Norwich City continue to create high-quality chances. But they need to find solutions to their recent struggles without the ball. Ben Lee breaks down a West Brom draw.
Ben is a City season ticket holder and author of the NCFC Analysis social media account, who unpicks games with an analytical report highlighting tactical strengths and weaknesses.
This is what Ben made of an intriguing clash at the Hawthorns.
West Brom Vs Norwich: Room to improve
Score: 2 – 2
Possession (%): 50 – 50
Passes: 460 – 484
Shots: 22 – 11
xG: 1.78 – 1.86
- Build-up variations.
- Man-to-man pressure.
- Norwich’s pressing issues.
- Settled-play patterns.
Base formation
In their first game back following the November international break, Norwich made the trip to the West Midlands to face Carlos Corberan’s West Brom. Johannes Hoff Thorup made three changes to his eleven as Gunn, Stacey, and Forson returned to the side.
Corberan named an unchanged eleven as the hosts set up in a 4-4-2 base formation, while Norwich lined up in their usual 4-3-3 shape.
During goalkeeper restarts, Norwich created an expansive 4-3-3 with the full-backs advancing and the outside centre-midfielders moving to the edges of the penalty area.
In response, West Brom pressed with man-orientation from a 4-4-2 base. With City’s goalkeeper receiving the first pass, Grant (18) pressed from the side as Maja (9) initially shadow-marked Sorenson (19), and Mowatt (27) occupied the space behind.
West Brom maintained a 4v3 in the last line, the wingers dropped to stay tight to City’s advanced full-backs, and Molumby (8) was ready to press Marcondes (11).
Mowatt (27) was responsible for pressing either Slimane (20) or Sorenson (19), depending on Norwich’s build-up pattern. If the hosts successfully forced City to their left, Maja (9) would jump to press the left centre-back, triggering Mowatt (27) to jump onto the pivot.
Early in the first half, with Molumby (8) drawn to Sainz (7) dropping between the lines, Norwich managed to play through the host’s press via Marcondes (11), who advanced on the blind side of the Irish number eight.
Despite Furlong (2) jumping from the last line to press Sainz (7), Molumby (8) also pressed the Spaniard, leaving Marcondes (11) free to receive before playing into a 3v3.
Later in the first half, Thorup’s men exploited Mowatt’s (27) dual pressing role when Doyle (6) received from the goalkeeper before accessing Slimane (20) on the opposite side.
With Doyle (6) in possession, the Man City loanee waited for Mowatt (27) to jump towards Sorenson (19) before finding Slimane (20) in space on the right. City’s Tunisian midfielder then played to Stacey (3) advancing beyond his marker out wide.
In settled phases of possession, Stacey (3) overlapped beyond Forson (18) out wide, as City’s Ghanaian midfielder inverted into the right half-space. Fisher (35) tended to stay deeper on the opposite side, as Marcondes (11) advanced into the last line, creating a 2-3-5 shape.
In these phases, Corberan’s men transitioned between a zonal 4-4-2 mid-block and a more aggressive man-to-man mid-press.
Norwich occasionally created a variation of their usual settled-play build-up structure when Stacey (3) dropped into the second line to create a 2-4 build-up shape.
With West Brom in a compact 4-4-2 mid-block, the host’s centre-forwards used cover shadowing to block passing lanes to City’s deepest midfield duo, and the defenders in the back line were ready to jump onto the players between the lines.
With Norwich making this transition and Stacey (3) playing back to Duffy (4), West Brom often moved into their man-to-man mid-press.
Grant (18) began the press by jumping onto Duffy (4) with intensity, before Maja (9) pressed Doyle (6), and the midfield four backed up the press on City’s full-backs and deep-lying midfielders. In these phases, the hosts were often able to force Norwich back to Gunn (1).
Another build-up variation from Thorup’s side saw the centre-backs split as Sorenson (19) dropped into a situational back three, creating a 3v2 against the host’s first line of pressure.
Fisher (35) frequently moved out wide and advanced to create an overload on the left with Sainz (7) and Marcondes (11), but West Brom stayed compact and often forced Norwich back into their own half, where Sorenson (19) helped City shift the ball to the far side.
Halfway through the first half, with Fisher (35) remaining deep to create more of a 3-2 build-up structure, Norwich found an equaliser with a fast attack down the right wing.
Stacey (3) overlapped to receive a through ball from Duffy (4). City’s right-back then cut the ball back into the box from the byline as Marcondes (11) made a run to the near-post before converting a high-quality chance worth 0.72xG – just 0.04xG lower than a penalty.
In West Brom’s deepest build-up phases, Corberan’s men set up in a 4-2-2-2 build-up shape, as Maja (9) and Johnston (22) dropped ahead of the host’s double pivot, leaving Fellows (31) and Grant (18) in the last line.
Norwich pressed with intensity from their usual 4-3-3 as Sainz (7) pressed from the left, Crnac (17) tracked the ball-side pivot, and Forson (18) jumped to press the left centre-back.
Thorup’s men pressed well in these goalkeeper restart situations, but they found it more difficult to prevent escapes in open-play build-up phases. This was particularly the case on the visitor’s right, where Thorup’s men repeatedly made the same mistake.
When Heggem (14) received, he was pressed by Forson (18). But when the Norwegian centre-back played out to the left, Forson (18) jumped to press out wide despite Slimane (20) already tracking the full-back, leaving Heggem (14) free to receive a return pass.
This issue was compounded by Maja’s (9) deep-lying role, which isolated Marcondes (11) in a 2v1, with the Danish midfielder caught between sitting back and pressing the free pivot. Sainz (7) was also caught between pressing high and dropping onto the far-side pivot.
As a result, Heggem (14) had two easy out-balls, with Molumby (8) free to receive centrally, and the right-back free to receive out wide thanks to Fellows (31) pinning Fisher (35) in the last line.
This was a recurring issue for Norwich in the first half, with the visitors making the same mistake on multiple occasions; and City’s press wasn’t much better on the opposite side.
When the goalkeeper played straight out to Furlong (2), Marcondes (11) jumped out wide to press the right-back, but Crnac (17) was too far from Molumby (8) to prevent a pass infield via Maja (9), who had drawn Sorenson (19) towards the touchline.
In settled possession, West Brom transitioned between fluid build-up structures. The hosts occasionally created a 2-4-4 shape with the full-backs in line with the pivots, but with Furlong (2) dropping into a back three and Styles (4) remaining in midfield, they often created a 3-3-4.
With Norwich creating a 4-3-3 mid-press, Mowatt (27) moved to receive on Crnac’s (17) blind side before accessing Styles (4) behind Norwich’s right-winger. On the opposite side, Molumby (8) often advanced to draw City’s left-back to press, leaving Fellows (31) free behind.
Once the hosts advanced into Norwich’s half, the wingers dropped back, and City created a 4-5-1 mid-block. In these phases, the hosts continued their attempts to isolate Norwich in 1v1 and 2v1 situations.
Against their mid-block, for example, Molumby (8) moved out to the touchline, dragging Sainz (7) out wide and opening the right half-space for a pass from Furlong (2) to Fellows (31) running in behind.
In situations such as this, Norwich were too easily manipulated out of possession at times on Saturday, and, as a result, West Brom managed to play through every phase of pressure.
While this is clearly an area requiring improvement, City continue to create high-quality chances, particularly when attacking at pace. But to fully reap the rewards of their impressive chance creation, they need to find solutions to their recent struggles without the ball.
You can read all Ben's previous analysis of Norwich City games via his social media accounts.
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