They’ve faced Belgian champions, witnessed hostile atmospheres and been beaten at their own stadium, but Norwich City’s toughest pre-season test could be yet to come.

The Canaries face Bundesliga side TSG Hoffenheim this evening in their penultimate warm-up game of the summer, hoping to top a crunch trip to Austria with what would be an impressive win.

Their opponents are riding the crest of a wave, having stormed from mid-table obscurity to Europa League qualification under highly-rated head coach Pellegrino Matarazzo.

The job he’s done has piqued the interest of talent spotters across the globe, and led to fan calls from his US compatriots to be appointed the successor to Gregg Berhalter across the pond.

One man taking a keen interest in the race to fill that vacancy will be City’s Josh Sargent, who could be in line for a first meeting with Matarazzo at the Koasastadion St. Johann.

He hasn’t played a minute yet under Johannes Hoff Thorup, after arriving back in Norfolk late due to participation in the Copa America. Thorup confirmed that his star players would be stepping up their game time on the continent, however, and the feeling internally about Sargent’s fitness is positive.

Jose Cordoba is another who’ll hope to feature, four days post his debut against 1. FC Magdeburg. The new man has yet to start in yellow and green, but his signing is seen as a coup behind the scenes and he looks to be in line for an opening day start.

He and Shane Duffy partnered each other in drills at an open training session at the club’s NR1 base, the Irishman back in the fold after missing out on the Belgian games.

Angus Gunn could also appear in goal as he reaches the final stages of recovery from a minor injury, with Adam Idah another expected to feature despite sitting out the Magdeburg loss.

The game likely comes too early for Christian Fassnacht, who hasn’t featured since the pre-season opener at Northampton, and Ashley Barnes will miss the first few weeks of the Championship campaign after calf surgery.