Norwich City

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Norwich City boss Philippe Clement says he misses VAR after watching his side lose 2-0 at home to East Anglian rivals Ipswich.

The visitors took an early lead through a penalty which Clement feels would not have been awarded had video technology been available to the officials.

"It hurts because you lose and secondly because you start the game well and you get a penalty against you which isn't a penalty," Clement told BBC Radio Norfolk.

"Anis (Ben Slimane) clears the ball, the second player comes from behind him and he's diving already before maybe a small, small contact is made.

"Those are the moments where I miss VAR to get the right decisions in the game because they are game-deciding moments and the same goes with (Marcelino) Nunez staying on the pitch when he should have had a second yellow card and then you have a different situation."

Jaden Philogene converted the penalty before George Hirst added a second goal just before half-time and the Norwich head coach admits they also did not help themselves during the game.

"We were the better team on the ball, getting into the opponents' box more but we missed the ruthlessness and otherwise it might have been a win or at least a draw but we have to learn from that and become better," he added.

Norwich are next in Championship action at Bristol City on Saturday, 18 April (15:00 BST).

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Norwich City head coach Philippe Clement said he is ready to "embrace" the challenge of his first East Anglian derby against Ipswich Town.

Saturday's lunchtime kick-off (12:30 BST) pits two of the Championship's form teams against each other, with Norwich looking to reverse the result of the game at Portman Road earlier in the season, when they lost 3-1 with Liam Manning in charge.

Clement has plenty of experience of derbies in his native Belgium, France and Scotland, where he was in charge of Rangers.

"I loved it because the passion was really pure, sometimes raw also. People have a passion for their club and for football," he told BBC Radio Norfolk. "I loved those moments, so I'm sure I'm going to enjoy tomorrow.

"You feel the excitement of everybody around you, the people in the building. I hear also from fans that my wife met while she was in the city.

"I've been in a lot of derbies in more than 30 years in football. I know it's always a special occasion for the fans - it's a life or death thing almost - and I enjoy those moments."

Clement said his players had responded "brilliantly" to the pressure of being in the relegation places when he arrived, and although he is sure they can cope with the pressure, he does not want to see too many enjoying themselves during the game.

"We are growing and getting better and doing a lot of good things. It's a good test for my team. Enjoying is not being happy that your players are happy, enjoying is winning a derby.

"They need to do the right things for that. You want to be better than the last game, that's the mentality I want to see from the team. If they succeed, they can enjoy afterwards but not during the game."

On Ipswich counterpart Kieran McKenna, Clement added: "He's a manager with a really clear system, way of working, really clear principles. He's done a really good job there so Ipswich are a tough team to beat. That's why they are playing for promotion, why they are in second place."

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The EFL has announced the fixtures for the 2026-27 season will be published at midday on Thursday, 25 June.

The first-round draws for the Carabao Cup and the Vertu Trophy will be made on the same day.

The new season will kick off on the weekend of August 7-9 with the first round of the Carabao Cup, and the opening fixtures in the Championship, League One and League Two will follow a week later on 14-16 August.

The first round of the Vertu Trophy will be played in the week commencing 21 September.

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What a game in store on Saturday lunchtime (12:30 BST) as Ipswich head to Norwich for one of the biggest East Anglian Derbies in recent memory.

The Tractor Boys are unbeaten in eight games, earning 18 points, which took them into the automatic promotion places on goal difference, with games in hand on the sides around them, ahead of Millwall's Friday night game at West Brom.

The Lions were beaten 2-1 at home by Norwich on Monday, which left the Canaries on the fringe of the play-off race in ninth, though Southampton's thumping win at Wrexham on Tuesday night left Philippe Clement's men effectively nine points adrift of the top six with five games to play.

Kieran McKenna's side enjoyed a 3-1 win in the reverse fixture at Portman Road in early October and another at Carrow Road would not only be their first in more than 20 years and ensure local bragging rights, it would likely end their rivals' promotion hopes and give their own chances a massive boost.

• Norwich are unbeaten in their past nine home league games against Ipswich (W5 D4), since a 2-1 loss in February 2006.

• Following their 3-1 win in October, Ipswich are looking to complete the league double over Norwich for the first time since 1992-93.

• Since the turn of the year, Norwich City have won the most points of any Championship side (37), winning two more games (12) in that time than any other team. At the end of 2025, the Canaries were 23rd in the Championship, with only Sheffield Wednesday losing more games (14) than they had (13).

• Ipswich Town have had the most shots following a high turnover in the Championship this season (59), and have scored the most goals after a high turnover (11).

• In his first 25 Championship appearances this season, Norwich's Pelle Mattsson had 22 shots without finding the net. In his last three, he's had six attempts and scored a goal in all three games.

Marc Webber
BBC Final Score reporter

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With second in the form table hosting second in the actual table, this weekend's East Anglian derby is lining up to be one of the most important fixtures of its time.

Ipswich will take heart that they regained the derby crown earlier in the season, but fans and players will know 'them up the road' are having a resurgence since that 3-1 win at Portman Road one sunny Sunday afternoon in October.

And that is why nerves and emotions will be the decider of Saturday's game at Carrow Road.

Passion will either drive both sides to go all out in a potential thriller of a game.

Or nerves will make both sides play a cautious, dull game - with players being afraid of making the one mistake that could make them the headlines for the wrong reason.

The thing is, both sides realistically need a win. Norwich to keep a play-off place hope alive, Ipswich to put some distance between second and third place.

That's why it is hard to see this derby being anything short of a gung-ho thriller.

