Norwich City

Here's some interesting stats ahead of Norwich's Championship match with Plymouth Argyle on Saturday (15.00 GMT).

All provided by OPTA, as usual:

• Norwich have won 14 of their last 19 home league games against Plymouth Argyle (D3 L2), with this their first game against them at Carrow Road since March 2009, a 1-0 win.

• Plymouth are looking for their first league double over Norwich since the 2006-07 campaign under Ian Holloway.

• Norwich City are unbeaten in their last three league games on Good Friday (W1 D2) since losing 2-0 to Fulham in 2018.

• Plymouth Argyle have only lost two of their last eight league matches on Good Friday (W4 D2) and won 3-1 away at Morecambe last year.

• Norwich have won their last six home league matches, with only Leeds (7) winning more home Championship games in 2024. The Canaries last had a longer winning league run at Carrow Road between September 2009 and January 2010 (11 in a row).

Norwich City begin their Easter campaign by hosting Plymouth Argyle at Carrow Road on Friday (15:00 GMT).

The Canaries were beaten 6-2 by the Pilgrims in September 2023.

On Monday, City travel to automatic promotion hopefuls Leicester City (12:30 GMT).

You can listen to live coverage of both matches on BBC Radio Norfolk FM, DAB and Freeview.

Former Norwich midfielder Simon Lappin is the special guest for the game against Plymouth.

Norwich City boss David Wagner says he is looking forward to seeing Plymouth again after their poor performance against them earlier this season.

The Pilgrims thrashed the Canaries 6-2 at Home Park in September.

Wagner told the BBC there was a "big desire to correct something."

Image source, BBC Sport

Here we have it, the final eight Championship matches of the season for the Canaries.

With a play-off place in their own hands, there are big games on the horizon against Leicester City and Ipswich Town.

Following two away matches, it's the final home games of the season as Bristol City and Swansea City make the long trip across the country to Carrow Road.

It could all come down to a final day clash at Birmingham, who Norwich will hope are 'on the beach'.

You can find details on the play-off dates here.

Here is this week's pre-match quiz.

The BBC's Norwich City commentator Chris Goreham has come up with a question based on former striker Grant Holt - he takes on a 100 mile walk for charity next week.

Holt scored his first ever league goal 21 years ago this month for Sheffield Wednesday in a 1-1 draw at Brighton.

Which former England goalkeeper did he score it against?

Send us your answers here.

You can also hear about Holt's walk for charity here.

Image source, Getty Images

Former Norwich City striker Grant Holt says this Easter's matches could prove pivotal in the Championship's play-off shake-up.

City welcome strugglers Plymouth Argyle on Good Friday, before travelling to high-flying Leicester City on Bank Holiday Monday.

Holt told BBC Radio Norfolk, "I think it's really important they get off to a flying start against Plymouth and then roll onto Leicester with at least four points."

"If they do that, they're settled and ready to crack on and finish the season strong," he added.

Norwich City boss praises the improvement of midfielder Marcelino Nunez.

The 24-year-old is back in Norfolk following the international break, where he represented Chile against Albania and France.

After a mixed start to the Championship campaign, Nunez is now a regular in David Wagner's starting line-up.

What a difference a few months make.

Following the 1-1 draw with Southampton on New Year's Day, the Canaries were 13th in the Championship table - some five points off the play-off places.

12 matches and 26 points later, they've moved into the top six.

While a few teams have changed positions, the top five teams in the division remain the same.

Sunderland have been the big losers over that period, picking up just eight points in 12 games and dropping off the promotion pace.

David Wagner held his pre-match press conference on Wednesday afternoon looking ahead to the Canaries' Championship match with Plymouth on Friday.

Here are the key points:

• Josh Sargent is fit and available after not joining up with the US men's national team due to injury

• Shane Duffy is back in training after recovering from a calf problem

• Grant Hanley will be on his own training schedule until the end of April

• Only focus is on "the next game" - not a mini-season of eight games

• Wagner says they are "desperate" to rectify what happened at Plymouth in the away match earlier this season when they lost 6-2

• On Plymouth - "It's up to us to show we are much better than we were when we played them last time," said Wagner.

Image source, Getty Images

Former Norwich City midfielder Adam Forshaw missed Plymouth's last Championship game against Preston through injury, but he could be fit for a return to his old club.

The 32-year-old has been struggling with a pulled hamstring.

Argyle travel to City in the Championship on Good Friday.

Forshaw joined the Canaries last summer on a free transfer from Leeds United but failed to make an impact on David Wagner's side.

He played just nine matches in yellow and green before leaving for Plymouth in January.

Injury has prevented him from regular football at Argyle, where he has made six league starts.

Bali Mumba, another former Canary, will definitely miss the match on Good Friday. He completes a two-match suspension after receiving his 10th booking of the season earlier this month.

Opinion: Webber finally departs.. now the focus can return to City's run-in

Image source, Getty Images

Gary Gowers - My Football Writer, external

I’ll not revisit the words of Stuart Webber. More than enough has been written and spoken about those very badly misjudged comments, and to prolong the debate serves no purpose.

But it didn’t half leave the club in a difficult position.

(You can catch up on his comments about black players, and the reaction to them, here.)

For one, when the interview was given and when the Pink Un piece was published, Webber was technically still on the club’s payroll - I understand he officially departs this week – and doubly awkward was the fact his wife is still the club’s Executive Director.

You can also throw into that same mix the undiluted adoration shown toward Webber by two of the club’s owners – Delia Smith and Michael Wynn-Jones.

