With seven days to go until their Premier League campaign kicks off against Liverpool, Daniel Farke may have been hoping for a smoother end to pre-season.

It's been a pre-season disrupted by a coronavirus outbreak that saw two matches cancelled and forced 11 members of their first-team group into self-isolation. Those still forced to stay at home are set for a return to training on Monday.












The contrasting fortunes of the respective sides was graphically illustrated by the amount of subs they both named. Steve Bruce was afforded the luxury of naming a 13-man bench, Farke could only have five.

That was evident in the second period, when a stretched City side were put to the sword by Allan Saint-Maximin and Dwight Gayle. That injection of pace, coupled with some questionable defending at points, punished their high line and scored three goals.

There are plenty of mitigating circumstances surrounding the defeat, but it will do little to ease the concerns of those supporters fearful their side isn't in a strong position heading into a tough start to the season.

City are set to add two attacking options to their ranks this week, with Josh Sargent set to travel to England on Monday to undergo a medical ahead of a reported £8m move to Norfolk.

Christos Tzolis is also close to finalising a move to Norwich, as we revealed on Thursday. City always want to add a left-back, a central defender and a central midfielder before the window closes on August 30.

- Read the thoughts of Norwich City fans after their 3-0 defeat to Newcastle United above and below