After arriving in the English top-flight for the 2019/20 campaign, little was expected of Daniel Farke and his Norwich City side as they embarked on a pilgrimage to retain their Premier League status.
Norwich had performed admirably in the Championship to achieve promotion to the top of the English pyramid, but a lack of summer transfer activity at Carrow Road meant that relegation was considered to be something of an inevitability for the Canaries.
Six games into the 2019/20 Premier League season, there can be no doubting that Farke and his fearless Norwich side are not here to simply make up the numbers, but to compete and challenge the Premier League’s elite in the current campaign.
The club’s famous win over Manchester City amidst an injury crisis within the squad highlighted their tenacity in the face of immense pressure, whilst battling performances against Chelsea and Liverpool, despite losing, showed the ambition of Farke’s side to retain their footballing principles despite the increased calibre of opposition.
With two wins and nine goals – the second most of any team in the bottom 12 sides – the likes of Teemu Pukki and Todd Cantwell are excelling for the Canaries and showing that they are a side who will attack any team with fearlessness.
It is the home performances of Farke’s side – most notably against Man City and Chelsea – that point to a team who could, in fact, propel themselves higher up the Premier League table as opposed to merely staving off relegation.
If Farke is able to further galvanise his squad whilst maintaining the promising home form that they have shown so far, then Norwich’s attacking abilities and squad camaraderie could lead to the North-Norfolk side rising to the top half of the Premier League table.