Philippe Clement wants Norwich to take three points from Burnley this weekend, with the Championship game at Carrow Road carrying early-season weight for both sides. Norwich have lost their opening two league matches, while Burnley arrive in Norfolk still waiting for their first win.
Clement said Burnley bring experience and a squad full of players who have played in the Premier League, but he still sees the meeting as a chance to strike back after Norwich’s slow start. He said the match feels a little like the Coventry City game last season, when he wanted the crowd to drive the team on and hopes for the same roar again this time.
That is why Norwich City vs Burnley has become the fixture drawing attention now. Norwich are not just looking to steady themselves; they are chasing their first points of the season after back-to-back defeats in their opening two Championship outings, and Burnley are under the same kind of pressure because they remain winless under new coach Nicky Hayen. The result matters because neither side can afford to let an early gap open up, even this early in the campaign.
Clement also framed the game as a first look at Hayen, who will face him for the first time this weekend. He said he has known Hayen for years because they previously crossed paths as opponents, and he has heard plenty about him from people in Bruges, where Clement said he has spent 18 years and built up close ties with people he describes as family. From that vantage point, he said Hayen has already shown he can deliver, pointing to work that brought success with Club Brugge and experience in Europe.
For Norwich, the immediate task is simple: stop the losing run and get on the board. If they can do that, it will come against a Burnley side that has not yet won but is still strong enough to punish mistakes, which is exactly why Clement called it a tough challenge. The chance is there for Norwich at Carrow Road this weekend. The question is whether they can turn a demanding early test into the kind of result that changes the mood before the season gets away from them.
