Norwich City's struggles are clear for all to see, with four defeats in five for the Canaries. Look a little deeper, and it gets even worse.

While various stages of the season have presented differing issues - its start was plagued by a lack of creativity, with a left-back injury crisis hampering the following portion - Dean Smith's side now appear to be failing in all departments.

When attacking impotency is combined with a leaky backline, the results aren't pleasant, as made clear by City's recent run of form.

They're winless in six and dropping down the Championship table quickly, with their last home victory coming more than six weeks ago against Bristol City.

Perhaps hope could be found if the underlying numbers suggested that Norwich had been unlucky, but there's no comfort to speak of there.

While the start of their poor run was, as Smith was keen to highlight, in contrast with xG numbers - they almost tripled Preston North End's total of 0.83 when defeated by the Lilywhites - recent tallies have suggested they've deserved what they've got.

Burnley more than doubled their xG total in Tuesday's 1-0 loss at Turf Moor (1.68 v 0.7), Sheffield United created greater opportunities (2.26 v 1.48) during Saturday's 2-2 draw, and Watford's total of 2.7 was more than the 1.61 Norwich could muster during their 2-1 defeat at Vicarage Road.

Looking at those expected goals for numbers exposes an issue that City thought they had solved: creativity. Combine those three totals with the measly 0.75 generated against Luton and it gives an average of just 1.135 per game in the last four fixtures.

To put that into context, second-placed Queens Park Rangers, who City now trail by five points from a game more, registered an xG for average of 1.55 in their last four games. City's unbeaten run between August 30 and September 17 boasted an average xG of 1.82.

So why has there been such a significant drop-off in attacking numbers?

Part of the problem is that they're simply not getting the ball into dangerous areas often enough. City played passes into the final third on fewer occasions than their season average (55.84) against Burnley (37), Sheffield United (34), Watford (53) and Preston (44), with a worrying level of accuracy throughout.

Only 35.14pc of those attempts came off at Turf Moor, with slight increases against the Blades (58.82pc) and the Hornets (58.49pc). None of these numbers came close, again, to their season average, however, with 67.3pc of passes into the final third being accurate across the campaign as a whole.

A drop off in creative numbers can be accommodated within the correct defensive structure, so those statistics don't necessarily ensure failure at Championship level.

The table-topping Clarets produced an xG for of just 1.02 in their three fixtures prior to meeting Norwich, and yet earned seven points. Blackburn Rovers are second and have won three on the bounce despite averaging just 0.63xg for during that run.

What's been key in the success of both those sides, however, has been defensive solidity - a strength Smith's charges certainly can't claim at present.

They've conceded nine times in the previous five games, allowing 37 shots in the last two and posting a combined xG against of 3.94 in those fixtures.

Smith would point to the changes defensive injuries have forced him to make, but the almost ever-present Grant Hanley has been successful in a far portion of his actions in those games than others this term.

The Scottish international boasts an impressive 79.7pc average for actions completed successfully across the season, but managed only 62pc at Burnley and 54pc in Sheffield.

Of course, not all the blame lies at Hanley's door. Smith's tactics have been questioned amid growing pressure on the former Aston Villa man, with top scorer Josh Sargent consistently played on the wing and attacking movements largely absent.

What's clear is that City must improve in a number of departments to get back on track. Whether Smith is the right man to facilitate that will continue to be debated, but the statistics certainly aren't looking good.