Sunderland boss Regis Le Bris must be aware of one key Norwich City weakness ahead of this weekend.
The Black Cats are set to face off against Norwich City this weekend at the Stadium of Light, with Regis Le Bris’ side hoping to make it four games unbeaten, and potentially two wins in a row.
Sunderland underwent a fairly sticky patch in November, however, appear to have come out slightly unscaved at the other side, with a crucial 3-2 win against Swansea City being recorded last time out.
It will be a tricky task for Le Bris’ side to notch a second successive victory against a Norwich City side that are the top scorers in the defence. For Sunderland, they will be hoping to exploit the Canaries’ somewhat shaky defensive record, however, they will be without the likes of Romaine Mundle and Tommy Watson due to injury.
Despite this, there is a clear way of beating Norwich City, and that comes down to exploiting one obvious weakness that Le Bris must certainly look to target.
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Norwich City weakness must be exploited by Sunderland in first half
Sunderland’s home record recently has been somewhat shaky recently, with three of their previous four games ending in a draw, however, they must put that behind them in order to beat Norwich City due to one clear reason.
The Canaries often have very little luck in the first half when playing away from home, as, per Soccer Stats, Norwich City currently rank 20th in the Championship table when taking into account first halves of football on their travels, but when taking into account solely the second stanza of games, they find themselves much higher in 11th.
In 11 away clashes, Norwich City have only been leading at the break on one occasion, whilst Sunderland at home are yet to find themselves down after 45 minutes, having recorded six leads and four stalemates at the Stadium of Light after the first half.
Regis Le Bris message to players must be clear ahead of Norwich clash
Sunderland should certainly be looking to pick up maximum points in every home clash in the 2024/25 Championship season, but it is clear that the upcoming game at home to Norwich opens up a massive opportunity for the Black Cats to get right back into the running for a promotion spot.
If the Black Cats are to see off the Canaries, they need to be playing at 100% from the get-go, and not let Norwich City settle into the game, otherwise they will find themselves an opportunity to fight back against Le Bris’ side.
Sunderland must simply kill off the opposition before they even get a chance, something that hasn’t been too easy for the side recently, having gone a goal down against Stoke City and Bristol City at home, and that run must be stopped, otherwise it will be a tricky task for the Black Cats.