Key takeaways:

David Wagner will be looking for another win against Southampton after a dramatic victory against Hull City.

Adam Idah’s late winner showcased his poacher’s instinct and may earn him a starting position in the next match.

Christian Fassnacht provides a threat in the final third and could be given a chance to start against Southampton to add creativity to the midfield.

t juxtaposed the majority of last campaign; a season of disappointment that saw Norwich fall by the wayside in the hunt for promotion. A team usually firm favourites for the title upon relegation, the Norfolk outfit faltered with a streak of just one win in their final 11 outings compounding a season to forget.

Nevertheless, August spawns a new dawn for all with the new season underway, a chance to make last season a distant memory and not a sign of things to come. The likes of experienced signings Shane Duffy, Ashley Barnes, and Jack Stacey will all be needed to lead their new side back up the table while Kieran Dowell and modern-day hero Teemu Pukki have gone in search of new adventures.

Wagner and co. will be hoping victory against the Tigers is the start of a positive opening run, with their next challenge a trip to St. Mary’s where the head coach may opt to make a change or two.

Will Adam Idah lead the line for Norwich?

A dramatic late winner, Idah showed a true poacher’s instinct by being in the right place at the right time, a fortuitous deflection from Marcelino Núñez’s delivery expertly pounced on by the Irish international. Ultimately, it was an effective 13-minute cameo where the striker duly delivered and would therefore be a fair reason for a start on Saturday.

This campaign will likely be a crucial one in the 22-year-old’s development and career at Carrow Road. A knee injury caused issues in regard to regular game time last term, particularly in the first half of the season. Idah spent the rest of the season getting back up to speed but failed to find his feet in front of goal, scoring just twice in 25 games, while only 11 came as starts.

Standing at 6ft 3in, Idah’s aerial and physical presence is something that could be capitalised upon going off last weekend’s performance. Dangerous balls into the box from the likes of Marcelino Núñez and Dimitrios Giannoulis caused all sorts of issues in the Tigers’ box while Gabriel Sara’s set-piece routines often carried a serious threat in their own right.

A likely opposition centre-back pairing of Jack Stephens and Jan Bednarek carry their own physical presence too and will need someone to match them for these deliveries to carry a similar level of danger – though what we saw at Hillsborough suggested it’s an area of weakness for the Saints.

Off the back of scoring a winner, confidence will be flowing for the academy graduate and despite the recent acquisition of Ashley Barnes paired with last season’s top scorer Josh Sargent in the forward positions, it may be time to capitalise on Idah’s instant impact. On the contrary, it may be a fair case to not fix what isn’t broken – another opportunity from the bench for Idah to make his mark late on in the game while looking ahead to the cup outing against Queens Park Rangers in midweek for a first start of the campaign.

A coveted signing, Christian Fassnacht provides what Norwich lacked from their midfield last season: threat in the final third. Often operating on the right-hand side, the Swiss international scored eight and assisted four on the way to the title with home nation club BSC Young Boys.

Scoring in a pre-season friendly against Toulouse, the 29-year-old is still finding his feet in England with a 30-minute outing against Hull City his first test of life in the second tier.

Nevertheless, it will not be an easy task to break into the Canaries midfield – a dream start for Rowe hopefully a sign of things to come for those of a Norwich persuasion while Sara is the star creative force within the team with nine key passes last time out.

Replacing Onel Hernández against Hull, the game against Southampton may be an opportunity to reverse the roles and give Fassnacht a first start against a strong side where his European football pedigree across the continental could be a vital asset.

Russell Martin’s men will likely dominate possession and most of the chances so Norwich will need to be clinical down the other end to snatch a result – opting for a midfielder who can do just that ultimately seems like a no-brainer, despite the risks of him being an unknown entity in this eleven.