Norwich City

Phil Daley
Sports Editor, BBC Norfolk

Image source, Shutterstock

Norwich City head coach Philippe Clement has spoken to the media before their trip to QPR in the Championship on New Year's Day (15:00 GMT).

Norwich are in the relegation zone, four points adrift of safety.

Here are some of the key points:

• Jovon Makama was a little sick after the game on Boxing Day - Clement says they will "assess him to see if he's at full power for the trip to QPR".

• There is no other "special news" regarding other players, so he has no new injuries to contend with after the Watford defeat.

• On January transfer window - "It's clear we need creativity in the final third - everyone is on the same page with that".

• More on transfer window - "For me it's about quality, age is not the most important thing. Of course if you can add quality and leadership, it's better, but it's a difficult window".

• On QPR - "It's been a challenging period playing teams who are in form and QPR are another team in good form".

• Message to the fans - Clement says he appreciates the big following from Norwich fans - especially as some of them will have had a late night on New Year's Eve. He says they will be working hard to get the team where they need to be.

You can listen to full live commentary of QPR v Norwich City with BBC Radio Norfolk on FM and DAB from 14:00 on New Year's Day.

Queens Park Rangers will look to get within striking distance of the top six as they host bottom three side Norwich City on New Year's Day (15:00 GMT).

The Hoops are three points short of sixth placed Watford but trail by eight goals to see it unlikely they will kick-off 2026 in a play-off place.

While at the other end of the table, it's a similar story for Norwich. They are four points away from safety but a win would have their fans feeling much more optimistic for the new year.

• Queens Park Rangers beat Norwich City 3-0 in this fixture last season, last registering home wins in back-to-back EFL campaigns against the Canaries in 2016-17/2017-18 under Ian Holloway.

• Norwich City beat Queens Park Rangers 3-1 in the reverse fixture back in November and will now be aiming to win back-to-back league meetings with QPR for the first time since the 2018-19 season.

• Queens Park Rangers won 3-1 at home to Watford on New Year's Day last year, last winning on January 1st in back-to-back years in 2007/2008 (vs Colchester and Leicester).

• Norwich City have only won one of their last eight away games played on New Year's Day (D4 L3), though it did come last year when beating Luton Town 1-0 at Kenilworth Road.

• Norwich City have lost six of their last nine league matches in London (W1 D2), with their only win in this sequence coming via a 3-2 victory at Millwall in March 2023.

Image source, Shutterstock

Norwich City hope winger Papa Amadou Diallo will be ready to return to action next month.

The 21-year-old from Senegal had to go off with a thigh injury in the 3-2 home defeat by Wrexham on 20 September which later needed surgery.

"I saw him before his injury and he is clearly somebody who suits the way we want to play, so he is an interesting player for the weeks and months to come," head coach Philippe Clement told BBC Radio Norfolk.

"Of course, he's been out a long time and we need to see that we build him in a consistent way without taking risks, so that's what we will do.

"Even when the eagerness is big to put him [in the team], it will be the right amount of minutes.

"Papa will be like a new transfer for us in January and I hope a few more [additions], not only coming out of the injury room, and we can grow as a squad together."

Norwich have taken 12 points from eight games since former Rangers boss Clement was appointed last month but are still next to bottom of the Championship going into Monday's home game against Watford [19:45 GMT].

Image source, Getty Images

Norwich City head coach Philippe Clement says his side's clean sheet was as important as the three points in their 1-0 win over Charlton Athletic.

it was the first time since 30 August that the Canaries had not conceded a goal in the league.

The victory continued Norwich's resurgence under new boss Clement - they have lost only once in their past seven games and are now just a point from safety.

"We get a clean sheet because we defended really well as a team," he told BBC Radio Norfolk.

"It's not that Vladan Kovacevic had to make really amazing saves, or you can have several chances against and you can have a clean sheet with luck. That was totally not the case.

"The team did a very good defensive job against a team who's really dangerous in a specific way with their long balls, their fight, their duels, diagonals and set pieces.

"So keeping them away from our goal was also a really important part of winning today."

Image source, Opta

Norwich City will aim to boost their Championship survival hopes when they welcome Charlton Athletic to Carrow Road on Friday afternoon (15:00 GMT kick-off).

The Canaries are unbeaten in their past three (W1 D2) and could move out of the relegation zone for the first time since 21 October if they win, Portsmouth lose and Oxford fail to win.

The Addicks ended a six-game winless run (D1 L5) with a 2-1 victory over Oxford last time out and are eight points clear of the bottom three.

• Norwich have won two of their past three league games against Charlton (L1), as many as in their previous 15 (D4 L9). This is the first league meeting between the sides since February 2015.

• Charlton have won just one of their previous five away league games against Norwich (D2 L2), though it was in their last visit in September 2014.

• Norwich beat Millwall 2-1 on Boxing Day last year, ending a five-game losing run on the day. They last won consecutive Boxing Day matches in 1999/2000 (both times vs QPR).

• Charlton beat Cambridge 2-1 on Boxing Day last season, last winning consecutive Boxing Day league matches between 1994 and 1997 (a run of four).

• Norwich are unbeaten at Carrow Road under Philippe Clement in the Championship (W2 D1), having lost seven out of seven under Liam Manning. The Canaries are looking for three home wins in a row for the first time since between January and April 2024 (8).

