ALEX Neil says Saturday's meeting with Hannover will provide the 'competitive' edge needed as his side conclude their preparations for the 2016-17 Sky Bet Championship season.

City host their German counterparts at Carrow Road (3pm) in their final warm-up game before the regular campaign gets underway, fresh from a 3-0 win over Coventry City earlier this week.

"We're now at the point of pre-season where we're treating games very competitively," the manager outlined to canaries.co.uk on Friday morning.

"We want to win, because everything is leading up to the first game. It's about getting combinations and things right in terms of players playing together, while also having a look at a couple of different things.

"It will be interesting to see what happens as the majority of the lads have done extremely well in pre-season. That's a good problem for me to have at this stage."

Like the Canaries, Hannover are looking to return to their country's top-flight this term, having been relegated from the German Bundesliga in April of this year.

However, Neil believes his team will face a stern challenge, and added: "They have a really good group of players and have strengthened this summer.

"They're looking to get back up into the Bundesliga, so will be well prepared. It's a good match for us, because German sides always provide a tough test.

"I certainly expect that to be the case on Saturday."

ALEX NEIL: WE WANT TO WIN

More Club

#NCFC

Principal Partners

Primary Partners