Norwich City will struggle to avoid a brief Premier League stay in the opinion of former Manchester City boss Stuart Pearce.

The legendary ex-England full back was part of Sky Sports team on fixture release day and forecasts a difficult campaign for all three promoted clubs.

City begin at Champions League winners Liverpool on August 9 before tests against Chelsea and Manchester City all inside the opening five weeks.

Pearce was a fan of the way Daniel Farke's squad defied the odds to lift the Championship title, but feels the bar is about to be raised much higher.

"They were so impressive last season. A freescoring team but obviously a team who could concede goals last season as well," he said. "I would turn the television on and they would be 3-1 up and then it ended up 4-3 10 minutes later.

"What I would say is all the teams who come up into this top division I don't think there is a great deal of expectation. They worrying thing for me is when I look at all three I try to guess who can finish below them in the table and there are not too many names I can come up with.

"I think Brighton is in a bit of a downward spiral but whether they can address that this summer I don't know.

"Apart from that I am not thinking of any other teams who might finish in those lower reaches. (Crystal) Palace will be stronger, Everton. You name it."