Norwich City v Aston Villa

TEAM NEWS

Norwich pair Wes Hoolahan and Gary O'Neil are both in contention to start against Aston Villa, having been rested for the Boxing Day defeat by Tottenham.

Andre Wisdom is hoping to overcome a hamstring strain but Matt Jarvis will not be rushed back from a knee injury.

Aston Villa midfielder Carlos Sanchez is out with the hamstring injury he sustained against West Ham.

Captain Micah Richards is close to a return from a knee injury and could be involved after a four-match absence.

MOTD COMMENTATOR'S NOTES

John Roder: "Aston Villa have a good recent record in matches against Norwich City, which might be a small crumb of comfort for Villa fans ahead of this crucial fixture.

"At the moment, Remi Garde can only dream of having the same sort of impact that Alex Neil has had in Norfolk. It has been a memorable 2015 for the Canaries following Neil's appointment in January.

"Villa travel to Norfolk having not won in the Premier League since the opening day of the season. With both sides desperate to end the year on a high it is certain to be a tense afternoon."

Twitter: @johnrodercomm 

LAWRO'S PREDICTION

This could be Norwich's biggest game of the season because they can get further away from Aston Villa and get up amongst the pack.

• Think you can do better than Lawro? Predict the score for this match and the rest of this round's Premier League fixtures in ourPredictor game.

MATCH FACTS

Head-to-head

• Aston Villa have won their last four meetings with Norwich in all competitions, with three of those games at Carrow Road.
• Norwich's only victory in the last 12 Premier League encounters came at home on the final day of the 2011-12 season.

Norwich City

• The Canaries have only managed one win in six games (W1, D2, L3).
• Norwich haven't won their final league game in a calendar year since 2010, losing in each of the previous three years and drawing in 2011.
• They have only kept one clean sheet this season, the fewest in the division. Villa have only kept two.
• The Canaries have scored just four times in their last five league games at Carrow Road. Three of those goals have come from corners.

Aston Villa

• Villa have gone a club record 17 league matches without a win since beating Bournemouth on the opening day of the season.
• They have earned just two points from their subsequent eight away matches, although they have drawn the last two.
• Remi Garde awaits his first victory as Villa's manager after seven attempts (D4, L3).
• The last time that Aston Villa ended a calendar year with a league victory was in 2011, when they beat Chelsea 3-1 away on New Year's Eve.
• They are the Premier League's lowest scorers this season with 15 goals after 18 matches.
• Jordan Ayew has scored in five of his last nine league games for the club.