Norwich will be hoping their new-found defensive potency can see them shock Manchester United on Sunday and put pressure on Liverpool.
Norwich failed to keep a team scoreless this season until their home game against Chelsea on January 21, which ended 0-0, and they made it two clean sheets in a row with a 2-0 win against Bolton on February 4.
That streak, however, fails to take into account Norwich's most recent match.
In the FA Cup fifth round, Phil Lambert's men lost 2-1 at home to Championship side Leicester City.
Now Norwich turn their attention to Manchester United and know if they beat Alex Ferguson's side they will end the weekend on 38 points, one point behind seventh-placed Liverpool.
Liverpool will not play in the English Premier League this weekend because of their involvement in the Carling Cup final.
Last time these two teams faced each other in Norwich, the home side claimed a 2-0 victory but despite this, and the promoted club's surprisingly good form this season, Manchester United are the obvious favourites.
The Red Devils are second on the table with 58 points, just two points behind rivals Manchester City, plus the reigning champions have the best away record in the Premier League.
Heading into Sunday's game, Ferguson will be keen for a better performance from his team having seen them limp into the Europa League's round of 16 on Thursday.
Playing at home, Manchester United lost their second leg against Ajax Amsterdam 2-1 but went through 3-2 on aggregate and Ferguson will have put in a lot of effort to erase any complacency that may be creeping into his players.
Wayne Rooney should be back against Norwich after missing the Europa League game with a throat infection, while Anderson could also be included.
Norwich is expected to have defenders Kyle Naughton, Zak Whitbread and Marc Tierney back after absences through injury, which makes the idea of a third straight clean sheet at home in the Premier League a stronger possibility.
0 - 1 |
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1 - 1 |
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1 - 2 |
| # | Player | Bookings |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | J. Ruddy | |
| 3 | A. Drury | |
| 22 | E. Ward | |
| 25 | K. Naughton | |
| 6 | Z. Whitbread | |
| 11 | A. Surman | |
| 15 | D. Fox | |
| 12 |
A. Pilkington
|
|
| 4 |
B. Johnson
|
 10'
|
| 10 |
S. Jackson
|
|
| 9 | G. Holt |
 84'
|
| Coach: P. Lambert | ||
| # | Player | Bookings |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | De Gea | |
| 5 | R. Ferdinand |
90+2'
|
| 3 | P. Evra | |
| 6 | J. Evans |
49'
|
| 4 | P. Jones | |
| 16 | M. Carrick | |
| 11 |
R. Giggs
|
90+1'
|
| 22 | P. Scholes |
7'
|
| 17 | Nani | |
| 19 | D. Welbeck | |
| 14 |
J. Hernández
|
|
| Coach: A. Ferguson | ||
| # | Player | Bookings |
|---|---|---|
| 14 |
for S. Jackson 46' |
|
| 17 |
for B. Johnson 64' |
|
| 21 |
for A. Pilkington 70' |
|
| 5 | ||
| 7 | ||
| 20 | ||
| 31 |
| # | Player | Bookings |
|---|---|---|
| 18 |
for J. Hernández 63' |
|
| 12 |
for R. Giggs 90+3' |
|
| 9 | ||
| 13 | ||
| 20 | ||
| 21 | ||
| 40 |
