Former Norwich City boss Paul Lambert wouldn't be surprised if he ended up facing his former club on the opening day of the season.

The Premier League fixtures are released today and the new Aston Villa manager joked at the unveiling of his new club's kit for the 2012/13 season that a return to Carrow Road is high on his mind.

'It will probably be Norwich away,' quipped the 42-year-old, whose halo slipped among Norwich fans when he decided to take up the challenge of succeeding Alex McLeish at Villa Park. 'Whoever we get on the first day of the season I think it will be great and I am pretty sure the fans will come in their thousands to watch us. But more importantly I think we have to start to win and if we do that we'll be okay.'

Lambert has been warmly welcomed to Aston Villa by the majority of their fans and he hopes to repay their faith by getting off to a quick start next season.

'It's a really, really big club and it's up to me to try and make it a really good season,' he added. 'Whoever we get (on the opening day of the season) will be a great occasion and I'm really looking forward to it.

'It doesn't really give me a great concern who it is – any game we get will be tough whether it is home or away. I'm just looking forward to the season getting going.'