Norwich City Under-23s kick-off their 2021/2022 Premier League 2 campaign against Southampton at Staplewood Training Ground on Sunday afternoon (2pm KO).
In our match preview, we’ll be taking a look at what we might expect from the Saints in our opening fixture of the season.
The opposition
The Saints will be looking to bounce back this season after their relegation from Premier League 2 Division 1 last season.
Sunday’s hosts were the sole side to be relegated from the top division in the U23s set-up, finishing their campaign with 16 points from 24 games, taking a record of four wins, four draws and 16 losses.
Due to their time in Division 1, this will be the first time City have played Southampton in the league in three seasons.
While the Saints haven’t made too many changes to their squad set-up over the summer, Olly Lancashire is their significant signing of the window as he put pen to paper on an U23s exclusive contract.
Lancashire, 32, came through Southampton’s youth setup before going on to make 17 appearances for the first-team. Since then, the experienced defender has played 343 games across his eight-club career, bringing a great wealth of experience to the young squad developing around him.
Jon Tomkinson: “I expect us to play hard and play together”
Under-23s captain Jon Tomkinson says his team are looking forward to starting their league campaign on Sunday following their tough but educational pre-season, which further helped City’s summer signings settle into the squad.
“We’re extremely excited, all we want to do is play games and win games, so we’re very eager to get started tomorrow and I’m hoping we begin on a high note with a win.A
“The pre-season was very good for us; we played a lot of older sides. I think playing against them older sides teaches you a lot about the ‘dark arts’ of the game. You learn a lot more playing against men than you do boys, so that will give us a lot more insight and knowledge going into the season.
“The new boys have settled in well, it’s a very welcoming group we have here, so we want them to settle in as quick as possible so we can get moving and get the results we want to see.”
Asked what he wants to see from his side on the opening day of the season, the American-born centre-half was firm in his response, settling for nothing less than a complete team effort.
“I expect us to play hard and play together and I expect nothing less. We work very hard for moments like that so, when we experience them, we want to make the most of them.”