In Profile: Norwich City

First Team
27 Feb 2020
4 Minutes
Next up for Leicester City is the trip to face Norwich City at Carrow Road in the Premier League (8pm GMT kick-off).

This is Leicester’s first trip to Carrow Road since October 2015, when goals from Jeff Schlupp and Jamie Vardy secured a 2-1 victory, while City are undefeated in their last four games against the Canaries.

Ahead of matchday 28 in the Premier League, LCFC.com continues to profile all of City's 2019/20 opponents by taking a closer look at Norwich's history, management and current first team squad…

The manager

Farke joined Norwich after a spell managing Borussia Dortmund's reserve side.

Daniel Farke took the reins in the summer of 2017, replacing Alan Irvine, who was in temporary charge following the departure of fellow Scot Alex Neil.

The 43-year-old made history by becoming their first manager to not come from the UK and guided Norwich to a 14th-placed Championship finish in his debut season in charge.

The Norfolk side then defied the odds to win the Championship title last season, earning promotion back to the Premier League for the first time since 2015/16.

Farke initially made his name as a striker in Germany’s lower divisions, scoring 76 league goals across his career.

He spent three playing spells with the club he went on to manage, making over 50 appearances for SV Lippstadt before swapping the pitch for the dugout.

Presiding over the most successful period in the club’s history, he took them up from the sixth tier of German football to the fourth division.

Continuing his managerial career in his homeland, the German became Borussia Dortmund’s reserve side manager.

He remained there for two seasons, losing just six of his 56 games in charge, before taking the job at Norwich, where he has brought in many players that he knew well from his time in Germany, including Mario Vrančić, Onel Hernández, and Tom Trybull.

The Norwich manager signed a new deal last year to keep him at the club until the summer of 2022.

And while it has been a tough season for the Yellows, there have been a few stand-out performances, most notably the 3-2 home victory over champions Manchester City in September.

The squad

Teemu Pukki has scored 11 Premier League goals this season.

Norwich’s squad is relatively similar to last season, with Daniel Farke putting faith in the players who have got the club to the Premier League.

Josip Drmić and Sam Byram were notable first team additions in the summer, joining on a permanent basis, alongside the loan capture of goalkeeper Ralf Fährmann from Schalke.

In goal, the experienced Tim Krul has had a busy season, saving two penalties and keeping four Premier League clean sheets.

When fit, full-backs Jamal Lewis and Max Aarons have provided width and an attacking threat from deep.

England Under-21s star Todd Cantwell has attracted plenty of attention for his performances in an attacking midfield role, supported by Emiliano Buendía, who has notched up seven assists.

Marco Stiepermann has also proved to be another consistent performer in yellow and green, alongside Alexander Tettey in the middle of the park.

The January acquisition of Hoffenheim's Lukas Rupp, meanwhile, adds further depth in attacking areas. 

Up front, Teemu Pukki is Norwich's top scorer with 11 Premier League goals to his name so far this season, including five in his first three games.

The trophy cabinet

The Canaries won the Championship title in 2018/19.

Norwich have been promoted to the top flight on six occasions, lifting the second tier trophy as champions four times.

The first of those came in 1971/72, before subsequent triumphs in 1985/86, 2003/04, and most recently, 2018/19.

They were promoted as runners-up at the end of the season 2010/11 and then through the play-offs in 2015.

The Canaries won the third tier title back in 1933/34 and also in 2009/10, which was the first part of back-to-back promotions from League 1 to the Premier League.

The club also have pedigree in cup competitions, winning the League Cup twice (1962 and 1985).

The stadium 

Carrow Road has a capacity of just over 27,000.

Carrow Road became Norwich’s home in 1935, following spells at Newmarket Road and ‘The Nest’ in the early 20th century. It originally had three sides of open terracing and one covered stand.

Floodlights were added to the ground in 1956 and the stadium’s record attendance came seven years later. Some 43,984 packed into the ground for a game against the Foxes in 1963.

In 1984, a fire partially destroyed one of the stands, leading to a new City Stand being built. A new 7,000-seater South Stand was added in 2003. 

The now all-seater ground currently holds 27,244 and regularly sells out. 

The fixtures

Norwich City beat Burnley to reach the Emirates FA Cup Fifth Round.

Like Leicester, Norwich are in Emirates FA Cup action next week, facing Tottenham Hotspur away on Wednesday.

That game is followed by another away trip - to Sheffield United - for their return to Premier League action on Saturday 7 March.  

The Canaries are back at Carrow Road the following weekend, as they entertain Southampton on Saturday 14 March.

Daniel Farke’s men end the season with tough looking trips to Chelsea and Manchester City, with Burnley the visitors for their final home fixture.