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Norwich City's 1-1 draw against Coventry on Saturday stretched the Canaries' unbeaten run in the Championship to 10 games.
While league leaders Norwich may have hoped to take all three points against 20th-placed Coventry, the point won't be taken for granted as Daniel Farke's side was without 13 players through injury.
Farke summed it up afterwards, telling the press, "With all the injuries we have I don't think too many people would have expected us to take seven points from nine since the international break ... we have done well recently with the number of players we have out and we were up against a good side who made it very difficult for us."
Norwich has won seven of its last 10 and moved up to first place following a 1-0 victory over Middlesborough on Matchday 12. Farke insists Norwich will not be affected by leading from the front, given the amount of time still left in the season.
“It is good for the mood and confidence and the table but we are not addicted to the position in the table after 12 games ... It is not the most important thing. The only topic that counts is where you are after 46 games," he said ahead of the Canaries' game against Stoke last week.
Last time Norwich played in the Championship in 2018-19, it found itself in a similar position around this time of year. The Canaries moved into first place following Matchday 17 and only fell out of the top two once the rest of the season, ultimately earning promotion as division champions.
The Championship is a notoriously difficult league to get out of, but Norwich has positioned itself exactly where it wants to be thanks to strong starts by Teemu Pukki and Emi Buendia, as well as a defense which holds the fourth-best goals-against record in the division.
Sporting director Stuart Webber recently told shareholders of his belief that Norwich is now better positioned than it was last time around to succeed in the Premier League should it gain promotion this year.
“I think if we were to get promoted any time soon we would be in a much better starting position than when we were promoted last time ... But it will certainly help that we won’t have the big facility to sort (improving training facilities at Colney), we’ll be a lot more experienced as staff and players – I think our starting point would naturally be a little bit better," he said.
The Canaries next face off against 12th-placed Luton, winless in four, followed by 23rd-placed Sheffield Wednesday and 21st-placed Nottingham Forest.
