Preview | Norwich City (A)
The Game
Norwich City v Argyle. Carrow Road. Tuesday, 26 November. 7.45pm. Sky Bet Championship.
The Opposition
Norwich are 13th in the Championship table, with 19 points from 16 games played. Interestingly, they have the exact same goals for and against (25 for, 24 against) as Friday’s opponents, Watford, but have seven points fewer and are six places lower in the table.
The Canaries began with defeat at divisional newcomers Oxford United, then drew at home with Blackburn Rovers and Sheffield United. A 1-0 win at Coventry City signalled the best run of the season; although Norwich lost next time at Swansea City, they followed with a 4-1 home win against Watford, then a 3-2 victory at Derby County.
Next came a credible draw at home to Leeds United and a 4-0 win at Carrow Road against Hull City – on 5 October – but Norwich have not won a game since.
They drew three in a row after Hull, in increasing numbers; 1-1 at Stoke City, 2-2 at Preston North End, and 3-3 at home to Middlesbrough. Two games on the road yielded no points, as Norwich fell to defeat at Cardiff City (2-1) and Sheffield Wednesday (2-0), and then a home game against Bristol City was also a 2-0 loss.
Most recently, on Saturday, Norwich drew 2-2 at West Bromwich Albion, with all the goals being scored in the first half.
The Gaffer
Head Coach Johannes Hoff Thorup took over at the Carrow Road helm after the departure of previous boss David Wagner at the end of last season. The 35-year-old was never a professional, but began coaching at AB, in his homeland of Denmark, in 2012.
In 2015, he moved to Nordsjælland, where he steadily worked through up through the ranks, from the youth team, to assistant manager, to becoming the manager in January 2023. In his only full season in charge, Nordsjælland finished fourth in Denmark’s top division, before Thorup was spirited away to Norfolk for a new challenge.
The Squad
Callum Doyle and Shane Duffy have played every league game together in Norwich’s backline this season. Doyle has mostly played at left-back, but has played plenty alongside Duffy in central defence, too.
Duffy, 32, is vastly experienced, with significant spells at Blackburn Rovers and Brighton & Hove Albion most notable on his CV. He joined the Canaries in the summer of 2023, and played 36 times last season. He has 61 caps for Ireland.
Doyle is 11 years Duffy’s junior, and is a Manchester City player, on loan at Carrow Road. The England Under-21 international has had loan spells with Sunderland, Coventry City, Leicester City and now Norwich. During those loans, he won promotion from League One with Sunderland, and the Championship title last term with Leicester.
The other player to have played every league game for Norwich this season is Borja Sainz (above). The Spaniard has 11 goals from his 16 games and is the leading goalscorer in the Championship this season so far. The 23-year-old winger started at Alaves in his native Spain, had a loan at Zaragoza, and spent time at Giresunspor in Turkey before his arrival at Norwich last summer.
Norwich have Kenny McLean available following a four-game suspension but, having picked up five cautions, have lost Kellen Fisher for one match.
Last Season’s Meetings
Argyle beat Norwich 6-2 at Home Park in September 2023, in one of the season’s most memorable games. A Morgan Whittaker hat-trick was joined by goals from Dan Scarr, Finn Azaz, and Luke Cundle. Norwich were 5-0 down before Adam Idah got two goals back, with Cundle scoring a late coup de grace.
At Carrow Road, on Good Friday, Whittaker again scored, with an excellent header, putting Argyle in the lead, but Norwich turned it around after the break, winning 2-1 thanks to goals from Josh Sargent and an own-goal from the unfortunate Ashley Phillips.
A Strip for the Trip
Argyle will wear their white Away Kit for this game.
Argyle TV
Argyle TV’s coverage will begin at 7.15pm, as Charlie Price is joined for the pre-match show by former Argyle Women and Arsenal midfielder Jemma Rose. Commentary will be provided from Carrow Road by Rob McNichol and Karl Duguid.
Match passes to watch this game are available only to international audiences. Click here for more information.
