Norwich City are searching for a second league win in a row as they welcome Millwall to NR1 tonight, hoping to shift the narrative in the process.

The Canaries have to contend with plenty of expectations and pressure given where they have come from last season alongside their historical level of performance at this level.

If anybody felt that the weight of their name alone would be enough to turn the tide after last year's Premier League misery, then the opening three matches of this campaign will have served as a sobering reminder that the Championship doesn't care much for ego.

That is why, when it presents a chance to gather some momentum and create some upward mobility, taking it can prove so important to the complexion of a season.

Even at this embryonic stage, it marks an opportunity to set some positive early trends and stop the questions about relegation hangovers.

Since Dean Smith arrived, Norwich have had matches, albeit at the top level, where it has felt like a step forward was imminent, only for mitigating factors and poor performances to halt their progress.

The hope is that, with a new season, this proves to be a shift of narrative with a victory rather than another false dawn.

Norwich have faced sides so far who, with perhaps the exception of Hull, harbour different ambitions from their own; that is why Millwall pose such an interesting test for the Canaries this evening.

Over the last few seasons, Gary Rowett has been trying to alter perceptions himself and grow the Lions on the pitch.

Despite losing star man Jed Wallace this summer, many are tipping the South East London side for a play-off berth this time around.

Their start to the season has been strong, with a late comeback against Swansea City the latest indication that Rowett's men are well placed to upset the apple cart this season.

For Norwich, this fixture will provide somewhat of a litmus test - if they can overcome it, then the tentative confidence that was constructed in midweek will be ramped up a few notches.

"I think Millwall are a strong team. It's going to be a really tough test for us," Smith said at his pre-match call.

"They've had some turnover of players. They lost Jed Wallace at the end of last season so they've had to progress each season and they have done that.

"They are a physical team but they can also play as well. They play when you allow them to play and they can mix it up when you put them under pressure. They always fight to the death, as they proved on Tuesday when it looked ominously bleak. They will take a lot from that but my focus is on us."

There is likely to be plenty of attention on Norwich's attacking play if Teemu Pukki doesn't pass a late fitness test after his foot injury.

Josh Sargent impressed in that role on Tuesday night, grabbing a goal and linking the play nicely in the process. His contribution has created a fair amount of debate, with the USA international seemingly adding an additional dimension to Norwich's play.

His goal on Tuesday came from an inswinging cross from Danel Sinani, something that was born on the training pitches at Colney. Smith does want his side to deliver more crosses this season.

"There's been a lot of work on it. There are areas of the pitch that we want our full backs to get into. When they are in certain areas, we want the ball delivered into certain places.

"The bonus we have got is that our forwards know where the ball is going to go and their defenders don't," Smith said.

"We can get better quality, still. That's something our full backs have been working on."

Nobody needs to tell Smith about the importance of momentum at this level, it almost singlehandedly took his Aston Villa side from the clutches of mid-table into the play-off mix in the year they were promoted.

But that matters for very little in the here and now. The challenge at Carrow Road is an entirely different one.

When difficult questions have arrived at his door from supporters already, a victory will help to push the cause that Norwich are capable of mounting a charge in the coming months.

Stood on the touchline at Hull after a defeat, Smith remarked that he felt his team was close to producing a string of victories. Norwich could turn that theory into reality if they follow up the Huddersfield win here.

With the carrot of a national audience watching, there is a chance to show the rest of the Championship they mean business. Nothing would be sweeter than to ram the criticism that has emerged in the early weeks down the throats of pundits, commentators and supporters alike.

The focus, however, will be firmly on Norwich.

A failure to conjure a win almost takes them back to square one. If Smith wants to continue to make the case that strides are being taken, then recording successive home victories for the first time since March 2021 would be the perfect way to illustrate that fact.

This is a chance to break the cycle and change the narrative. No pressure then, City.