EPL : Norwich City 2 Chelsea 3

Along a quiet stretch of the A1242, on Thorpe Road, is a pub that the population of Norwich probably wouldn't ever know was there if they weren't one of the residents surrounding it in this most residential of areas. It's set back from the road, wedged between a parade of terraced houses on one side and a row of Victorian townhouse-style dwellings on the other. Directly opposite is what appears to be a Royal Mail depot and HQ with the tops of red lorries and vans visible over the concrete wall that keeps you out. Apart from the Indian Spice restaurant, Tiffins Sandwich and Espresso bar and the residential looking Stracey Hotel, there really is nothing else but houses in the immediate area. And of course, somewhere nearby is the home of Norwich City, about, I don't know, a mile, half a mile from here. I don't know how far I am from the ground because I am more or less lost, having found my way to the wrong Coach and Horses. There is more than one Coach and Horses in Norwich, I have discovered. I wanted the one in Bethel Street in the heart of the city centre, one of the oldest taverns in Norfolk dating back to the 17th century with parts of the building said to have been laid around the 13th century. But here I am standing outside a gaudy bright red and white-painted building with a white railed balcony running along it halfway up (like a picket fence) and a nice enough little beer garden on the approach. Two broad chimneys jut up from either end of the black-tiled heavily slanted roof and a couple of mock Victorian gaslights greet me as I make my way past the tiny six-space car park. It's the perfect Christmas card pub, as you can easily visualize Santa hoisting his great body into one of the chimney pots in a snowy scene of moonlit reds and whites everywhere.

Some Norwich fans are enjoying the beer garden with pints and plates of sandwiches. But I'm looking for something a bit more substantial than that and I'm hoping I'm in luck even if my being here is by mistake.

Inside it is rather nice. There are thick squared and round wood tables with chairs to match, both nicely varnished - albeit the chairs might be a little uncomfortable after too long. There are plaques and little shields and crests on the walls and half a dozen blackboards advertising food, drinks and events. The place is about a third full and you get a nice spacious feel. The large ornate fire place in one of the rooms is adorned with big empty beer casks and a large fairy-lit mirror above it. My eye catches some of the hand-pumps on the bar : Black Anna (dark ale 4% ABV) Mustard India Pale Ale (5% ABV) and more. They're all Chalk Hill Brewery ales from the adjacent brewery, and you can try three different ales (in 1/3 pint glasses) for the price of a single pint.

I take them up on this offer and select the Black Anna, the Dreadnought (4.9% ABV) and the Chalk Hill Best (4.2% ABV) as my samples. They're all good, I have to say. The CHB wins through and the barman pumps out a lovely looking pint of it. The taste is very malty and has a deep fruity tang to it. Their beer is also available to take away in a variety of containers - mini-kegs, polypins and growlers.

The menu here is extensive, novel in places, but overall quite ordinary. I cast a sneaky eye around at what others are eating. Some have ordered the Full Scottish all-dayer (£12) which includes Chalk Hill IPA sausages, while one lady near me is clearly enjoying her swordfish soft shell tacos, served with kimchi slaw, sriracha, and dressings (£7.50 for two)

The hamburgers look quite tasty and the fellow opposite me is in the middle of demolishing what looks like the 'Marlon Sando', a burger of karaage fried chicken, samurai sauce (!) and Japanese slaw with chips (£13.50 - and from what I can see of it, overpriced) I'm thinking of going for the 'Salvador Deli' (a serving of hand cut chips with a topping of beer marinated pastrami, sauerkraut and Russian dressing (£7.50) There's also the 'Notorious P.I.G', chips with bacon scraps (!) magic bacon dust (!!) and broken waffles - come off it now, but, no, there sits a young lady heartily tucking into said dish (£7.25) I can't see any magic pig dust floating mystically from her fork, though, and I pass.

One thing I've never got is how nachos can be considered an integral part of a meal. They're a snack, no? Crisps, potato chips, something for the cinema or fun fair. But there are two such dishes available here. The Coach Nachos, homemade tortilla chips with chilli, cheese, guacamole, salsa and jalapenos, and the Ultimate Vegan Nachos, bean chilli, jackfruit, guacamole, salsa, pica de gallo [tomato, onion and cilantro] and jalapenos. Okay, I guess this is coming under Bar Food, but the £12.50 and £12 price tags is steep for bar grub.

