Chris Lakey Michael Nelson reckons free-scoring Huddersfield could play right into City's hands this afternoon.Carrow Road has become something of a fortress again, but the more successful City are, the more often visiting teams tend to shut up shop, string five across midfield and hope to sneak out with a point.

Chris Lakey

Michael Nelson reckons free-scoring Huddersfield could play right into City's hands this afternoon.

Carrow Road has become something of a fortress again, but the more successful City are, the more often visiting teams tend to shut up shop, string five across midfield and hope to sneak out with a point.

Swindon, Tranmere and Oldham all tried - and failed - but Huddersfield aren't expected to be as conservative.

And that's where Nelson believes the Canaries can profit.

"They have scored a few, but I think the way they play they are quite wide open and probably a bit like us," said the central defender, who is expected to replace the injured Jens Berthel Askou this afternoon.

"They like to get it down and pass it and I think when we come up against teams like that it suits us rather than teams just coming and sitting in. Instead of going for a draw you might see a team come down and actually try and get the three points, and hopefully we can expose that.

"You've seen some of the results they have had, but a lot of the big results they've had have come at home," he said.

"Whether they can come down to our place and do the same is another thing.

"No matter which team comes to Carrow Road we just concentrate on what we do and we know if we perform to the capabilities we can beat anyone on our day."

Nelson looks set to start his first league game since the defeat at MK Dons in mid-September, when he went off injured after an hour.

The defender replaced Askou for the Johnstone's Paint Trophy defeat at Southampton in midweek and was yesterday given a vote of confidence from manager Paul Lambert, who says that breaking up his established centre-back pairing doesn't concern him.

"It doesn't because I have a great belief that whoever plays there will do the best they can and I have got every faith in them," he said.

For Nelson it's a chance to re-establish himself.

"Hopefully I did enough on Tuesday night," he said.

"That's how I got out of the side, because of an injury, and that's the way I have come back in and it's up to me now to make sure I stay in the side and hopefully carry on the team's good form.

"Obviously I had a chance at Carlisle as well and I didn't really perform anywhere near where I wanted to up there, but on Tuesday I think we got to grips with it quite early, didn't really show any signs of rustiness, so that game's out of the way and now we can carry on and try and build and progress."