Marc Webber
BBC Final Score reporter

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"We can't wait for derby day!" proclaimed the personal X account of Norwich boss Philippe Clement after their Monday Millwall win.

That's a phrase you never thought you would see a Norwich City head coach say earlier in the season, when the Canaries were quagmired in the relegation zone and some were already planning League One away days.

But now they find themselves looking up, second in the Championship form table, and heading into one of the tightest and most important East Anglian derbies in modern history.

Ipswich are eighth in the form table, but second in the real one. And they are able to grind out wins from nervy performances, as evidenced in their 2-1 Monday victory over Birmingham City.

That is why the rivalry, the home fans and the occasion will very much be the deciding factors for this Saturday's derby, which I am sure will be an absolute thriller.

Form will not win this game. Pure passion will.

Norwich City manager Philippe Clement told BBC Radio Norfolk he was proud to see "two faces" of his team during today's impressive 2-1 comeback win at promotion chasers Millwall.

"I'm pleased with not the only the result, but I think this was our best performance of the season, in intensity and technically," he said.

"We played a really good game against a strong side - as they showed at Middlesbrough. We dominated the game, and should have scored two or three.

"They showed both faces - not only the sexy football people are talking about, but also the resilience, power, fight and organisation.

"We saw the tough side and the nice side, so I'm really proud of the team.

"I totally understand the fans' excitement, but speaking about promotion and play-offs, you have to be consistent all season."

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Norwich City boss Philippe Clement has been left frustrated by the nature of loanee defender Harry Amass' return to parent club Manchester United.

The 19-year-old signed on a loan deal from the Red Devils in January until the end of the season having spent the first half of the season at Sheffield Wednesday.

Amass suffered a "serious" injury in training, later revealed to be a hamstring injury, days after making his Canaries debut as a substitute in the victory over Championship league leaders Coventry City.

Before Norwich's match against Millwall on Easter Monday, Clement said Amass has now returned to parent club Manchester United to continue his rehabilitation and is not expected to play again for Norwich before his deal comes to an end.

"We wanted things to be different with Harry, but Manchester United are the owners of the player and they decided not to come here for his rehab and not to have Harry here in these weeks," Clement said.

"We wish it was a different situation and I don't want to go into what Harry wanted, that's for him to say but it is what it is; they are the owners of the player and they decided to keep him there until the end of the season."

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Norwich City boss Philippe Clement said that his side's home draw to Portsmouth was a "frustrating" result.

Pelle Mattsson scored at both ends as his late own goal gave relegation-threatened Pompey a draw.

With six Championship games left for the Canaries, they now sit 11th in the table and nine points off the top six.

"It's frustrating indeed, we could have kept a clean sheet too which is an important thing," Clement told BBC Radio Norfolk.

"The team still reacted after going behind, someone said to me that this was a game we would have lost at the start of the season.

"The reaction was good from the players as they went for the second goal but if you don't score the second or third goal in this game then this can happen.

"It was a defensive game today and we should have won more duels, we have more things to work on in the next few weeks in those situations."

Norwich are next in Championship action on Monday when they travel away to Millwall.

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Norwich City begin their Easter campaign with a home game against relegation-threatened Portsmouth on Friday (15:00 GMT).

Before the game head coach Philippe Clement has been speaking to the media, here are some of the key points:

• Mohamed Toure, Oscar Schwartau, Jack Stacey and Ben Chrisene are all back in full training following injury lay-offs.

• Defender Ruairi McConville picked up an injury on Northern Ireland duty so will miss Friday's game.

• Clement said there has been lots of players coming and going at the training ground during the international break.

• "I don't think there is one manager in the Championship who understands why we play on Friday, it's a little bit madness," he added.

• Clement said he had a hand in the appointment of Dr Paul Ford as the club's new performance director. Ford spent 15 years working at the British Olympic Association.

• On Portsmouth: "They (Portsmouth) are still in this relegation battle so that is one of the reasons why the vibe is good in this building as we are out of that"

You can listen to commentary of Norwich v Portsmouth with BBC Radio Norfolk on FM and DAB. Coverage begins at 14:00 GMT on Friday.

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Championship clubs spent just over £69.5m on agents fees over the past 12 months according to figures released by the Football Association,, external an increase of £6m on the previous year.

The figures cover the period from February 2025 with Ipswich Town the top spenders, paying £11.7m having spent the first three months of the accounting period in the Premier League.

Southampton (£8.3m) and Leicester (£5.8m), who were relegated alongside Ipswich are the second and third-highest payers on the list.

Troubled Sheffield Wednesday were the most frugal when dealing with agents, spending £534,559.

Wrexham come in sixth on the list with an outlay of £3.6m while current Championship leaders Coventry spent just short of £1.5m.

Championship agents' fee spending, external

• Ipswich - £11,738,920

• Southampton - £8,381,358

• Leicester City - £5,866,587

• Sheffield United - £5,005,498

• Norwich - £4,020,206

• Wrexham - £3,660,584

• Swansea - £3,088,645

• Middlesbrough - £2,900,314

• Bristol City - £2,774,990

• Hull City - £2,450,431

• Stoke City - £2,088,886

• Birmingham City - £1,996,502

• Millwall - £1,982,348

• Preston North End - £1,831,233

• QPR - £1,829,036

• Watford - £1,612,833

• Coventry - £1,497,990

• Derby - £1,409,507

• West Brom - £1,346,030

• Oxford - £1,235,536

• Charlton - £904,698

• Portsmouth - £831,818

• Blackburn - £676,980

• Sheffield Wednesday - £534,559