Hughton looking for a response from Norwich

They put in a disappointing performance in going down 4-2 at Southampton last time out, and Hughton is expecting his side to bounce back at Carrow Road in a crucial encounter with Sunderland.

Gus Poyet's men lie three places and four points below Norwich in the table, but with three games in hand, so Hughton knows a maximum return on Saturday could prove crucial.

"We need to be better," he told the club's official website.

"We're at home, and our record at home has certainly been good of late. 

"We haven't conceded many goals at home and we've got to be positive enough to make sure we can score the goals we need to win.

"It's a real opportunity to bounce back and generally with this team the reaction to a bad performance has generally been good.

"It's a big game for us, particularly with the season coming to that last eight games. We need to make sure we're picking up the points that we need and that has to start with the next game.

"Generally the performances and results have been good at home and we'll need that but it's really about a response to last week. It's a game that we want and need to win."