even heard this when we had to travel to Arsenal," he said.

"It is not at all. We want to win points in each and every game, but for us at this level not one game is easy.

"It does not differ if it is a home game against Liverpool or Watford – we want to make sure we are there with a top performance to give ourselves a chance to win points.

"If we perform like in the last two games, then we definitely have a chance to win points.

"If we start to doubt ourselves too early or to lose trust in the process and in the players, then we have no chance to establish ourselves at this level."

New signings Ozan Kabak and Mathias Normann could both be involved, while Josh Sargent has recovered from a hamstring problem picked up on international duty.

There have been calls for the 21-year-old former Werder Bremen forward to lead the Canaries attack ahead of Teemu Pukki.

Farke, though, wants the fans to get fully behind the team, whatever side he decides to put out against Watford.

"When I think about Teemu Pukki, it is 29, 11, 26 – these are the number of goals he has scored in the past three seasons," he said.

"There is no doubt he is one of the best strikers this club has ever seen, and he delivers for us with an unbelievable workload.

"For these players who have delivered so much for a club, it is important to stay positive, that we back them and show them respect."

Norway midfielder Normann is another expected to add more steel to the Norwich side – but Farke maintains the current efforts of German Lukas Rupp must not be overlooked.

"If you ask the players who are with him each day on the training pitch, he would be the first on the team sheet," Farke said.

"No other player is as experienced on this level and covers as much ground, wins more possession back for us.

"He is not perhaps playing football which is sexy like Cristiano Ronaldo – he is LR7 not CR7, more like an unsung hero.

"We need these type of players to be competitive and also the support for them."

body check tags ::

amp_article__464194 : Collect and Make Data not in DataBase  : 
last updated article - 2021-09-17 14:43:23:
html db last update - 2021-09-17 14:43:23 :

ex - 7200 : read : write cache and make html

Click here for more stories about Daniel Farke

Click here for more stories about Norwich City

Share this article now:
WM
Read Next:
Xisco Munoz is confident he has the backing of Watford's owners
>


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
AL
Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!
Read more about Daniel Farke Teemu Pukki Mathias Normann Joshua Sargent Ozan Kabak Cristiano Ronaldo Josh Sargent Football
Follow @SportsMole for the latest breaking news stories, and follow @sm_headlines to get every headline from Sports Mole
Recommended Next on SM
Xisco Munoz is confident he has the backing of Watford's owners
Hat-trick hero: Gyokeres nets three and Amorim excels as Sporting stun Man City
Bernabeu breached: Real Madrid fall to another home defeat against AC Milan
Gyokeres joins Messi as part of elite club after Man City hat-trick

Page options

Premier League Table
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Sunderland139222391429
2Sheffield UnitedSheff Utd149321871128
3Leeds UnitedLeeds137512281426
4Burnley136521761123
5Watford147162222022
6West Bromwich AlbionWest Brom13562148621
7Middlesbrough146351816221
8Millwall135441612419
9Blackburn RoversBlackburn135441614219
10Swansea CitySwansea14545119219
11Bristol City144731819-119
12Norwich CityNorwich144642320318
13Sheffield WednesdaySheff Weds145361724-718
14Oxford UnitedOxford Utd144551717017
15Coventry CityCoventry134361717015
16Derby CountyDerby134361617-115
17Stoke CityStoke134361518-315
18Hull City143651518-315
19Cardiff CityCardiff134361319-615
20Plymouth ArgylePlymouth144371425-1115
21Preston North EndPreston133551420-614
22Luton TownLuton133371521-612
23Queens Park RangersQPR141761223-1110
24Portsmouth141671327-149
Scroll for more - Tap for full version


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
AL
Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!

Loading ...

Failed to load data.

history www

UEFA Champions League all-time top scorers

1

UC

Preview: Chelsea vs. Noah - prediction, team news, lineups

2

PC

Preview: Bodo/Glimt vs. Qarabag - prediction, team news, lineups

NEW

3

PB

Chelsea 'willing' to make £42m bid for Atletico Madrid midfielder

NEW

4

C'

Bernabeu breached: Real Madrid fall to another home defeat against AC Milan

5

BB

Sancho among 11 changes? Chelsea predicted lineup vs. FC Noah

6

SA

Champions League 2024-25: How many points do teams need to qualify for knockouts?

7

CL

Preview: Man Utd vs. PAOK - prediction, team news, lineups

8

PM

Zirkzee or Hojlund? Predicted Man United lineup vs. PAOK

9

ZO

Rashford upgrade? Man United identify £76m winger as 'priority' signing

10

RU


. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .