Norwich City return to Carrow Road in Championship action this weekend after dramatically beating Cardiff City away on their travels, the Canaries relying on substitute star Adam Idah to convert an opening late on to seal a 3-2 win.
Their opponents this Saturday are QPR who are in dire form – winless in their last eleven second-tier matches – so David Wagner’s men will hope that they can get a second successive win to boost confidence in the Yellows camp and kickstart a surge up the table at the expense of the hapless Hoops.
Norwich occupy a lowly 16th spot at the time of writing, Wagner praying that a victory keeps him in the Carrow Road dug-out for the time being despite outside voices still calling for his head.
Related
The five managers Norwich City could hire if they sack David Wagner
Norwich will have a list of replacements ready, David Wagner’s time at Carrow Road nearing towards its end.
He will have some big decisions when it comes to team selection for this match against a low-in-confidence opponent, with Przemysław Płacheta one player who could potentially drop out after the 25-year-old had a poor afternoon playing as a makeshift left-back in Wales.
Przemysław Płacheta’s season in numbers
Norwich’s Polish number 20 hasn’t ever really got going for the Canaries since making a major move from his native country to Carrow Road in the summer of 2020.
It’s been – as Norwich City journalist Conor Southwell states – a “difficult spell” in the player’s career, never really fitting in which is why Wagner has decided to experiment in recent weeks – playing the winger at full-back versus the Bluebirds to give him a spot in the team.
Hauled off the pitch after a sub-standard first-half showing – Płacheta losing all four of his duels in a torrid 45-minute spell, as per Sofascore – his replacement in the second half in conventional left-back Dimitrios Giannoulis settled the backline down and added calm to proceedings when it was needed.
Even when playing in his natural left winger role this campaign, he hasn’t fared much better, the out-of-form midfielder only registering one assist this season, with zero goal output elsewhere to aid the likes of Jonathan Rowe and Gabriel Sara in regularly scoring.
Giannoulis will no doubt step up to the mark to replace Płacheta if his manager decides to make that change, the Greek full-back a reliable figure in defence.
Giannoulis as Płacheta’s replacement
Norwich’s number 30 performed admirably from off the bench against Cardiff last time out, dropped by Wagner initially after two back-to-back horror shows against Sunderland and Blackburn Rovers, before being introduced into the contest in the Welsh capital.
Giannoulis would win three of his five duels on the pitch at the Cardiff City Stadium, whilst also venturing up the pitch on occasion to drive his team on to pull off an unlikely comeback win – successful with two out of his three dribbles attempted on the day, getting the better of his Bluebirds marker with trickery to then play it into space for a Canaries teammate to further foray forward.
The 26-cap Greece international will have played himself back into contention for a starting spot again therefore, Płacheta dropping out to make up the numbers on the bench with the Polish dud beginning to fear now for his long-term Norwich career.
Amid the scrutiny facing Wagner at present, the German tactician can’t afford to carry any passengers.
