Norwich V Liverpool at Carrow Road - Match Preview

Norwich manager Paul Lambert has labelled speculation linking him with a summer move to Aston Villa as "extremely unfair".

The pressure is increasing on Villa boss Alex McLeish as the Midlands club struggle to stay clear of the relegation dogfight, having been beaten 2-1 at home draw by Bolton in midweek.

By contrast, Lambert has steered the Canaries up into 13th place, with their top-flight status all but secured for another season, some 10 points clear of danger heading into Saturday's visit of Liverpool.

The former Celtic midfielder, 42, accepts transfer rumours about players and even managers is all part and parcel of the game, but insists reports suggesting he was being lined up by Villa owner Randy Lerner as a summer replacement for McLeish were unwelcome.

"Speculation about players is something you can never do anything about. It happens with managers as well and you can never stop that," the Norwich manager told a press conference.

"If my players get linked with other teams, there is not a thing I can do about that. It is the same situation about myself.

"However, it is extremely unfair with me being linked with Aston Villa when they have got a really good manager up there who is doing everything he can to stay in the league.

"It is an unfair comment for me to say anything on that."

Liverpool may not be challenging for the championship, but they have already brought the Carling Cup back to Anfield and next weekend have another Wembley date as they aim to beat Champions League finalists Chelsea to win the FA Cup.

Lambert is not expecting anything other than another stern test of how far his own squad have come since rising up through succesive promotions from npower League One.

Lambert added: "Liverpool have won the Carling Cup, they are in the final of the FA Cup. The fan base is huge, Kenny (Dalglish) is a massive presence and they are still a fantastic side. I don't think anybody should underestimate that."

Norwich have struggled for consistency in recent weeks, winning at Tottenham on Easter Monday only to then be thumped 6-1 at home by title-chasing Manchester City and losing 2-0 at relegation battlers Blackburn last time out.

Striker James Vaughan is pressing for another start after his recovery from a frustrating injury spell.

Former Reds centre-back Zak Whitbread (hamstring) remains sidelined and will not be playing against his old club.

Fellow defenders Marc Tierney (groin) and Daniel Ayala (knee), another former Liverpool man, are ruled out of the season.

Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish would be happy just to see some league victories before the end of the season irrespective of how his side play.

Having dominated throughout and created numerous chances in last weekend's home defeat to West Brom the Scot will gladly swap style for substance over the coming weeks.

There is a danger the Reds could go into next weekend's FA Cup final against Chelsea with a lack of confidence and momentum with more frustrating performances like the one against the Baggies.

And while Dalglish does not intend to abandon his principles he would welcome a few more points to avoid the club's worst league finish for 58 years - when they were relegated.

"We want to win games but it would be nice if we were rubbish and won a game," said the Reds boss, who insists finishing above near neighbours Everton, two points ahead, should not be the primary motivating factor for his players.

"Our incentive is to get as much as we can from every game we play.

"We want to finish with as many wins and points as we possibly can and the incentive we have is just representing the football club as much as anything else.

"We have always set ourselves high standards in terms of the level of performance and there are not too many times when we've let ourselves down on that front."

Liverpool have hit the woodwork 30 times this season and have dominated many games without delivering the killer blow to opponents.

Liverpool's worst season in Premier League history came in 1993/94 when they were eighth, the same position they finished in the 1963 campaign in their first season after winning promotion back to Division One.

The last time they finished outside the top eight was when they finished bottom in 1953/54.

Captain Steven Gerrard returned to training during the week after being rested for the home defeat against West Brom.

However, with an FA Cup final in just over a week and two league matches to play before then Dalglish may look to protect some of his players.

Midfielder Charlie Adam's knee injury has ruled out a return before the end of the season.

end

Source: PA

Source: PA