Although Aston Villa fought back from a goal down to win 3-2 when they played host to the Canaries at Villa Park last season, the return fixture brought a surprisingly comfortable 2-0 home win at Carrow Road on the final day of the campaign.

But in truth, neither fixture acts as a reliable guide for punters as City prepare to come face to face with former boss Paul Lambert.

Norwich's poor away record in the top flight this season guarantees they start as BetVictor's 31/10 underdogs to collect three points, whereas Lambert's men assume the status of 10/11 favourites (bet365) largely thanks to their home advantage. The stalemate is available at 11/4 (Stan James).

A number of punters have hedged their bets and backed a Norwich win plus the draw at a combined 5/6 with Skybet. A few are also taking advantage of BetVictor's generous-looking 11/2 chalked about both halves finishing on level terms.

Elsewhere, bet365 rate Chris Hughton's charges at an enormous 15/2 to win following a drawn opening period, while Stan James's equally hefty 12/1 for the away side to register a 1-0 victory has proved understandably popular, albeit with smaller-staking punters.

Paddy Power rates the likelihood of both sides scoring at 4/6, although William Hill's 9/4 for the first half to end goalless catches the eye, while a 1-1 outcome, priced at 13/2 by Ladbrokes, looks decent value.

Norwich took the lead in both occasions fixtures last season and they're 6/4 at bet365 to open the scoring again this time.

Elsewhere, punters anticipating a steady flow of goals can get 4/6 (Skybet) about the match producing more than 2.5.

The likelihood of City keeping a clean sheet might be considered a long shot by some of their supporters, but BetVictor.com put a price on it happening – 17/4 according to the firm.

At the other end, Grant Holt is a 7/1 shot, courtesy of Stan James, to follow up his winner against Arsenal by breaking the deadlock at Villa Park.