Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic (R) competes for the ball against Southampton's Sadio Mané. (Photo : Getty Images)
Reeling squad Norwich City FC (6-15-6, 24 points) is hanging by the skin of its teeth from bottom-three relegation as they face the rising defending champions Chelsea FC (9-9-9, 36 points) at the Carrow Road on March 1st, Tuesday as the 2015-2016 Premier League season moves forward.
The Canaries succumbed to their seventh loss in their last eight games against league-leading Leicester City, 0-1, last Saturday at the King Power Stadium, as reported by SkySports.
Leicester's backup forward Leonardo Ulloa scored the lone goal of the match one minute before the full time whistle was blown to snatch the point away from Norwich City after Alex Neil's side put the current league leaders in check for most of the game.
Yellows striker Cameron Jerome missed a golden opportunity to take the lead in the first half as he pulled off a wide header from close range following a corner kick.
With the loss, the newly-promoted squad is escaping bottom-three relegation by a very thin line as they are tied on points with Newcastle United but ahead in the goal differential statistic to stay away from the cellar, -21 to United's -22.
Meanwhile, the reigning champions are on an 11-game unbeaten streak after subduing Southampton, 2-1, at their own home field of St. Mary's Stadium also last Saturday, as per BBC Sport.
The Saints actually drew first blood during the match courtesy of a brilliant finish from forward Shane Long at the 42nd off a Baba Rahman mistake, reaching the halftime break up by a point, 1-0.
Interim head coach Guus Hiddink's boys found a way to comeback in the game, stringing two goals late in the match with midfielder Cesc Fabregas and defender Branislav Ivanovic scoring a goal each at the 75th and 89th to overtake their hosts.
It was a second straight win for the Blues, who are now in the 11th spot of the league table. While they will definitely not reach Leicester and the other top teams to successfully defend their title at this point in the season, Chelsea ensures that they will stay in the English top flight next season with their recent resurgence.
The predicted result is a 2-0 victory for Chelsea as the Blues continue their unbeaten run with interim manager Hiddink.
Norwich City starting lineup (5-4-1 formation): Ruddy; Pinto, Bennett, Martin, Klose, Brady; Redmond, Tettey, Howson, Naismith; Jerome
Chelsea starting lineup (4-2-3-1 formation): Courtois; Azpilicueta, Cahill, Ivanovic, Rahman; Fabregas, Mikel; Hazard, Willian, Pedro; Costa
