Amid a difficult start to life back in the Championship, Norwich City will aim to get back on track when they welcome Huddersfield Town to Carrow Road on Tuesday night.
The Canaries went down 2-1 to Hull City at the weekend, while the Terriers ended their losing streak with a 3-1 success over Stoke City.
A sublime free kick from Marcelino Nunez was all that Norwich had to cheer during their trip to Hull, as Dean Smith’s side had already conceded twice before the 22-year-old newcomer fired home to reduce the deficit in the second period.
A brace from Oscar Estupinan did the damage as Norwich’s struggles in the second tier continued, but Smith has affirmed that there is no need to press the panic button just yet, even though portions of the away fanbase certainly made their feelings clear.
The Canaries have only taken one point from a possible nine in the embryonic stages of the campaign, with an EFL Cup penalty shootout victory providing their only glimmer of sunlight so far, and it is also just one win in their last four Championship home games for the hosts.
Smith’s side can take some solace in the fact that both of their defeats so far this term have come on the road, but the fixture schedule is not getting any kinder to the injury-hit Canaries, whose upcoming opponents experienced far better fortunes at the weekend.
Danny Schofield could very well be in the doghouse at home after nearly admitting that Huddersfield’s 3-1 triumph over Stoke was a more joyful experience than the birth of his children, which only emphasised the importance of the Terriers’ first win of the season.
Huddersfield had kicked off their Championship campaign with back-to-back defeats to Burnley and Birmingham City, as well as being thrashed 4-1 by Preston North End in the EFL Cup, but Schofield’s side took their chances on Saturday.
After Lewis Baker saw an early penalty saved by Lee Nicholls, Huddersfield netted through Yuta Nakayama, Danny Ward and Jordan Rhodes. Baker had made amends for his penalty miss by levelling the scores at 1-1, but the Potters’ captain’s effort was in vain.
Having ended a three-game losing streak in the second tier, the next match cannot come quickly enough for Huddersfield, who were counting their lucky stars somewhat as Stoke missed chance after chance to claw their way back into the encounter at the John Smith’s Stadium.
A record of just two defeats from their last 15 away matches in the Championship does stand the Terriers in good stead, but they will not need reminding of what went down the last time that they made the trip to Carrow Road, as Norwich hit them for seven without reply in April 2021.
Norwich City Championship form:
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Norwich City form (all competitions):
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Huddersfield Town Championship form:
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Huddersfield Town form (all competitions):
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We say: Norwich City 1-2 Huddersfield Town
With Norwich suffering injury after injury at left-back, Huddersfield know exactly which area of the final third to target, and Holmes will certainly be fired up to produce the goods after his two assists off the bench at the weekend.
The Canaries will threaten on the attack as ever, especially with Huddersfield facing a barrage of shots against Stoke, but the momentum is with Schofield’s side, and we are backing them to take advantage of Norwich’s injury and confidence woes to keep their revival going.