Norwich City to have the last laugh at Ipswich Town? Philippe Clement has Marcelino Nunez 2.0 | OneFootball

Pelle Mattsson has scored three goals in his last three Championship games for the Canaries

It's fair to say there's quite a lot riding on this Saturday's East Anglian derby between Norwich City and Ipswich Town.

As pointed out by BBC Final Score reporter Marc Webber, the Canaries are second in the Championship's form table - whereas the Tractor Boys are second in the actual table.

Given the fact that Norwich are six points outside the playoff places with five games to go, Philippe Clement's side still have a chance at promotion, whereas Ipswich will, of course, be wanting to stay in the automatic spots.

One player who will undoubtedly be so important for the Norfolk outfit on Saturday is Pelle Mattson - the Danish midfielder who was signed on the same day a certain Chilean moved to Suffolk - namely Marcelino Nunez.

Marcelino Nunez's Ipswich Town antics that angered Norwich City fans

After featuring in three early-season games for the Canaries, Nunez sealed a controversial switch to bitter rivals Ipswich, for a reported fee of £10m.

As per Capology estimates, Nunez earns £22.5k-per-week in Suffolk - an estimated £7.5k-per-week more than what he earned at Norwich.

There’s still no denying that the 26-year-old's departure came as a shock, yet he wasted no time in riling up his old supporters once he moved to Portman Road. As shown in the announcement video, Nunez tapped the Town badge and winked at the camera.

Nunez also mentioned how he loves the colour blue in his first interview with TownTV, which was seen as another dig at Norwich, despite adding the fact it was the same colour as the shirt he wore at Universidad Catolica, his first professional club.

Since making the transfer, the combative South American has managed 31 appearances for Ipswich. 21 of these have been starts, and he has also scored three goals and provided eight assists.

His Norwich City replacement, Pelle Mattsson, was brought in for a reported fee of £2.7m with £300k in add-ons from Superliga side Silkeborg. Capology notes Mattsson is estimated to be earning £10k-per-week.

Whilst Mattsson's own 25/26 attacking stats aren't as prolific as Nunez's, the Dane is certainly coming into his own of late...

Philippe Clement has Marcelino Nunez 2.0 with Pelle Mattsson at Norwich City

What was once a gutting loss now looks like shrewd business, as Mattsson has emerged as a goalscoring threat from defensive midfield in Norwich's last three Championship outings.

He notched an equaliser in their dramatic comeback victory over Millwall at The Den on Easter Monday, paving the way for Oscar Schwartau's winner in a 2-1 triumph.

Post-match, Mattsson took to Instagram to hail the team's resilience, posting, "Lovely day in London! Brilliant team performance today. Can’t wait for Saturday!"

But, aside from his recent goals and excitement for Saturday, Mattsson has also stepped up defensively, with 150 defensive contributions for Norwich in the league so far, as per FotMob data.

FotMob also shows how Mattsson has won 187 duels in the Championship as well - which is more than the vast majority of other defensive midfielders in the league.

Clearly, Mattsson's timely hot streak could give Norwich the edge to silence Nunez's earlier antics and exact revenge against Ipswich - all in front of their home crowd.

If the Dane continues his form, the Canaries might well turn the tables on their rivals and claim the final say in this transfer saga - well at least for this season anyway!

After the Millwall game, Mattson's performance opened up discussion between Canaries fans on social media who debated whether signing him was an upgrade on Nunez.