Norwich City must recapture the spirit of Old Trafford and believe they can avoid the dreaded drop, insists Sebastien Bassong.

The Canaries welcome Manchester United to Carrow Road in the knowledge they must realistically take something to maintain any realistic hope of extending their stay in the Premier League.

The spirit shown in the 2-1 win at Old Trafford in December was arguably the highest point of City's season so far and Bassong wants his side to emulate that kind of adventure on Saturday.

'That win at Old Trafford was a long time ago now and it was a good thing,' said Bassong. 'When you think back to the first time we played them this season, we won away. So we expect at least the same performance, spirit-wise.

'We'll be ready for it. And as we did at Arsenal, we're going to give everything and we'll see what comes out of the game.

'We had better be confident because if you don't believe, if you don't think you're capable of doing it, we'd rather stop right now.

'So let's believe. We all believe. Even if people are writing us down, that's just speculation. Football is still our last resource, so we'll see what's going to happen.'

City's early kick-off means they could potentially strike the first blow of the weekend over their relegation rivals as Sunderland host Chelsea and Newcastle go to Aston Villa.

But with Manchester United chasing a Champions League spot, City aren't going to be on the receiving end of any gifts from Louis Van Gaal's side.

'When you get into this situation, a relegation battle, it's nothing about the opponent.

'It's about what we've got. If you focus too much on the opponent… It's irrelevant for me.

'What we have, what we're willing to give, I think that will make the difference – if we can carry on playing the way we played at Arsenal, with the same spirit and add a little bit, play a bit more. May God help us.'