Just four days after their 2-0 win over Newcastle United, Norwich City Under-23s host Burnley at the Lotus Training Centre on Friday afternoon (1pm KO).
Ahead of the Canaries second game of the week, they sit third in the Premier League 2 Division 2 table, with five wins and three defeats from eight games.
Burnley sit 12th in the table with seven points after two wins, one draw and four defeats from seven games.
After wins for Middlesbrough and Leeds in the week, the Canaries are still just a point off the top spot in the league, having their two losses of the campaign come against both teams above them.
Recovering well from their 1-0 defeat in the Papa John’s Trophy against Cheltenham Town, David Wright’s side quickly got back to winning ways as they returned to Premier League 2, both goals in their 2-0 win against Newcastle coming from left-back Rob Nizet.
Looking ahead to the weekend, this fixture will be another new one for the young Canaries, having never played Burnley before, with the Clarets being awarded Category 1 academy status back in July ahead of the 2020-2021 season.
Under-23s forward Matthew Dennis believes the team are ready for the second match of their double gameweek, saying he’s looking forward to the challenge of facing a new team like Burnley.
“It’s been good, the team is more confident that we can do well in the league and we’ve got more energy in training, everyone’s enjoying themselves.
“It’s been a great week, to be honest, going into this game and even going into Newcastle as well. I’ve never played against Burnley, so I’m looking forward to what we come up against.”
Asked about the preparation going into a game just four days after their win at Tyneside, Dennis said it can be difficult to be ready for another game so soon, but the team are more than capable.
“It is tough to play Monday and have a game on Friday, especially for some of us who played the 90 minutes, it is tough. Jay [Eastoe-Smith, head of academy sports science] gets us ready for these situations.
“We’re all strong enough, but most of the time it’s down to mental and not physical, but I think we’ll be fine.”