Norwich City make their return to the Championship in a fine position to challenge for another immediate switch of divisions and get back into the Premier League, but they need not look any further than their first opponents for a warning of how difficult responding to relegation can be.
Similarities between the two clubs have not been hard to find in recent years, chiefly with Stuart Webber masterminding the appointment of David Wagner and subsequent recruitment strategy which brought Huddersfield Town promotion to the top-flight before leaving for the Canaries, appointing another former Borussia Dortmund II coach in Daniel Farke and repeating the feat.
Those heights seem a long time ago for the Terriers, having endured a torrid year since finishing bottom of the Premier League. Both Jan Siewert and Danny Cowley have been and gone, with Carlos Corberan the latest man to try and arrest a slide which saw them come perilously close to another drop into League One last term.
Norwich brought up the Premier League rear by a distance last year, just as Huddersfield had, though they should be in better nick. They have kept star players such as Todd Cantwell, Emi Buendia and Teemu Pukki, with Jamal Lewis the only major departure so far, and they still have the man who led them to the Championship title two years ago in Farke. Thanks to their timidity in the market last summer they also have a bit of cash still to spare, handy for capturing Kieran Dowell and Jordan Hugill.
While this match signals a new era for Huddersfield as Corberan takes charge of his first league game, Norwich will reasonably expect continuity to bring them success this season. But their opponents know how hard it is to kick the losing habit after a year as whipping-boys, and an opening-day victory would be a welcome sign that they will suffer no such hangover.
Team news
Huddersfield’s latest signing, right-back Pipa, is in the squad after completing his move from Espanyol at the beginning of the week. Corberan said: “He’s a player that has done all pre-season with Espanyol and played in the last international game with Spain (Under-21s) so he’s going to be in the squad.”
Matty Daly and Rarmani Edmonds-Green are fit to play and Corberan expects Fraizer Campbell to be as well. Defenders Tommy Elphick and Terence Kongolo remain out, however, while last season’s top scorer Karlan Grant is not being considered for selection while interest from other clubs continues.
Norwich had no fewer than 15 players on international duty when they fell to defeat to Luton Town in last weekend’s EFL Cup first round, and their return will give Farke a much stronger line-up. On-loan Xavi Quintilla was ruled out of that match but looks set to be available.
Midfielder Josh Martin picked up a calf problem during that game so will miss the trip to West Yorkshire, as will long-term absentees Grant Hanley and Sam Byram.
Predicted line-ups
Huddersfield: Hamer; Pipa, Schindler, Stearman, Toffolo; O’Brien, Hogg, Pritchard; Koroma, Ward, Mbenza.
Norwich: Krul; Aarons, Godfrey, Gibson, Quintilla; Tettey, McLean; Buendia, Dowell, Cantwell; Pukki.
What the managers have said
Corberan said of their opponents: “Norwich is a team that have been working with the same coach for the last few years, they got promoted to the Premier League and now have been relegated to the Championship again.
“They have signed a lot of new players, they have stability and both teams arrive to the game having had a defeat in the Carabao Cup so it’s going to allow both teams to have the desire to change this feeling that we have.
“When you watch Norwich, it’s a team that you can recognise very well how they play, because they’ve had the same style over the last few years.
“It’s a team that want the ball and that’s something we want to create the possibility to do too because you have more chances in the game when you have the ball and when you’re not making the opponent feel comfortable with the ball. We want to make it a hard game for them. This our desire, to make it an uncomfortable game for them.”
On his side’s position heading into the new season, Farke said: “We will rise again. We feel an unbelievable unity and backing from our supporters and we stick together. It is a new adventure and we go again. It is important that we stick together and we fight together.
“Yes, we can't change the past. It was difficult for us to play at Premier League level, especially after lockdown. We have to attack the new season. It was nice to have a good pre-season. I would have liked to have won the cup game as well. Of course, we want to get points at the first game and that is why we will travel highly motivated to the game on Saturday.”
Farke also said of how he expects Huddersfield to look under their new head coach: “You can already see the Leeds philosophy in the friendlies. The first game is always a little bit unknown but we have a good idea what to expect tactically.
“You can see his (Coberan’s) handwriting on the team already. I am impressed that he has managed to bring so much of his philosophy into the hearts of his players in such a short pre-season.”
Head-to-head
Thanks to the Premier League exploits of both clubs, this will be a first meeting in over three years. Huddersfield won both clashes on their way to promotion in 2016-17, including a 3-0 victory at the John Smith’s Stadium.
How to watch
The match can be streamed live on the clubs’ respective streaming services, iFollow HTAFC and iFollow Norwich, with a 3pm kick-off on Saturday.