Familiar faces on the pitch and in the stands as Norwich welcome fans back to Carrow Road

After a disastrous end to their Premier League campaign, Norwich City will get the chance to make things right in front of their fans against Preston North End.

Up to 1,000 season ticket holders will be allowed to watch Norwich’s Sky Bet Championship clash against Preston live from Carrow Road as part of the government’s pilot scheme. The Canaries will be one of two teams to welcome fans back this weekend, along with Middlesbrough.

Fans will finally be reunited in the stands, with groups of up to six people allowed to attend in their respective support bubbles. For many, this could be the first time that they’ve met friends and family at Carrow Road in over six months, since Norwich’s 1-0 win against Leicester City on 28^th February.

The success of this pilot event is pivotal in the long run, especially for clubs near the top of the football pyramid who’ll be pushing for a higher number of supporters to be allowed into stadiums as soon as possible.

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The fans won’t be the only ones back at Carrow Road for the first time since lockdown. Alex Neil will lead his Preston North End side out at the home of his former club for the first time since August 2018. That time, Norwich ran out 2-0 winners.

The two sides have clashed twice at Deepdale since their last meeting in Norfolk, as the Lilywhites ended up 3-1 winners in February 2019 and Norwich got their revenge as they knocked Preston out of the FA Cup the following season.

Alex Neil will be determined to get one over on Norwich once again. The Scot’s time in charge of the Canaries saw him lead them to promotion in the 2015 Championship playoffs, but their relegation and subsequent struggle meant he was sacked in 2017.

However, he won’t be the only man looking to haunt his former club. Goalkeeper Declan Rudd spent 20 years at Norwich, having started in their academy and going on to make 21 first-team appearances for the Canaries.

The 29-year-old never managed to properly nail down his place as number one goalkeeper, having two loan spells at Preston and one at Charlton Athletic before returning to Deepdale on a permanent deal in 2017. He’ll be tasked with keeping out the 2018/19 Championship top scorers, spearheaded by the talismanic Teemu Pukki.

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New Norwich signing Jordan Hugill will be looking to emulate the Finn’s sensational Championship form of two seasons ago and will look to get off the mark against his former club this weekend. The 28-year-old had a meteoric rise through non-league football before moving to Deepdale in 2014 and scoring 23 goals in 103 appearances during his four-year spell with the Lillywhites.

A move to West Ham saw Hugill starved of first-team opportunities, ending up at Middlesbrough and QPR on loan before making a permanent move to Norwich this summer. It highlights Daniel Farke’s determination to add more proven Championship players going into the new season.

Of course, Norwich’s squad has faced significant changes and difficulties since their promotion to the Premier League as Championship winners. The squad’s confidence was rock bottom after a torrid time in the top flight, but thus far the Canaries have kept the core of their squad together.

Farke’s side head into the game on the back of a 1-0 opening day win at Huddersfield and had the whole week to prepare for the clash this weekend having not been in Carabao Cup action. Preston, on the other hand, were unable to open their league campaign with a win, losing 1-0 at home to Swansea. The Lilywhites bounced back with a midweek Carabao Cup win at Derby and will be hoping to get their first points on the board at Carrow Road.

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Emi Buendia has been strongly linked with a move away from Carrow Road this summer, and the 24-year-old missed Norwich’s win at Huddersfield to due to a three-match ban he picked up in Norwich’s penultimate Premier League game against Burnley. Daniel Farke has confirmed that the Argentine will be available to face Preston and looks set to stay with the Canaries for now.

19-year-old Josh Martin was also sidelined for Norwich’s win in Yorkshire, but will be fit to face Alex Neil’s side this weekend. Full-back Sam Byram has been ruled out for the remainder of 2020, while Grant Hanley and Marco Stiepermann will also be unavailable.

Preston’s players have also faced intense transfer speculation, with the club releasing a sternly worded statement after Daniel Johnson and Ben Davies were linked with moves to Rangers. Alex Neil, who had no update on the pair’s future at the club, confirmed that he would have a fully fit squad available after their 2-1 win against Derby County in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday. This excludes long-term absentees Louis Moult and Josh Earl.