Norwich Vs Sheffield United

Norwich Vs Sheffield UTD: Why are Norwich struggling to break teams down?

Score: 0 - 1

Possession (%): 53 - 47

xG: 0.26 - 1.01

· Norwich's build-up strategy.

· Sheffield's man orientated press.

· A lack of quality and depth in the final third.

· Sheffield's build-up and Norwich's press.

Base Formations:

Norwich lined up in a 4-2-3-1, but Sargent was often alongside Pukki in a front two. McLean and Sara swapped sides throughout the game. Sheffield United were set up in a 3-4-2-1 base formation with Berge and Doyle sat deeper than McAtee. Ndiaye started on the left but soon switched sides with McAtee.

In the first phase of their build-up, Norwich transitioned into their usual 2-4-3-1. Typically, McLean would drop deeper than Sara to create a staggered midfield two. This staggering makes it harder for the opponent to press.

Sheffield United pressed high with an aggressive strategy aiming to disrupt Norwich's build-up. With George Baldock joining the press, the Blades transitioned into a 4-1-3-2. McBurnie and McAtee formed a temporary front two, while Berge and Ndiaye sat alongside Baldock.

Sheffield's press involved a series of man-orientated jumps that began when Norwich played out from the back. When Gunn played out towards Norwich's right side McBurnie pressed Hanley, and Ndiaye jumped from Sara to Aarons. This forced Berge to leave McLean and pick up Sara. Max Lowe stayed tight to Marquinhos, while Doyle marked Sargent.

Alternatively, if Gunn decided to play out towards Norwich's left wing, a new series of jumps began with McAtee pressing Gibson. This was followed by Baldock jumping to press international teammate Dimitris Giannoulis, while Sander Berge marked McLean, and Ahmedhodžić - occupying a temporary right back role - stayed tight to Adam Idah. England under-21 international Tommy Doyle continued to mark Josh Sargent.

When playing out from the back, Norwich attempted to exploit the space between Sheffield United's press and their temporary back four.

To do this Norwich frequently played towards Idah and Marquinhos early in the build-up, hoping they would be able to find Sara or McLean with bounce passes into space. But Norwich's two wide men often failed to retain possession in these situations, and this strategy led to numerous turnovers.

In the second phase of Norwich's build-up, they created a 3-1-5 shape when McLean dropped between Hanley and Gibson, although this rotation was less frequent than it has been in previous games. Sara often occupied a position behind and between McAtee and Berge.

However, Norwich's front line frequently occupied the same horizontal line. These situations provided a perfect example of David Wagner's side focusing too heavily on creating numerical superiority in the final third and failing to create situations of positional superiority.

This is one reason Norwich are finding it difficult to break teams down. Offensive depth - which creates positional superiority - is an important concept in possession, without it a side can become predictable and easy to mark. Staggering Norwich's front line would create this depth which, in turn, would create space between the opponent’s lines by drawing defenders out of position.

In the first phase of Sheffield United's build-up, they created a 3-4-2-1 shape with a double pivot and a midfield box. Norwich pressed in a 4-1-4-1, with Sargent and Sara marking Sheffield's double pivot behind Pukki. Idah and Marquinhos were ready to press Ahmedhodžić and Robinson respectively. If McAtee joined the build-up, McLean followed him.

In the second phase of United's build-up, they moved into a 3-2-4-1 while Norwich dropped into a 4-4-1-1 with Idah and Marquinhos attempting to prevent a 5v4 overload in the final third. Sheffield's 3-2 build-up shape is one Norwich could learn a lot from, it creates central superiority and enhances the connections into the final third.

Alternatively, when McAtee and Ndiaye swapped positions, Sheffield could create a midfield three with Doyle as the single pivot. McAtee and Berge then moved into the half spaces either side of McLean and Sara.

In possession, the Blades occupied much better spaces than Norwich. Their midfield box created central superiority, while the wing backs helped to create overloads and combinations out wide.

Norwich tend to set up with much larger distances between players. As a result, they are often forced into wide areas where they can be trapped against the touchline by an opponent's press. Sheffield's man-orientated press was designed to do exactly that.

But it was in the final third that Norwich struggled the most; they lacked quality and positional depth in these areas. Ultimately, Sheffield United were able to create better chances than Norwich.

While I don't doubt that David Wagner's impact has been a positive one, Norwich's recent performances have been far from ideal. Tactically, Norwich are in a better position than they were under Dean Smith, but that doesn't mean there aren't problems to solve.