To distance themselves from comments made by someone so intrinsically tied to the club was always going to require a tricky balancing act and so, in hindsight, it was unsurprising it took them 48 hours to come up with a form of words sufficiently vague as to not chuck Webber under the bus while also offering support to the players mentioned.

A little wishy-washy it may have been, but in the circumstances, there was no way they were going to come out all guns blazing and condemn Webber’s views in the strongest possible way. Even if they should have.

How could they?

Unfortunately, it was a conundrum of the club’s own making and was one that was only ever a loose-lipped comment away in Webber-world.

In the early part of his Norwich City reign, Webber was a breath of fresh air and nothing, from a pure footballing perspective, should detract from the fine work he did in his first two seasons at the club. He also excelled in 2020-21, when working with Daniel Farke to revamp a squad for another tilt at Championship success.

Alas, in his latter time at Norwich City, when stung by criticism for some of his decision-making, he resembled a loose cannon – taking unnecessary potshots at all those he perceived as critics.

At that point, the club’s hierarchy chose to ignore the damage caused by his firing-from-the-hip style or were oblivious to it. Either way, he was unchecked and given carte blanche by said hierarchy to say and do as he pleased.

Even after his departure was announced, those in power still granted him the freedom of the club and spoke of their hurt at losing someone considered a friend.

So, when the dirty stuff and the fan collided, it’s no surprise that the hand-wringing began.

Hopefully, for all concerned, the final parting of the ways for Stuart Webber and Norwich City will enable the club to now focus on what matters. The next eight games.

Image source, Getty Images

Norwich City midfielder Marcelino Nunez was on the score sheet for Chile on Tuesday night in their international friendly with France.

The 24-year-old, who has scored just one goal in the Championship this season, opened the scoring in Marseilles before the hosts took control of the game and went on to win 3-2.

Nunez played 88 minutes for his national side.

Meanwhile, it was another disappointing night for Angus Gunn and Kenny McLean as Scotland lost 1-0 to Northern Ireland.

Gunn was awarded another start in goal, while midfielder McLean came on as a second half substitute.

Elsewhere, Christos Tzolis and Dimitris Giannoulis will not be going to the Euros this summer. Greece were beaten by Georgia on penalties in their play-off eliminator.

Image source, Getty Images

Ahead of the Championship clash with Plymouth Argyle on Friday, Norwich City midfielder Marcelino Nunez will go toe to toe with one of the best players in the world later.

His Chile side take on France in an international friendly on Tuesday and Nunez could find himself up against Kylian Mbappe (not to mention a number of other world class players).

The Norwich midfielder played more than an hour for his country on Friday in a 3-0 win over Albania.

The international friendly takes place in Marseille.

Elsewhere, Angus Gunn and Kenny McLean could once again see action for Scotland, who host Northern Ireland.

Meanwhile, Christos Tzolis is hoping his Greece side can make it to the Euro 2024 Finals. They play Georgia for a place in the tournament in Germany later this summer.

This week's Norwich City podcast 'The Scrimmage' is available now.

On the show hosts Joe Dean and Jack Maclean look back at Norwich City Women's 2-2 draw with QPR at Carrow Road, as well as reaction to former sporting directer Stuart Webber's comments in the paper.

You can listen to the latest episode here.

Following the comments made by former Norwich City sporting director Stuart Webber over the weekend about several black players, BBC Look East took to the streets of Norwich to get some reaction.

Webber has since told the BBC he had contacted the players in question to apologise.

Here's what a few people had to say.

Image source, Getty Images

On this day - 25 March 1999 - Canaries sign Ced

Cedric Anselin joined Norwich on-loan from french side Bordeaux, where he had played in the 1996 UEFA Cup Final.

He joined permanently later that summer for a fee thought to be around £250,000.

Anselin still lives in Norwich and played for a number of non-league clubs once he finished his professional career.

You can sometimes hear him talking about the Canaries on BBC Radio Norfolk.

Your views on whether Tzolis should return to Norwich City

Image source, Getty Images

We asked you for your views on whether Norwich City should try and keep Christos Tzolis in the summer.

The Greek international has been on loan with German side Fortuna Dusseldorf and has 17 goals and eight assists in 27 games for the second-tier side.

While the German side could trigger a buy clause in the loan contract, he might also be available to return to England in the summer.

This is what you had to say:

Kitty - Yes, Tzolis should come back. He was never given enough game-time to prove himself at Norwich previously.

Chris - Tzolis is a poacher! He needs to have the ball played into him inside the box for results. He doesn’t fit our current game plan. More than half his goals are penalties or inside the six-yard box. He’s a left-sided Fassnacht, which doesn’t improve our team. The only reason for him to return is to get a proper fee for him, as we undervalued him to Düsseldorf!

Jeremy - I would love to see Christos Tzolis back with Norwich City - we do need him in the summer. It would be great to have Christos back.

Shaun - Yeah, why not?! Wagner should be keeping an eye on him, if he's playing that well. Bring him back.

Tim - If we have to sell either Borja Sainz or Jonathan Rowe - then I would love to see Tzolis given another chance. From what I've seen of him this season, he looks like what we paid a record fee for.

City's promotion hopes took a big set-back as they drew 2-2 with OPR at Carrow Road on Sunday.

After going behind, a wonder strike from Rachel Lawrence and a goal from Ellie Smith had the Canaries in front.

A defensive mistake before half-time allowed the visitors to equalise.

A late goal for Norwich was chalked-off for offside.

The draw, watched by a crowd of just under 6,000, means the Canaries need to win their remaining seven games and hope league leaders Wimbledon slip up.

You can find the National League South

East Div One table here, external.