'Norwich's Team Selection Will Be Fascinating'

Next Match | Saturday 2 May Sat 2 May

BLB

(A)

02 D

16 H

29 M

19 S

Interviews & Features

Heritage

Photos

'Norwich's Team Selection Will Be Fascinating'

Michael Bailey, from The Athletic, is intrigued to see Daniel Farke's team selection for Saturday's clash between Norwich City and Leicester City.

2021-08-28T08:13:00.000Z

'Norwich's Team Selection Will Be Fascinating'

Michael Bailey, from The Athletic, is intrigued to see Daniel Farke's team selection for Saturday's clash between Norwich City and Leicester City.

2021-08-28T08:13:00.000Z

'Norwich's Team Selection Will Be Fascinating'

Michael Bailey, from The Athletic, is intrigued to see Daniel Farke's team selection for Saturday's clash between Norwich City and Leicester City.

2021-08-28T08:13:00.000Z

'Norwich's Team Selection Will Be Fascinating'

Michael Bailey, from The Athletic, is intrigued to see Daniel Farke's team selection for Saturday's clash between Norwich City and Leicester City.

2021-08-28T08:13:00.000Z

'Norwich's Team Selection Will Be Fascinating'

Michael Bailey, from The Athletic, is intrigued to see Daniel Farke's team selection for Saturday's clash between Norwich City and Leicester City.

2021-08-28T08:13:00.000Z

- Leicester City visit Carrow Road to face Norwich City on Saturday (3pm kick-off)- The Athletic journalist Michael Bailey has provided an assessment of the Canaries on LCFC TV- Bailey believes the East Anglia club's daunting start to the season could ultimately benefit them- Live coverage of the game begin across @LCFC digital channels from 1:30pm on Saturday

The Canaries suffered successive defeats to start their 2021/22 Premier League campaign against Liverpool and Manchester City - the two most recent English champions - before securing an impressive 6-0 victory over AFC Bournemouth in the second round of the Carabao Cup.

After a baptism of fire in the league, FA Cup holders Leicester are next up at Carrow Road on Saturday, before a trip to Emirates Stadium to tackle Arsenal on 11 September. For Bailey, it's undoubtedly a harsh run of fixtures, but he believes the challenges they pose could help Norwich in the long run.

"It’s a really tough start," he told LCFC Radio's Matchday Live programme. "I think most Norwich fans probably had a wry smile when they saw the fixture list. Norwich had such a tough pre-season, with two friendlies cancelled, and in the next two, they only had about 15 fit senior players.

"They then went into the game against Liverpool, who had a wonderful pre-season really, and it actually felt like those games (including Man City) could actually do them a favour and allow them a bit more time to get up to speed. Then, it’s Man City away, which let’s face it, was really hard.

"There are pros and cons. Norwich do operate within some limitations that probably don’t touch the other 19 teams in the division. If they can survive, it would be a real achievement given those limitations. We’ll maybe see against Leicester and Arsenal if Norwich are getting up to speed."

The nature of the defeat at Manchester City, a 5-0 reverse at Etihad Stadium, will have been concerning for Norwich's fans, but it was followed by an encouraging rout of Bournemouth. Farke made 10 changes for the cup tie in East Anglia and he was rewarded by a stylish performance.

"They just didn’t really turn up against Manchester City at any point," Bailey continued. "They conceded the same type of goal four times, which they’ve been coached to try and stop.

"Those are the niggles that will linger. The game against Bournemouth, though, was absolutely ideal. It was 10 changes, a completely new-look team, with a lot of summer signings who haven’t really had a proper chance to shine yet.

"It has the caveat of playing a Bournemouth team that made numerous changes. The final three goals were, in part, gifts from them too. It will have lifted the mood because it was quite tough after the weekend even with all the mitigating circumstances, so that’s really important going into a home game.

"There will probably be a bit of pressure on the team selection going into the Leicester game. I think Norwich supporters will want to see a lot of changes.

"For me, it’s now up to the players who have played predominantly in these first two games to take on board what happened against Bournemouth and then prove to themselves they can compete and rise to the challenge.

"I think they got a little stung by some of the criticism and they want to prove their worth a bit more than that."

There are several players in Norwich's squad who Leicester's defenders will be well aware of. Teemu Pukki found the net 26 times in the Sky Bet Championship last term, while the Norfolk club have also added some exciting talents, including Kosovo forward Milot Rashica.

"Summer signing Rashica has started both games, but he barely played in pre-season, certainly in the latter part of it, so he is clearly playing catch-up," said Bailey.

"I’ve seen enough from him to see the encouraging signs. He would have gone for big money a year or two ago, but Norwich got him for about £10M from Werder Bremen.

"He’s a player who’s come in and doesn’t seem particularly fazed by the Premier League. Maybe two years ago, Norwich were bright eyed and fantastic in some games, but also got completely [beaten] in others. They didn’t quite adjust to it.

"I like what I’ve seen from Rashica and I think there’s a lot more to come. Changes-wise, it’s quite difficult, but I have a feeling Daniel Farke will now give the team from the first two games another chance to prove themselves, so I wouldn’t be surprised if there weren’t any.

"He has got a balancing act. There were some good performances against Bournemouth from players like Kenny McLean, who’s getting back from injury. Josh Sargent is doing pretty well up top in terms of competition for Teemu Pukki going forwards.

"Christos Tzolis, who is a Greek 19 year-old, is another £10M signing. He’s hugely promising, but may need a little more time to adapt. I’m going to be fascinated by Daniel Farke’s team selection on Saturday, but I have a feeling he’ll predominantly go for the team that played against Manchester City.

"I’d like to see more from Todd Cantwell, especially at Carrow Road, but he and Rashica are the two who could probably make something happen."

All times local.

LATEST HEADLINES

5000/1 Anniversary Match: Tickets Now On Sale Tickets are now on sale for our 5000/1 Anniversary Match at King Power Stadium on Saturday 30 May (2pm kick-off), which will support local causes through the Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha Foundation.

4 Hours Ago

Foxes Legends Support Parkrun For Stress Awareness Month Hundreds of runners laced up their trainers on Saturday morning as Leicester City in the Community hosted a special charity parkrun in support of Stress Awareness Month, shining a spotlight on mental wellbeing across the region.

8 Hours Ago

‘Change The Narrative’ – Passmoor Speaks Ahead Of Arsenal Rick Passmoor understands the challenge ahead of LCFC Women, who head to Arsenal this midweek in search of a crucial win to avoid bottom spot.

11 Hours Ago

Arsenal vs. LCFC Women: Preview & Coverage Details LCFC Women are back in the capital for a midweek clash against Arsenal at Emirates Stadium in the Barclays Women's Super League.

28 Apr, 2026