- City faces Bristol City looking to bounce back from derby day defeat.
- Clement serves a touchline ban as injury concerns start to improve.
- Canaries’ predicted starting XI based on a best-case fitness scenario.
It’s a tale of two cities as the next post-derby disappointment game is Norwich City v Bristol City.
Making a predicted line-up will be difficult given both possible fitness issues and tactical changes but this is my likely starting eleven:
No manager
One person who won’t be on the Norwich City bench will be manager Philippe Clement, as he faces a touchline ban (something he was understandably not thrilled with).
Defence
It’s nailed on (barring any injury problems) that Vladan Kovacevic will keep his spot in goal.
Where things get complicated is whether or not Ruairi McConville or Ben Chrisene are fully fit to return. Going for the best-case scenario, my prediction would be Chrisene, McConville, Cordoba and Fisher.
Midfield
Kenny McLean has to be a nailed-on certainty, and, while he has faded a bit recently, Ali Ahmed does provide width and, hopefully, can be encouraged to use his pace and trickery.
Pelle Mattsson should also provide solidity, with Oscar Schwartau offering another dimension on the right.
Up front
Anis Ben Slimane in behind Mo Toure should give us the right mix upfront for our City to cause Bristol City problems.
So… my starting XI looks like this:
Switch-up
Whenever you talk about a Phillipe Clement Norwich City team it is fair to say that there could be some switching up.
It is debatable how much of this is a stylistic managerial choice by Clement or how much of it is a necessity due to the injury issues Norwich City are dealing with.
That being said, it is likely that there will be adjustments at half-time, or on 60 mins, as necessary. It may well be that Jack Stacey gets more of a run out in the second half, while Sam Field and Paris Maghoma may be needed to provide both extra muscle in midfield or a bit of wizardry as necessary.
A test
While it was disappointing to lose a derby game at the weekend this is a test of Norwich City’s character in a number of ways.
Can they maintain their discipline without Clement on the touchline?
Can they show a positive reaction as they have done before?
And is it possible for us to go through a game without any major injuries?
While it’s not mathematically impossible for Norwich City to make the playoffs, it does feel like a very big ask.
With any luck though this is a time for the squad to show what it can offer fans in the future.
