Shane Duffy: 2 big Norwich City dilemmas Thorup is facing for Oxford clash on Saturday | OneFootball

We look at two dilemmas facing Johannes Hoff Thorup ahead of his first game in charge of Norwich City at Oxford United on Saturday.

Highlights

Norwich City suffered play-off disappointment back in May, but they return to Championship action on Saturday as they look to push for promotion once more.

A lot has changed since that embarrassing night at Elland Road, when Leeds beat David Wagner’s side 4-0, with three of those goals coming inside the first 40 minutes.

Johannes Hoff Thorup has replaced the ex-Huddersfield chief, and he will be rebuilding a squad that has just sold Gabriel Sara to Galatasaray, and there are doubts about the future of Jonathan Rowe as well.

Norwich City preparing for Oxford United test

Constant speculation about Adam Idah, who is linked with a return to Celtic after a successful loan, hasn’t helped preparations either, and whilst pre-season results don’t really matter, it’s not ideal for the Canaries that they’ve failed to win the last five.

But, all that will be forgotten come 12:30 on Saturday, with the only focus for Thorup on ensuring his team picks up three points in their opener against the newly-promoted U’s.

On paper, it’s a game that Norwich will feel they can win, even if the squad could look very different come August 31.

And, here we look at TWO dilemmas facing Thorup ahead of the fixture…

Does Shane Duffy start at centre-back?

The Canaries completed the signing of Jose Cordoba in the summer, but he has had a difficult period with injuries, which restricted him to just 15 minutes in pre-season.

Whilst he doesn’t have a serious issue, it means he’s unlikely to be ready to play against Oxford, which presents Thorup with a problem.

Callum Doyle looks a very good addition from Man City, so he could slot in at left centre-back, but he may also be needed at left-back. Ben Chrisene could do the latter, but he has only recently linked up with the club.

Therefore, the centre-back pairing is likely to come from Shane Duffy, Grant Hanley or Brad Hills.

The youngster is highly-rated, but it would be a big ask to put him in for a Championship fixture, particularly when you have two experienced figures in Duffy and Hanley.

But, they have not played together in pre-season, indicating it’s not something that Thorup wants to go with.

Yet, results in pre-season show that he hasn’t found the right defensive formula, so it may be tempting to revert to the experienced duo as they look to get off to a positive start in the Championship.

The midfield setup

Another problem is in midfield, with the highly influential Sara missing in what will be a big blow for the team.

If he was available, the Brazilian would start alongside Marcelino Nunez and Kenny McLean, in a midfield trio that looks balanced and full of quality.

However, Sara’s absence is a problem, and it’s something that will no doubt need to be addressed in the final weeks of the window, with at least one midfielder sure to arrive.

For Saturday though, there are a few choices, with the versatile Jacob Sorensen one of the options, and youngster Liam Gibbs is another.

It was Gibbs who was given the nod in the final friendly against St. Pauli, but he was replaced at half-time, with Sorensen pushing up, and the 3-1 defeat shows that neither really worked.

Alternatively, Thorup could go with more of a 4-2-3-1 formation, but that seems unlikely given how he has played in pre-season.