- Promotion or relegation is all but off the table for Norwich.
- Four games left to play before the end of the 2025/26 campaign.
- Why there is still plenty to play for despite the lack of jeopardy.
Norwich City’s last ‘important’ game of the season ended in the most disappointing way possible when they were beaten 2-0 by Ipswich Town on Sunday.
Even the most optimistic of Canaries fans would be hard-pressed to say that they believe making the play-offs is possible, ten points adrift with four games to go.
The Yellows are also 14 points clear of relegation and safe for this season, a statement that would have been music to the ears of any supporter hearing that in the first half of the campaign.
The objective for Norwich’s remaining games
Norwich face Bristol City away before back-to-back home games against Derby County and Swansea City, before they play Hull City away from home on the final day.
On paper, there is very little to play for because of the gap to the play-offs with so few games remaining, but Philippe Clement will not allow his players to slack off.
The objective for these four matches will be to continue putting the principles that Clement has instilled during his time in charge into practice, ahead of next season.
Norwich’s players and staff need to ensure that they have a relentless winning mindset in place if they are serious about chasing promotion next year, which is why these games are still important, even if not for the current campaign.
What Norwich’s players are playing for
These last four games are also incredibly important for the players who are fighting for their futures beyond this season at Carrow Road.
Whilst some players, such as Emiliano Marcondes, may be on his way out of the club irrespective of what happens between now and June, there are several in the squad whose futures are up in the air.
Every training session and match between now and the end of the season will be used by Clement and his staff to judge who deserves to continue to be a part of the ‘story’, as the Belgian likes to put it, at the club.
Players such as Jakov Medic, Mathias Kvistgaarden, and Amankwah Forson are just a few members of the squad who may still have something to prove to show that they can play a key role in a promotion push.
It will be interesting to see whether or not Clement decides to make some subtle changes to the team to provide some of those fringe players with more opportunities to showcase their quality at Championship level.
If he does, these last four games could be incredibly important within the context of their Norwich City careers, even if these results have little long-term bearing on the club.
Final predictions for the season
Whilst there is little to play for in terms of promotion, supporters will still want to see positive performances and results, as will Clement.
I think that is what they will get against Bristol City this weekend, with a strong reaction to the East Anglian derby loss, beating them 3-1.
The two home games against Derby and Swansea could yield four points for Clement’s side, as I am predicting a 1-1 draw with Derby and a 2-0 win over the Welsh outfit.
In typical end-of-season fashion, my final prediction is going to be a crazy 3-3 draw with Hull on the final day of the Championship season.
That would see Norwich finish the campaign with 66 points on the board, nine more than they managed under Johannes Hoff Thorup and Jack Wilshere.
