- Norwich face Ipswich at Carrow Road for the first time in two years.
- Nunez set to return to Norfolk for the first time since leaving the Canaries.
- Both have impressive performers who make a combined East Anglian XI.
The East Anglian derby returns to Carrow Road on Saturday for the first time since Norwich City beat Ipswich Town 1-0 in April 2026.
A certain Chilean central midfielder scored the only goal of that game for David Wagner’s side, and he is due back in Norfolk for the first time since his move to Suffolk last summer.
Both teams have plenty of incredibly talented players and it should make for an entertaining game this weekend, but what would a combined East Anglian XI look like?
*Only includes players likely to be in the squad on Saturday.
Defence
Vladan Kovacevic vs Christian Walton
We start off with the one that may be the biggest toss of a coin in the entire XI. Both goalkeepers have made one error leading to a goal and have prevented over 2xG worth of chances with their saves in the league.
As this is ReadNorwich, we have to edge it to our player for this one.
Darnell Furlong vs Kellen Fisher
Fisher is a phenomenal and versatile player for Norwich who may end up playing for England one day, but Furlong is a Championship star in the prime of his career.
The Ipswich man gets the nod for this XI, but the Canaries star have the better career to boast when all is said and done.
Ruairi McConville vs Dara O’Shea
Deciding between McConville, who will hopefully be back from injury this week, and O’Shea is similar to the call between Fisher and Furlong.
O’Shea is in the peak years of his career and is on course to captain Ipswich to promotion back to the Premier League, so he gets in as the right-sided centre-back.
Jose Cordoba vs Jacob Greaves
Taking the first Norwich spot in the outfield section is Cordoba, who gets into the team ahead of Greaves.
Whilst the Ipswich man is an excellent central defender in his own right, the Panama international has been a colossus for Philippe Clement and there is not another centre-back in the league that I would take over him at his best.
Leif Davis vs Ben Chrisene
As solid as Chrisene is when fit and available for the Canaries, this one has to go to the Blue side of East Anglia.
Davis has assisted 22 goals in his last two seasons in the Championship, and will need to be managed carefully this weekend.
Midfield
Pelle Mattsson vs Azor Matusiwa
As is the case with Cordoba and centre-backs, there is no other central midfielder that I would take ahead of Pelle Mattsson in the Championship right now, including Matusiwa.
Kenny McLean vs Dan Neil
This one makes it a clean sweep for the Canaries in central midfield, as McLean gets the nod over Neil due to his superior physicality and quality on the ball.
| 25/26 Championship | Kenny McLean (Norwich) | Dan Neil (Ipswich) |
| Appearances | 38 | 10 |
| Assists | 3 | 0 |
| Big Chances Created | 7 | 1 |
| Pass Accuracy | 86% | 84% |
| Tackles per Game | 2.1 | 1.8 |
| Ground Duel Success | 58% | 52% |
| Aerial Duel Success | 59% | 47% |
Attack
Paris Maghoma vs Sindre Walle Egeli
Ipswich rotate their wingers a lot, with Walle Egeli, Wes Burns, and Kasey McAteer all taking turns there, but Maghoma gets the nod ahead of all of them.
Despite it not being his natural position, the former Brentford star has to make this team with the impact that he has made since joining in January. A pure joy to watch.
Anis Ben Slimane vs Marcelino Nunez
As frustrating as it is to say, Nunez takes this spot ahead of Slimane. Norwich fans know firsthand the kind of quality that he can produce at Championship level.
Hopefully, the Chile international has one of his off-days this weekend.
Ali Ahmed vs Jack Clarke
Ahmed has been brilliant since joining Norwich in the January transfer window, scoring four goals and providing three assists in 15 matches.
However, Clarke has consistently been one of the best players in the league whenever he has been in the Championship, scoring 14 goals so far this term, and takes this position for Ipswich.
Mohamed Toure vs George Hirst
Mo Toure has seven goal contributions (four goals and three assists) in six league games for Norwich this season.
Hirst has scored nine goals from 11.66 xG and assisted a further two goals in 35 league outings for the Tractor Boys.
The Norwich man easily takes the last place in this combined XI.
Full Norwich & Ipswich combined XI: Kovacevic; Furlong, O’Shea, Cordoba, Davis; Mattsson, McLean; Maghoma, Nunez, Clarke; Toure
Final thoughts…
While we have selected more Norwich players (six) than Ipswich (five), it is clear that they have greater strength in depth in their squad, both because of their quality and the injuries that the Canaries have faced.
The likes of Anis Mehmeti and Jaden Philogene, for example, were not even mentioned and both could have been selected ahead of some of Norwich’s attacking players.
What this combined XI does show, though, is that this weekend’s game may be closer than the league table suggests it will be.