Phil Daley
Sports Editor, BBC Norfolk

Image source, Shutterstock

Norwich City head coach Philippe Clement has spoken to the media before the Canaries' Boxing Day game against Charlton at Carrow Road (15:00 GMT).

Norwich are in the Championship relegation zone, three points adrift of safety.

Here are some of the key points:

• Josh Sargent is out of concussion protocol and will be available for selection on Friday.

• Amankwah Forson is a doubt after picking up a small hamstring injury against Preston while Shane Duffy will miss the game with a similar problem.

• On the 1-1 draw at Preston where they conceded a 96th-minute equaliser, Clement says the players have had honest discussions about dealing with that situation better.

• On Jovon Makama, who has scored four goals in his past four starts, Clement says they have been using Romelu Lukaku as an example for him to learn from, using his strength to get into a good position to get his shot away.

• With four games in 10 days coming up, Clement says: "I love football so the more the better."

• Three of those games are at Carrow Road, with Clement adding: "Fans can give the team a lot of extra energy in the difficult moments, so I hope all the fans have a good time over Christmas and bring extra energy to the group."

You can listen to full live commentary of Norwich City v Charlton Athletic with BBC Radio Norfolk on FM and DAB from 14:00 on Saturday.

Norwich City's Tony Springett believes "the sky's the limit" for Jovon Makama following the striker's latest goal in the 1-1 draw at Preston North End.

It was Makama's seventh goal since arriving from Lincoln City in the summer and made him Norwich's joint-top scorer with Josh Sargent.

"He can create something out of nothing. I'm proud of him, he's doing well. He's one of my close mates, I'm over the moon for him. He's a good lad, fitted in with the group well, as soon as he came everyone loved him," Springett told BBC Radio Norfolk.

"He's got good energy, trains hard and has still got another level to get to, I think, the sky's the limit with him. If he keeps working hard, keeps scoring, you don't know what could happen for him."

Winger Springett, meanwhile, said he was "overwhelmed" to have played four games this month - including a start against Watford - after 18 months out with a back injury, which required spinal surgery.

"It's definitely been the hardest time of my life, but I had some really close people around me keeping my spirits high," he said.

"I didn't want anyone feeling sorry for me, I kept it quiet and worked my hardest to get back involved and it's worked out for me."

Springett was pressed into service at left-back against Watford on 6 December because of other injuries in the squad.

"I love this club and if I'm needed to play left-back, right-back, anywhere on the pitch, I'll do a job," he added.

Image source, Getty Images

Norwich City head coach Philippe Clement felt his side were "unlucky" to concede a late equaliser against Preston North End.

He told BBC Radio Norfolk: "Coming here against Preston, third in the league and a hard place to come, and showing this on the pitch, for 90 minutes with good organisation and good moments on the ball, and a really good goal makes it hard to lose two important points in the dying seconds.

"But [in terms of] mentality I can't say anything against my team, it was a really good performance.

"Vlad [Kovacevic] didn't have to make many saves and was really good in a few moments with high crosses and coming to help the defence.

"In the last action, I think we can do better with a few players and can keep the ball better in front, like we did against Southampton, but it's really unlucky that we lost these two points."

Norwich are next in action at home to Charlton on Boxing Day.

Phil Daley
Sports Editor, BBC Norfolk

Norwich City head coach Philippe Clement has spoken to the media ahead of their trip to Preston in the Championship (12:30 GMT).

Norwich are in the relegation zone, three points adrift of safety.

Here are some of the key points:

• Josh Sargent has been training but requires further assessment before Saturday's game.

• Mathias Kvistgaarden is having his load "managed" during training due to a knee injury, but will be available.

• Jack Stacey returned to full training after a hamstring injury and will travel to Deepdale.

• Clement praised Jacob Wright's intelligence in training and says he's been impressed with the midfielder since being asked to play behind the strikers.

• On Preston, Clement says he's aware of their defensive qualities, but also how aggressive they are all over the pitch. "They deserve to be where they are. We dream of being in the top three."

You can listen to full live commentary of Preston v Norwich City with BBC Radio Norfolk on FM and DAB from 12:00 on Saturday.

Listen to the full interview with Clement and more Norwich City content on BBC Sounds.

23rd placed Norwich City will look to defy the odds and make the ascent up the table under new boss Philippe Clement as they visit third placed Preston North End.

The Canaries have only lost two of their six games under Clement (W2 D2) compared to five defeats in their previous six under former boss Liam Manning.

It's put them within striking distance of safety but North End have one of the toughest defences in the Championship and have not conceded a loss in five games (W2 D3).

With Stoke City lingering just outside the top six, the Lilywhites will need to ensure they extend that run into a sixth game to ensure they stay within the play-off spots.

• Preston won 1-0 in their last league game against Norwich in February, last winning back-to-back meetings with the Canaries in April 2006.

• Norwich have lost just one of their last eight away league games against Preston (W4 D3), and are unbeaten in four since a 3-1 loss in February 2019.

• Since losing their final two home matches in the Championship last season, Preston North End have only lost two of their 11 league games at Deepdale this term (W5 D4 L2).

• After beating Southampton last time out, Norwich will be aiming to win consecutive league matches for the first time since February (5-1 v Swansea and 1-0 v Watford).

• Preston North End striker Daniel Jebbison has scored five goals in his last seven Championship starts, after only netting once in his first 11 starts in the competition (for Sheffield United v Hull City in January 2023).