Norwich missed a huge chance to boost their slim hopes of survival when they faced an out-of-form Brentford side at the weekend but the Canaries fell victim to an Ivan Toney hat-trick and their fifth consecutive defeat leaves them in all sorts of trouble. They are rock-bottom of the Premier League with a five point gap between themselves and safety, while two of the three teams directly above them have games in hand, too.nWith five defeats, 14 goals conceded and just two scored in their last five competitive games it’s certainly looking bleak for Dean Smith’s side.

 

Chelsea, on the other hand, bounced back from their penalty shootout loss in the Carabao Cup Final by progressing past Luton in the FA Cup before hammering Burnley 4-0 on Saturday and Thomas Tuchel will be fully expecting another three points on Thursday. The Blues are now unbeaten inside 90 minutes in ten competitive games and have won three in a row in the Premier League, keeping a clean sheet in each of that trio of victories.

Norwich are the lowest-scoring side in the top flight with just 16 league goals to their name and with Chelsea boasting the joint-best defence backing The Blues to win to nil looks a good choice.

 

We're also opting for a 3-0 correct score prediction after Norwich’s recent defensive woes, which has seen them concede at least three goals in three of their last four league games.

 

You're looking for an anytime goalscorer market? You could do a lot worse than backing Reece James. The Chelsea right wingback has more goal involvements per 90 minutes than any other Chelsea player this season and he returned to Premier League action for the first time since December against Burnley, scoring and assisting to make it six goals and seven assists in all competitions this term.

 

 

 

 

Leeds may have looked an improved side under new manager Jesse Marsch but that didn’t stop them falling to a 1-0 defeat at Leicester at the weekend and with the fixtures coming thick and fast it’s likely to take a bit of time before the Whites’ players are familiar with Marsch’s tactics. That defeat made it five on the spin for Leeds and seven games without a victory, leaving them just two points above the relegation zone and with the two teams directly below them harbouring games in hand.

For Aston Villa, this is a fantastic opportunity for Steven Gerrard to build on a recent revival. They thrashed Southampton 4-0 for Gerrard’s biggest win since joining Aston Villa, following on from a 2-0 win at Brighton to lift them up to 11th and put them well clear of any relegation battle. There is no denying that Gerrard has improved this Villa side. They have taken 23 points from 15 games under the former Liverpool captain’s tutelage, while prior to his arrival they had managed just ten points from 11 matches this season.

With Leeds on a poor run of six defeats in their last seven and without a win at Elland Road since the start of January, we're backing Villa to make it three in a row on Thursday.

A repeat of their last trip away looks on the cards for a correct score prediction, too. They have conceded just two goals in their last four and only one in their last three away games, while Leeds have failed to score in three successive league matches and conceded 11 goals in the process, so a 2-0 scoreline is our bet.

 

 

Total goals (2.5) under 2.11