Burton Albion travel to Norwich City's Carrow Road tonight in search of a first away point of the season - and a response to Saturday's thrashing at the hands of Leeds United.
The Canaries' bid for an immediate return to the Premier League last term fell short after an impressive start.
Twelve months on, with a new manager at the helm and the Championship arguably an even tougher proposition this time around, Norwich's current campaign may be seen as one of progression.
Still, their experience and quality will ensure they pose a serious task for the Brewers this evening.
We spoke to the Eastern Daily Press' Paddy Davitt about changes at Carrow Road, a pre-Burton boost and more.
INCONSISTENT START TO BE EXPECTED
Heading into Saturday afternoon, Norwich sat below Burton in the Championship table.
Yes, it was only after five games - and a 1-0 victory over Birmingham City at the weekend ensured they moved above the Brewers and up to 17th - but it shows the sluggish start to the campaign that the East Anglian side had endured.
It is perhaps not a huge surprise, though, despite the fact that the Canaries will have been among many people's top-six predictions before a ball was kicked.
They have a new head coach in Daniel Farke - and his arrival in May was inevitably followed by a slew of ins and outs on the playing staff.
That is always likely to mean a certain bedding-in process for a boss with new ideas and a new playing philosophy.
But as Davitt suggests, Norwich fans are not expecting an overnight transformation, despite the quality at the club's disposal.
Asked if the inconsistent early form was down to the new arrivals or a hangover from last season's average finish, he said: "It's probably more the former than the latter, for the simple reason that there was a tremendous turnover of players over the summer.
"I think at the final count, something like 41 went in or left Carrow Road.
"Then you add in a first 'foreign' coach, who brought a German coaching team with him under a newly-created sporting director role, and you can see the level of change.
"Allied to all that, there have been injuries to some very key players.
"The likes of Alex Pritchard is out until November after ankle surgery, while Timm Klose and Ivo Pinto are only just back and now available.
"Both played on Saturday, and you could see a vastly improved defensive display, after shipping four goals in each of their previous two away games.
"But to be fair to those inside the club, the message from day one has been that it will take time and it's a work in progress - and the majority of supporters will buy into that."
BIRMINGHAM WIN PROVIDES TIMELY BOOST
Farke's Norwich headed into the recent international break on the back of a 4-0 defeat at recently-promoted Millwall.
The Canaries head coach said he was "totally annoyed and frustrated about our defensive behaviour" after the game - and it was a result that dropped them into the bottom three, albeit still inside the first month of the campaign.
A swift reaction was needed - just as Albion will want to find a response to Saturday's 5-0 humbling at Leeds . Norwich provided it at the weekend, beating Harry Redknapp's Birmingham at Carrow Road.
"It wasn't just the win and the clean sheet, but the manner of the performance," said Davitt about the importance of the result, even at this stage.
"As I've mentioned, there were real signs of a pattern of play emerging with and without the ball and a cohesion that was lacking previously.
"Now they need to build on that in the coming weeks.
"But having said that, Birmingham were very expansive and dominated possession, and City had to work on the counter.
"I would expect Burton to come and try to be hard to break down, so that is a different problem to solve from the weekend."
DANGER MAN
Burton fans have not seen too much of Norwich forward Nelson Oliveira against their side.
He was introduced as an 88th-minute substitute in the Canaries' 3-1 victory at Carrow Road last September and was not in the squad when Albion secured an important 2-1 win in the return fixture.
But they may well be keeping an eye on him tonight, according to Davitt, with four goals already to his name so far this term for Farke's side.
"He took his tally to five goals in seven appearances for club and country this season against Birmingham," he added.
"If Norwich keep him fit and firing, you would expect the Portuguese international to be right at the top of the Championship scoring charts.
"But his work outside the box was just as important on Saturday, offering a mobile target for City to raid on the counter."
PHYSIO ROOM
Norwich's only injury issues ahead of Burton's visit are long-term ones, with Pritchard, Jamal Lewis and Matt Jarvis all out for sustained periods.
Other than that, Farke said in Monday's press conference that he is picking from a fully-fit squad against the Brewers.
