Match Zone

Norwich v Villa – The Team News

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Norwich City will face a similar task against Aston Villa as they did against Fulham last week when they face an in-form side who still harbour hopes of automatic promotion on Saturday lunchtime.

The Villains, managed by ex-Canary Steve Bruce, are realistically more likely to finish in the play-offs than the top two but are pushing hard to keep Wolves, Cardiff and Fulham at the top of their game.

In terms of team news, Daniel Farke spoke to the media at Colney on Friday lunchtime and revealed a mixed bag with regard to his squad.

The good news is that Moritz Leitner is back in training and although it`s likely to be too soon for him to start, he sounds like he`ll be on the bench.

There`s also good news with Marco Stiepermann returning to training after a hernia operation that has kept him out since the draw at Derby in February but this game will come too soon, even for the bench.

The bad news though is that Onel Hernandez has suffered a setback in training with his hamstring strain and he will miss the match and probably the game at Sunderland too. The flying winger has been badly missed over the last couple of weeks, just as he was starting to make a real impact in the side.

Marley Watkins misses out again, this time with illness, which depending on your point of view might be good or bad news.

To finish off, Sean Raggett is available again after a back issue and Tom Trybull is now working with the ball and is still on target for a return around the last four games of the season.

This game is live on Sky Sports (12.30 Kick off) and is not really too important for those of a Canary persuasion. It`s always nice to get one over the Villa, after that Paul Lambert business, but honestly, this game means a lot more to the visitors than it does to us.

A reaction to the pathetic performance against QPR is crucial though as it will show us that there is still some fire left in the collective belly. I`m looking forward to seeing Moritz Leitner back in the team as soon as possible and think we`ve badly missed his talent and vision in the last few weeks. I`m still desperately hoping that the club will make an attempt to sign Mo on a permanent basis in the summer and that his parent club, Augsburg not to mention the player, would be open to it as well.

It`s probably a forlorn hope but if we lose James Maddison in the summer, it might soften the blow a little.

You can follow today`s press conference in greater detail on Twitter @NorwichCityFC

OTBC

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Editor - a forty something Canary, who has been following Norwich for 30 odd years. Family man with wife, kids, dog and a love of sport. Fan of Boxing, Vale 46, F1 and Rock.

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