While Manchester United and Norwich City are on opposite ends of the table, their match at Carrow Road on Saturday is loaded with meaning for both sides. Both teams have the opportunity to take their current undesirable positions in the Premier League and take a big, big step toward getting to where they want to be, and that should wind up putting the kind of hard-fighting, almost desperate edge onto the match that can create an instant late-season classic.
Manchester United vs. Norwich City 2016 live stream: Start time, TV schedule and how to watch online
An upset win for Norwich would go a long way toward helping them survive the relegation battle.
Clive Brunskill/Getty Images
This is the kind of match where the relative talent of the two teams takes a back seat to the other factors around it. This one is about desire, about heart, about who wants it more. Norwich playing on home soil will certainly help, because their fans know what’s at stake and will give their all to help lift their team to a much-needed win. The result and how it comes about is far from certain, but one thing is for sure -- it’s going to be exciting.
What’s at stake
As things stand heading into the weekend, Norwich are two points behind Newcastle United with a game in hand. A win coupled with any sort of dropped points for Newcastle against Aston Villa would see them at worst even with the Magpies -- and still hold that game in hand. That would be a massive boost to the Canaries’ hopes of surviving to fight another season in the Premier League, and would give them much-needed momentum in the last vestiges of the run-in.
Of course, Manchester United still have something to fight for as well. Their cross-town rivals Manchester City face a tough match against Arsenal, and should they lose that match while United beats Norwich like the relegation fodder they’ve made themselves into, the Red Devils would be just one point behind City with a game in hand just like Norwich have on Newcastle. That would see them close the gap significantly, with a chance to pass City and take fourth place and the potential Champions League spot it represents. Meanwhile, City themselves would be helpless to stop them simply because they’ve played one more match.
Norwich City injuries and suspensions
Out: Ryan Bennett, Andre Wisdom, Timm Klose, Alex Tettey
Manchester United injuries and suspensions
Out: Bastian Schweinsteiger, Will Keane, Luke Shaw
Match Date/Time: Saturday, 7:45 a.m. ET, 12:45 p.m. local
Venue: Carrow Road, Norwich, England
TV: NBCSN (U.S.), TSN1, 4 (Canada), BT Sport 1 (U.K.)
Online: NBC Sports Live Extra (U.S.), BT Sport Live Streaming (U.K.)
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