Let's go for the 3 for 15 special deal then, three pint-sized dishes for fifteen sovs all in - choose from eight dishes. First up is the Scampi Bowl with a lime mayonnaise and a wedge of lime on the side. It does for starters but is gone in less than two minutes. Next up I am brought the Chilli Bowl (albeit with the dreaded nacho chips) It's quite mild and nicely blended with sour cream and Chalk Hill cheese sauce. It's served steaming hot straight from the pot and not from the microwave - the almost creamy texture alone indicates as much, and there are no tell-tale microwave scorched food marks on the upper inside of my bowl. Lastly she brings me my fat onion bhaji, warm grilled flatbread and papadums that are fresh and brittle to the touch and beautifully bubbly in shape. I am also served various chutneys and sauces, plus a properly prepared dahi yoghurt. All that for £15 and you can't go wrong.

By the time I've finished, the place has filled up quite a bit. Families are beginning to appear and some noisy kids are already pestering their elders for a portion of the Irn-Bru sorbet made with Ronaldo's Real Norfolk ice cream (£2.50) and are spoiling the atmosphere for me, I have to say. Time is cracking on and it's time to leave anyway. There are a number of little cards on the bar counter with telephone numbers of cab firms on them. Five Star, Courtesy, Bestway, Beeline, ABC - but I go for the footy-sounding one. Canary Cabs. Yeah, it's ringing.

"Canady Cabs, yes please."
"Yeah, I'm going to Carrow Road, the football, please."
"Soddy?"
"Carrow Road. Norwich, football."
"Ah. Where you are?"
"The Coach and Horses on - "
"Okay, how many you are?"
"Eh? No, just me. One. But I'm - "
"Okay, you wait. Ten minute."
"Hang on, hang on, I'm in the Coach and Horses pub in -"
"Yeah, yeah, ten minute. You stand outside. Driver no come inside."
"Wait a second. I'm in Thorpe Road. Not Bethel Street - "
"Yeah, yeah, Bettle Street. Is coming."
"No, wait, I'm not in Bethel Street. I'm in Thorpe Road. T-H-O-R-P-E Road. The Coach and Horses in Thorpe Road, not the Coach and Horses in Bethel Street."
"Yes, please."
The line goes dead and I can now but only hope.

Outside the ground - where there is nothing but houses and residential high rises, a whole stack of brand new apartment towers under construction, dull faceless office blocks - oh, wait, there is a Holiday Inn if you want to make a night of it, but precious little else of amusement. It much reminds me of my visit to Huddersfield's stadium last season for the game against Fulham, if you recall. Characterless surroundings, set back from the high streets and seemingly in the middle of not much worth a fig, the highlight of the day being a meal at the popular Shama Balti House away from the stadium...

Anyway, outside the ground I don't need my Easi-Trav portable barometer to tell me it's quite the scorcher, with temperatures reaching 26c during the game although inside the stadium the 'real feel' will be about 28c. There is an east south easterly wind going at just 8mph, with gusts of up to 12.5mph which is most welcome on this very warm afternoon, with cloud cover at 25%. With absolutely no chance of rain and visibility here at a range of almost 10 miles there can be no excuses not to see a good game of football today. Although some fans around me have taken the precaution of wearing baseball caps and shades, I have dispensed with what's left of my Altruist Dermatologist SPF 50 - 100m, as the UV index today is a moderate 5, not like in Besiktas recently where it was a whopping 8.

Norwich began their campaign with the visit to Anfield and came away 4-1 losers, but at least they kept a clean sheet in the second half with Pukki potting the consolation on '64. Last week Pukki was on the score sheet again with a 33 minute timespan hat-trick against Newcastle. They sit 11th in the table and have a trip down to Crawley on Tuesday for the League Cup.

With a defeat and a draw in the pot, not much is cooking for Chelsea at the moment. They had the first-half better of Leicester last time out but were unable to maintain the drive and were the lesser of the two sides in the second half.

The last time Norwich and Chelsea met was back in January 2018 in a riotous FA Cup replay at Stamford Bridge which Chelsea just about edged. It was a game that had quite everything in it : two red cards for Chelsea, a delayed kick-off, woodwork molestation, simulation, extra time, a penalty shoot-out and Delia Smith wetting herself with nerves.

I am hearing in my earpiece that there is a good chance that Rudiger may be match fit today and if so he will hopefully replace the hit-and-miss Zouma in defence. There could be another start for Giroud and Pulisic which is fine by me. Hudson-Odoi, I'm now being informed, could present himself for selection by early September.

One thing's for sure, though, and that's that Teemu Pukki will start for the home side and be hopeful of continuing his good potting form with the Norwich crowd having plenty of fun with a Finn.

Norwich 10/3
Chelsea 3/4
Draw 3/1