Norwich City take on Birmingham City on Saturday afternoon as the Philippe Clement era gets underway at Carrow Road.
Norwich City appointed Philippe Clement as their new head coach earlier this week as they looked to pivot their 2025/2026 campaign.
NCFC sit a dismal 23rd in the Championship table with just two wins in 15 games. What a bad run saw Liam Manning has been relieved of his duties after the loss to Leicester City before half-time, and under-fire sporting director Ben Knapper was entrusted with finding his replacement.
Clement has arrived and he faces a tough task to get a result at Birmingham City in his first game.
The Blues may have lost to Middlesbrough before half-time, but after three wins in the four games leading up to that game they are starting to get a grip on the Championship. After winning their last two home games 4-0, Norwich City face a tough first game under their new boss.
Norwich City team news
Starting with the long-term absentees that Clement cannot call on, Norwich City will be without Ante Crnac, Jeffrey Schlupp and Pope Amadou Diallo for this weekend’s competition and the near future.
It will come as no surprise that the focus was elsewhere Clement’s pre-match press conference. However, it was confirmed that nine players will still be unavailable for the Birmingham City game.
There was hope that Jose Cordoba, Ben Chrisene and Lucien Mahovo could return to contention after the break, but that is not the case. confirmed they are all still out. Also sidelined are Liam Gibbs, Anis Ben Slimane and Gabe Forsyth.
Jack Stacey missed the match against Leicester City due to concussion, but will be fit here.
Predicted XI
(4-2-3-1)
Kovacevic; Stacey, Darling, Medic, McLean; Wright, subject; Makama, Kvistgaarden, Schwartau; Sargent
Clement’s go-to formation is a 4-2-3-1. He sometimes varies the formation in midfield and on the front line, but he almost always opts for a back four, and Norwich City’s squad fits in well with this.
Vladan Kovacevic will keep his place in goal, with Daniel Grimshaw providing cover and competition.
Limited defensive depth means limited options, but Jack Stacey may be favored over Kellen Fisher on the right side. Clement was full of praise for Kenny McLean so he could be back at left-back, although Ruairi McConville will be hoping to stake his claim for a spot.
The new NCFC boss has made no secret of his fitness requirements, demanding an improvement in this area. However, rarely seen midfielder Jacob Wright was in the bottom two of a midweek bee test, so he could well be in the team.
Due to the limited options on the wings, Jovon Makama and Oscar Schwartau can keep their places. New management could be a bonus for Matej Jurasek, but given how little he has played, it’s hard to imagine him moving straight into the new boss’s intensive side.
Moving on, we hope Clement can get the best out of talisman Josh Sargent again. Mathias Kvistgaarden is likely to operate just behind him as the Dane finds form after returning from injury.
All in all, Norwich City would certainly have hoped for more changes. However, injuries force their hand, and it could prevent Clement from identifying and using his preferred XI for a while.
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