Injuries leave Alex Neil with selection dilemma ahead of Bristol City’s visit

Following the frustration of Saturday’s stalemate against Sheffield Wednesday, Norwich City’s attentions have quickly turned to preparing for Tuesday night’s visit of Bristol City. The Robins, one of just four teams to have won both of their opening two games, have made an impressive start to the season and will present another tough test for Alex Neil’s side. City’s boss, largely due to a sudden spurt of injuries, is expected to make numerous changes to his starting line-up.

One contributing factor to Saturday’s lacklustre display was the first-half injury that Martin Olsson suffered. Whilst we had struggled to create huge amounts, the few chances that we did create largely came from Olsson’s wing - the Swede working well in partnership with Robbie Brady, consistently overlapping the latter and delivering menacing crosses into the box. As soon as he was substituted, this threat was gone. Neil has confirmed that Olsson will be absent for Tuesday night and in all likelihood Sunday’s East Anglian derby - leaving the City boss with a big decision to make as to who replaces the 28-year-old: Robbie Brady, Stephen Whittaker or Harry Toffolo? The obvious option would be to continue with Saturday’s plan and push Brady back into his less-natural left-back position. In doing that, however, we are sacrificing one of our greatest attacking threats, but Neil will, understandably, see the Irishman as a more reliable option over the liability that is Whittaker and the un-tested Toffolo.

If Brady is played at full-back then this also raises the question as to who plays ahead of him. Young winger Josh Murphy was given the nod for this role on Saturday but, given his ineffective display, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Neil opt for an alternative option this time around. With twin Jacob still out through injury, and Matt Jarvis sidelined long-term, the obvious remaining option would be new summer signing, Sergi Canos. Having reportedly spent £2.5 million on his signature it has been somewhat surprising to see the young Spaniard overlooked in our opening two games, but Tuesday could present the perfect opportunity for him to make his debut. Despite being just 19-years-old, Canos made almost 40 Championship appearances for Brentford last season and should be perfectly suited to slotting straight into the City line-up - despite Neil inferring on numerous questions that he is not quite ready.

Due to a concerning lack of options, the rest of the line-up pretty much selects itself. Graham Dorrans, John Ruddy and Alex Pritchard have all joined Murphy and Olsson on the list of those side-lined for the next week, leaving what was once a fairly strong squad pretty threadbare. The only other potential decision for Neil to make is whether Alex Tettey is fit enough to play his 3rd 90 minutes in the space of three days. Last time we were in the Championship, 2014/15, it was well-documented that Tettey struggled with the demands of the crowded Championship schedule and, with his ever-present injury concerns in mind, the City boss may be apprehensive to start the Norwegian. The obvious alternative would be to play Youssouff Mulumbu who, despite having a torrid first season as the club, has appeared in both of our opening fixtures and should be ready for a starting berth.

Whilst the majority of the changes to Tuesday’s side will not be out of choice, City supporters will be hoping that the fresh outlook to the side will result in a more energetic performance than the one that was produced on Saturday. There is no doubt that if our attacking force, primarily Wes Hoolahan, can reach the heights of our opening day victory Blackburn then, regardless of Bristol City’s early season form, we will win. If there is a repeat of Saturday’s slow, dour and unimaginative showing, however, then we may just be looking at another disappointing result and huge pressure shifted onto Sunday’s East Anglian Derby. Traveling to Portman Road in out of form, out of confidence and supporters lacking in faith would be recipe for disaster.

On the other hand, a promising performance and win on Tuesday would leave us perfectly set to make “top of the league at Portman Road” a reality once more. I much prefer this option - over to you, Alex Neil.