Norwich City are excelling in the league so far this season but tomorrow sees them turn their attention to the League Cup.
Daniel Farke’s side sit fourth in the table, two points off the top and secured their third successive win this past weekend to consolidate their current position in the second tier's top six.
Tuesday evening sees the Canaries pit their wits against Premier League opposition when they come up against Bournemouth ,for a place in the quarter-finals ahead of a trip to Sheffield Wednesday.
Farke will be looking to keep the core of his side going as they hope to continue their fine form, but one eye will be on making changes to keep his team fresh.
And they have been handed huge boost with the Canaries boss confirming Teemu Pukki could return to the first team for the first time since picking up a hamstring injury two weeks ago during the international break.
The striker has scored five goals this term and was in irresistible form for club and country before picking up the knock.
The striker trained with the team this past weekend and Farke revealed he could get up to half-an-hour of game time to aid his recovery from his recent injury.
Two players who will be taking no part in the cup clash are Marco Stiepermann and Todd Cantwell.
Both played the full 90 minutes in Saturday’s win over Brentford but have been ruled out for differing reasons for tomorrow’s fixture.
Despite the positive news, the Norwich boss has confirmed Stiepermann is out through illness having been diagnosed with tonsillitis.
Cantwell, meanwhile, will miss the League Cup clash, as well as being a major doubt for this weekend’s Championship game.
The 20-year-old overstretched in the final stages of the weekend’s win and will be almost certain to miss out.
Timm Klose, Max Aarons and Emiliano Buendia all face fitness tests having taken knocks in a hard-fought win against Brentford.
The Verdict
Having won three in a row, confidence is high, but there will be some hesitation as to play the same side tomorrow to maintain their form with several players facing absence from the trip to the Vitality Stadium.
Two players have been ruled out with a further three facing fitness tests.
This could be the perfect time for players who have found minutes in the league hard to come by to impress and stake a claim to be included in the side this weekend against Sheffield Wednesday.
The overriding positive, meanwhile, is the news that Teemu Pukki is back and potentially available for Daniel Farke’s side in the League Cup clash against Bournemouth this weekend.
It’s a good time to be a Norwich fan with their upturn in form and even with the players that could be missing, this is a serious opportunity for the club to progress further in the competition.