Two East Anglian rivals will lock horns tomorrow – and Ipswich Town will not be involved.

Although the Suffolk club do also play in Women's Premier League (WPL) South East Division One, it is Lowestoft Town's turn to battle for cross-county bragging rights against Norwich City Ladies.

The pair kickstart their new season with a derby clash at Crown Meadow (2pm kick-off) and returning City chief Scott Emmerson can't wait for battle to commence.

The Canaries' head coach, in his third spell at the helm, said: 'I want to see the club be successful. I feel we can make that transition.

'When James Buhlemann (former head coach) stood down quite a few of the girls got in touch and said they wanted me to come back. It's nice to feel wanted and them asking spoke a million words.

'I do think, if I'm being honest, the team underachieved last season. Our aim is to finish in the top four and we'll be looking to get three points on the board straight away.'

The Canaries' hopes of securing a top-half finish in the 12-team table fell fairly short last term. An eighth-placed finish was disappointing, with fierce rivals Ipswich Town finishing fifth.

Lowestoft Town, who won just two league games and finished in 11th, were handed a relegation reprieve after struggling during their first season at the side's highest-ever level.

Nathaniel Einecker and Ricky Graves took over about halfway through the campaign and are hoping to see a huge improvement at Crown Meadow this time around.

Joint-boss Graves said: 'The thing we're struggling with most is where we are geographically. On one side of us we've got Ipswich and on the other we've got Norwich. We feel they get players because of their name, even though we're in the same league.

'We've worked really hard on the girls' fitness this summer and Nathaniel and I feel ready. It is our team now.

'We're buzzing and so are the players. There's so much togetherness and a derby is a great game to be able to start the season with.'

See today's EDP and/or Evening News for more on City's 2016/17 squad.