Norwich City Under-23s’ Premier League Cup campaign resumes against Derby County Under-23s on Monday.
The game will take place at Loughborough University Stadium, kicking off at 7pm.
Derby are currently top of Group C with seven points from three games, while Norwich are bottom with two points.
The two sides previously met in September for a 3-3 draw at Lotus Training Centre, City coming from 3-1 down to take a point.
In the league, Norwich are fourth in Premier League 2 Division Two with 23 points, having scored and conceded more than any other team. In Division One, Derby are 12th with 13 points but are unbeaten in their last four games.
U23s forward and Premier League 2 Player of the Month nominee Jonathan Rowe said: “November’s been quite an eventful month for myself and the team, a very successful month actually. We’ve got some good results in the last few games and I’ve been contributing to them with my goals and assists so I can’t complain about that. The team’s confident right now. The overall morale is really happy, so we’re looking forward to Derby and continuing this streak of form.
“I feel like I should have had another assist but I don’t think the Premier League put my name down for that!
“Liam Gibbs, Abu Kamara and Tom Dickson-Peters have a really strong connection with me right now. It’s shown in games and in training. If we can keep that going, we can get many more goals for each other. The whole team is connected and that helps us perform well on a matchday.”
Rowe enjoyed the experience of playing alongside Todd Cantwell in November’s 4-2 win at home to Nottingham Forest in Premier League 2 and considered it a good education.
“When a first-team player comes down with their experience, it helps us learn from what they’ve learnt from men’s football,” he said. “We can take that and apply it to our game so it was a massive help and gave us confidence because they know how to manage a game for the whole 90 minutes, which helps us get the victory.
“I’ve seen the first-team coaches around the ground, but one of my goals is to be more involved with the first-team. It’s always nice to feel like they’re watching and taking an interest in how we’re doing as a team and individuals.”
As for Monday’s game against Derby, Rowe is keen for the U23s to shut up shop defensively while maintaining their attacking prowess.
“We know how they play now so we’re going to have to attack their weaknesses and play quick, the way we normally do,” he said. “We need everyone to perform at their best levels for the win. We’re looking forward to it because it’s another cup game and we’re trying to improve our position in the table.
“We just need to tighten up a bit more defensively so we stop conceding as many goals and get our goal difference a lot higher. When you come to watch us, before the game even starts you can tell that we’re going to get a lot of goals judging from our previous performances.”