Kick-off time: 12.30pm Saturday
Oxford will embark on second-tier football for the first time in 25 years after their promotion from League One last season and it could be a tough start to proceedings against Norwich, who finished sixth in the Championship last term.
Des Buckingham's side will be desperate to kick-off their campaign with a win, especially in front of their home supporters, but the Canaries were in the Championship playoffs last season and are experienced campaigners at this level.
Oxford, meanwhile, sprung a surprise with their promotion last season as they finished only fifth in League One, 20 points adrift of champions Portsmouth.
Oxford look up against it in battle for second-tier survival
Having lost 13 of their 46 games in the third tier last term, the U's have plenty of work to do if they are to avoid the drop and it may take them time to adjust to the situation in hand.
The U’s have made some decent signings but Josh Murphy’s departure is a blow and this represents a big step up in class, especially against a team expected to be pushing for a top-six finish under new manager Johannes Hoff Thorup.
It has been far from an easy pre-season for Thorup, who has replaced David Wagner in the dugout, but the Dane has vowed to bring with him an attacking brand of football.
However, the departure of last season’s talisman Gabriel Sara, who grabbed 14 goals and 13 assists, to Galatasaray makes his life tougher.
The on-going speculation linking tricky midfielder Jonathan Rowe with a move to Leeds means he is unlikely to feature while Adam Idah, who scored nine goals in 19 competitive appearances while on loan at Celtic last term, missed a pre-season trip to Austria due to a disciplinary issue.
Sargent can fire Norwich to victory
The Canaries should still have enough in reserve to beat their newly promoted opponents and, with those absences taken into account, Josh Sargent looks the most likely man to play a key role in their success.
The American international has attracted plenty of interest from Premier League clubs this summer having been Norwich’s top goalscorer last season with 16 goals in 30 appearances.
Sargent looks a likely anytime goalscorer candidate, especially given how productive he was last season despite an early injury absence.
With Sargent fit and firing, Norwich should be hopeful of defeating an Oxford side who failed to win eight of their final 13 home games in League One last term.
The Canaries weren’t always at their best away from Carrow Road last season but this may represent one of their easier road tests, especially if Oxford fail to quickly adjust to life at this level.
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