Key change announced for Ipswich Town v Norwich City | OneFootball

Ipswich Town's fixture against East Anglian rivals Norwich City has been moved for television coverage by Sky Sports.

With the two clubs now reunited in the Championship, Ipswich Town and Norwich City supporters will be eagerly awaiting the return of the East Anglian derby next season.

After winning back-to-back promotions from League One to the Premier League, Ipswich returned to the top flight following a lengthy absence last season, but it was a tough campaign for Kieran McKenna's side, and they were relegated with a disappointing total of just 22 points.

The Tractor Boys have lost some of their key players this summer, including Axel Tuanzebe, Cameron Burgess, Sam Morsy and Liam Delap, but they have brought in four new signings so far in David Button, Cedric Kipre, Ashley Young and Azor Matusiwa, and further additions are likely before the end of the transfer window.

Like Ipswich, it was also an underwhelming campaign for Norwich last season as they finished 13th in the Championship, but they will be hoping to challenge for promotion in the year ahead under new head coach Liam Manning, who made the move from Bristol City to replace Johannes Hoff Thorup at Carrow Road last month.

It has been an incredibly busy summer for the Canaries, with Vladan Kovacevic, Daniel Grimshaw, Louie Moulden, Harry Darling, Jacov Medic, Jacob Wright, Jeffrey Schlupp, Papa Amadou Diallo and Mathias Kvistgaarden joining the club, but they have also sold last season's 19-goal top scorer Borja Sainz to Porto for a fee of £14.25 million, and star striker Josh Sargent could follow him out of the exit door.

Ipswich Town's clash with Norwich City moved for Sky Sports coverage

When the Championship fixtures were released last month, the East Anglian derby would have been the first game that many Ipswich and Norwich supporters looked out for.

The first meeting between the pair was scheduled to take place at Portman Road on Saturday 4th October at 3pm, but after the latest round of Sky Sports television selections were announced, it has now been moved to Sunday 5th October, with a new kick-off time of 12pm.

The reserve fixture is due to be held at Carrow Road on Saturday 11th April at 3pm, but that game is also likely to be moved, and with Sky Sports pledging to give at least six months' notice of any changes next season, supporters will not have to wait too long to find out the confirmed date and time.

It is fair to say that Norwich have had the upper hand on Ipswich in recent times, with the Tractor Boys' last win over the Canaries coming all the way back in April 2009 when they recorded a 3-2 victory at Portman Road, and that means they have not beaten their bitter rivals for over 16 years.

However, Ipswich will be viewed as one of the title favourites in the Championship next season, and as well as securing a return to the Premier League, they will be looking to finally end their dismal recent record against Norwich.

Ipswich Town will have big Norwich City opportunity next season

Form often goes out of the window in derby games, and that was the case in the 2023-24 season when Ipswich only picked up one point from their two matches against Norwich, despite finishing a huge 23 points ahead of them in the table as they won automatic promotion.

However, many believe that the Tractor Boys have the strongest squad in the Championship heading into the new season, so they may never have a better opportunity to beat the Canaries, although the Norfolk outfit look in good shape themselves after an impressive summer of transfer business.

Regardless of where the two teams are in the table, entertainment and drama is always guaranteed in the East Anglian derby, and the Sky Sports cameras will be present to broadcast the first meeting at Portman Road on 5th October.