Man Utd vs. Norwich Predictions: Ronaldo, Fernandes and Pukki all feature

A deflated Man Utd struggling to give their fans any sign that they can get their act together and revive their top-four hopes face rock-bottom Norwich at Old Trafford this weekend. The clubs have just two wins between them from a combined 14 league and cup matches of late, but with both sides desperately in need of a win could something give on Saturday (3pm)?

Off the pitch Man Utd will be boosted by the imminent appointment of Erik ten Hag who is set to become the club’s new permanent manager. An agreement in principle has been made, and while details still need to be finalised, it could potentially become official after Ajax’s Dutch Cup final this weekend.

Fans will hope that this galvanises the players during the run-in following a pretty deflating patch of results during which Ralf Rangnick’s men have scraped one win in seven games, were booted out of the Champions League by Atletico Madrid, and have floundered in the race for a top-four finish. The 1-0 defeat to Everton was particularly poor.

But, if there’s one fixture - on paper at least - that could shake this lacklustre and directionless United outfit out of the clutches of stagnation, it’s rock-bottom Norwich at home, a side that have two wins and just eight goals on the road this season; conceding 32 in the process. On top of that, Man Utd have won nine of their last 10 meetings between the teams, including the last five in a row. 

If only football was that simple, hey. Norwich head into the game still clinging onto the very minuscule hope that they can still avoid the drop: they are seven points from safety with seven games to play. Dean Smith’s side will be buoyed by their moral-boosting win over Burnley last week, which ended a nine game winless run in all competitions. For those wondering, they are available at 45/1 (Paddy Power) for the Great Escape.

Norwich are priced at 14/1 to conjure up a win at Old Trafford as they did in their second to last visit back in 2015.

With their next three games against Liverpool, Arsenal and potentially Chelsea, it’s absolutely crucial that Man Utd win at home to Norwich, for which they are the hot 1/4 favourites to end their three-game winless run. Meanwhile, a draw is available at 28/5.

They may not have shown it consistently of late but Man Utd have more than enough attacking talent in their ranks to fire the club back into the top-four conversation. You’d like to think that Bruno Fernandes, Jadon Sancho and a certain Cristiano Ronaldo can conjure something up on Saturday. 

Two of those players feature in our first bet for this match where we’re backing Bruno Fernandes and Cristiano Ronaldo to have a combined 6 or more shots on target, available at a boosted 15/2 with Paddy Power (from 6/1).

The duo have had a combined 160 shots in the Premier League this season, 57 of which have been on target, producing 21 goals. 

In Ronaldo's last home fixture - the 3-2 win against Spurs - he had five SOT all to himself from eight shots, and previously scored the winner away to Norwich earlier this season. Meanwhile, Bruno has accumulated 22 shots in his last six games, including 2+ SOT returns in four of those matches.

On Saturday, at Old Trafford, the pair will be expected to have shots aplenty against a Norwich side that have conceded 63 goals this season, including 32 on the road. In their last away fixture the Canaries allowed Brighton a whopping 31 shots, and on their last visit to Old Trafford they were thumped 4-0.

For our second tip we remain nestled in the shots market.

The way Man Utd are defending right now, even low-scoring Norwich will be confident of troubling David de Gea this weekend. 

United have conceded in 10 of the last 12 matches in all competitions, including the last five in a row. Their backline has been jittery throughout the whole season, with only the exploits of De Gea saving their blushes on many an occasion.

Norwich’s main man Teemu Pukki arrives at Old Trafford with a swagger in his step having scored four goals in his last seven games for both club and country, bagging Norwich’s second in the 2-0 win over Burnley last time out.

He’s accrued 22 shots in his last nine matches for the Canaries, including seven against the Clarets, while he’s had seven on target in his last five outings.

We therefore like the look of the Finn at 4/1 with Paddy Power to fire in two shots - or more - on target this Saturday as Norwich go in search of a priceless win in Manchester.