Sunderland's Patrick Roberts issues Norwich City warning | OneFootball

Highlights

Norwich City will take an aggressive approach when they make the trip to the Stadium of Light to face Sunderland on Saturday afternoon.

That's according to Black Cats winger Patrick Roberts, who has warned his side they will have to match that intensity if they are to get anything from the weekend's game.

How are things going for Norwich right now?

The Canaries initially made an encouraging start to the Championship campaign, winning four and drawing one of their first six league games this season.

That had given rise to some hopes that the club could mount a challenge for promotion back to the Premier League in the coming months.

However, Norwich have won just once in their last seven league games since then, and have lost three of their last four games.

That includes a 2-1 defeat at home to Middlesbrough on Tuesday night, which saw the club slip to 14th in the Championship table, while manager David Wagner was greeted with boos as the pressure mounts on his position.

Now though, it seems that Roberts is expecting Norwich to produce something of a reaction to that when they make the trip to Sunderland this weekend.

What has Roberts said about Norwich ahead of Saturday's game?

Looking ahead to the match on Saturday, Roberts is not expecting Norwich to hold back when they come to the Stadium of Light.

That is something the winger believes his Black Cats side will have to match this weekend, although he is confident manager Tony Mowbray will have his side ready to do that, with three points clearly the aim for Sunderland come Saturday.

Speaking about what he expects from Norwich in that match, Roberts told Sunderland's official media: “Definitely another team we need to obviously put a marker down against them.

“They will come and they will try to be aggressive and we have to be equal at it. The manager will get us ready for that and we can take some positives from today and put them into training and into the game on Saturday. And then we just have to do that and make sure we get three points.”

Where are Sunderland in the Championship?

It is worth noting that Sunderland themselves are also under some pressure going into that match with Norwich at the weekend.

The Black Cats lost 1-0 to Championship leaders Leicester City on Tuesday night, meaning they have now suffered three straight defeats, hitting a hurdle after a strong start to the campaign.

That has seen Roberts and his side slip to ninth in the second-tier standings, meaning they too need three points on Saturday, to get their latest quest for promotion back to the Premier League on track once again.

Is this a fair prediction for Roberts to make about Norwich City ahead of Saturday?

You can understand why Roberts is expecting an aggressive approach from Norwich in Saturday's game at the Stadium of Light.

After the frustrations of the past few weeks, and the pressure that looks to be building on them, you would expect there to be a strong and passionate response from the Canaries here.

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Indeed, they may also feel that is the best way for them to shut down some of the exciting attacking threats Sunderland will be able to field on Saturday.

That is something the Black Cats will have to be prepared, given the opportunity there is for them here to pick up a welcome win against an out of form side, playing under a manager who may be feeling the pressure right now.