Timm Klose could face another heavyweight battle with old foe Daryl Murphy tonight – and Canaries boss Alex Neil insists he can handle the Championship's hard men.

The Swiss international admitted before the win over Burton he endured a crash course in the physical aspect of the second tier following some epic tussles with Murphy and Rickie Lambert, but Neil has total trust in his influential centre-back.

'It is not something Timm is used to,' said Neil ahead of City's clash with Newcastle United this evening.

'But last season, against West Brom, when he faced the lad (Salomon) Rondon, he did fine and you are not going to find too many more physical forwards than him.

'It is about Timm adapting to the fact that aspect is not going to change at this level so you have to accept what you are facing and adapt and in the main he has done that relatively well. I thought Bristol (City) was one of his better games and there is still more scope to come from him.'

Dwight Gayle and Mohamed Diame may be preferred to former Ipswich Town hitman Murphy. Powerhouse Aleksandar Mitrovic is also waiting in the wings and would offer a similar threat as Murphy – who had the upper hand over Klose for the majority of this season's East Anglian derby showdown at Portman Road.