Our match preview has an overview of the fixture’s history, an insight into the Saint’s season and a look at who will be the man in the middle.

The opposition

Seeing a huge lack of footballing action like all other teams, Southampton’s form is more or less redundant, playing their last game 104 days prior to their clash with the Canaries.

Before the break, the Saint’s won just a single game of their last five, losing all others to opposition including Newcastle, West Ham, Burnley and Spurs.

Sitting relatively comfortable at 14^thafter ten wins, four draws and 15 losses, Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side can rest easy knowing a relegation threat would require a serious downturn in results.

Southampton will also be without Moussa Djenepo through a suspension picked up back in March. Djenepo has been a stand-out player this season for the Saints, proving to be an excellent box-to-box midfielder for the side.

Southampton’s biggest talent so far this season is Danny Ings. The 27-year-old has been red-hot in front of goal scoring 15 and assisting one goal in 29 appearances for the Saints.

Head-to-head

The Canaries last met Southampton in December earlier this season at St Mary’s Stadium, a game which saw the Saints edge City 2-1 to take all three points.

The last league meeting at Carrow Road between the two sides came back in 2016, City taking the win on that occasion thanks to an Alex Tettey strike inside the box.

Ref watch

Kevin Friend will be the man in charge for Friday’s fixture. Friend has overseen a total of 28 games so far this season, handing out 82 yellows and six red cards in those matches.

He was last appointed to officiate a Norwich game back in December 2019 for a league game against Tottenham Hotspur. The game ended in a 2-2 draw after a late equaliser from Harry Kane on the penalty spot. Friend showed six yellow cards in the match.

For this weekend’s fixture, his assistants will be Adrian Holmes and Simon Beck, with Dean Whitestone the fourth official. Simon Hooper and Mark Scholes will be overseeing VAR.

How to follow

For UK-based supporters, the match is being broadcast on Sky Sports and Pick (freeview channel 11). For overseas supporters, click here for a list of when and where you can tune in.

#NR1Live is back for Friday's game with host Darren Eadie being joined in the studio by Rob Newman and Bryan Gunn. You can catch the pre and post-match chat for FREE on our YouTube channel, with the programme switching over to Canaries TV when the game begins.

Canaries TV subscribers can listen to live BBC Radio Norfolk commentary from Chris Goreham by purchasing a match/monthly/yearly pass. For more information, click HERE.

We will be running regular updates on our Twitter account, including reaction after the final whistle.

There will also be a minute-by-minute live match blog on canaries.co.uk and you can also receive updates on our Instagram and Facebook pages.

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