What a difference an away win has made. Where once the prospect of following the Tigers outside of Hull filled a body with dread, now we dare to imagine that all results are indeed possible.

This’ll be tough though. Burnley were among the pre-season favourites, and while the blistering starts made by QPR and Cardiff have seen the Clarets fall out of favour, expectations remain that they’ll overcome the Brian Laws handicap to challenge for the top-six. That, realistically, is more than City can expect at the moment. A first win in thirty attempts away from home does not a season make, though a mood it can transform. Burnley are good – but so too are City, and a typically unpredictable Championship fixture awaits.

City have no new injury concerns ahead of the short trip to Lancashire and may start the same XI that won at Norwich, though reports of a bug afflicting the squad could change things later today. Jimmy Bullard’s match fitness has been surprisingly robust since his restoration to the side, and he is expected to feature once again. Burnley will be able to call upon Ross Wallace, who’d recently been out with a hamstring injury.

Also featuring for Burnley could be Dean Marney. He was dropped to the bench for their draw against Bristol C on Saturday, but has made six starts so far for his new club since leaving City during the summer exodus. It’ll be interesting to see how he fares if selected – few could ever doubt his commitment, but the execution was often lacking. Will a change of scenery have helped?

The two wretched defeats to Burnley last season were severe blows as City ultimately failed to avoid relegation. The 2-0 defeat at Turf Moor in October 2009 probably ought to have seen the Phil Brown era ended earlier than it ultimately was, while the 1-4 horror show at the Circle went a very long way towards confirming the Tigers’ demotion.

Indeed, Burnley has been an infamously grim destination for City. To Tiger Nationals of a certain age, the notorious 2-0 win there in 1984 requires no introduction, though one can nonetheless be enjoyed directly below this post. Since then, City have won only once at Turf Moor, when a late Michael Turner header secured a 1-0 win, and was about the time a few certifiably mad people started thinking “y’know, we could just make the play-offs this season”. That game was in midweek too…

The ongoing quest for an away win takes us today to Norwich – an unpromising venue at the best of times owing to its remoteness, and none the better for them being in terrific form. The Canaries are perched fourth in the early Championship table with four wins from their opening seven games. Their return to the second tier has begun impressively, and City can expect a severe test of their brittle mettle at Carrow Road.

The Tigers will be without Folan and Harper, who are both still some way off fitness. Also missing could be Jimmy Bullard and Craig Fagan, who are struggling to shake off minor niggles incurred during last week’s draw against Nottingham Forest. Norwich will be without Michael Nelson and Andrew Surman, and could also be forced to draft in cover for Stephen Smith and Zak Whitbread, though both are expected to be passed fit this afternoon.

City’s epic loss of form on the road needs no introducing here – worse still, the Tigers haven’t won at Carrow Road since the early 1970s. Few will be expecting anything other than a routine home victory and a continuation of our unhappiness outside of East Yorkshire. If there are any reasons to be cheerful, City’s last two games have seen comfortable clean sheets. Surely, surely, things have got to change away from home at some point?