Championship leaders Ipswich Town head to Carrow Road to face Norwich City in the 149th edition of the East Anglian derby. Alex Jones previews the action.
Six to go
The Easter weekend has been and gone. Ipswich were just one of three teams in the entire division, alongside Bristol City and QPR, to take six points from their two games. As a result, they now sit top of the table heading into the final six matches of the season.
That means that promotion to the Premier League is in their hands. If, hypothetically, they were to win all their remaining fixtures, they would finish no lower than second. Leicester City’s game in hand means that they can leapfrog the Blues if they beat Southampton, but Leeds United sit a point behind them having played the same number.
The state of play for this weekend is fascinating. Town will get us underway first before the two other automatic promotion contenders are in action at 3pm. The Foxes, who published alarming financial accounts earlier this week, host Gary Rowett’s Birmingham City, who desperately need points to stay above the relegation zone. Daniel Farke’s men, on the other hand, will head to play-off chasing Coventry City.
Nothing will be decided this weekend, but at some point, we’re going to have to stop saying that. We’re creeping ever closer, and Ipswich are in a fantastic position.
Derby day returns
This could end up as one of the biggest and most important East Anglian derbies in recent history. It doesn’t feel like the build-up and the hype is quite as strong as it was ahead of the last meeting, which finished 2-2 at Portman Road.
We could easily look back on this clash as the one that truly decided both teams’ seasons. Ipswich, of course, are right in the thick of an automatic promotion battle, while Norwich still have a top-six finish in their hands despite starting the campaign in dire form.
Of course, this is about more than the points and the league table. Pride is at stake as well. Town enter as slight favourites, but they haven’t won a derby game since April 2009 and they haven’t taken three points in Norfolk since February 2006.
The Canaries, however, will be desperate to show that the pendulum hasn’t swung away from them in this storied rivalry, even though the gap between the teams indicates that it might’ve already happened.
Canaries continue their climb
Carrow Road wasn’t a happy place on Sunday, November 5th. Gabriel Sara’s stoppage-time strike against Blackburn Rovers was met with sarcastic jeers from the home end. A few seconds later, they were replaced by boos as the whistle was blown for full-time. Norwich lost the game 3-1.
It left them sitting 17th in the table with five wins, two draws and eight defeats from 15 games. It was clear that the supporters wanted David Wagner to leave the club, although majority shareholders Delia Smith and Michael Wynn-Jones were quick to stress that it wasn’t going to happen.
While the manager is seemingly still struggling to win over the fanbase, the upturn in results suggest that it may have been the right decision. Since the turn of the year, they’ve lost just three games in the league. On top of that, they haven’t lost a single home match since the aforementioned defeat to Blackburn.
It means that they now sit sixth in the table, four points above Coventry, who boast a game in hand. They also have the third-best home record in the entire division behind Leeds and Ipswich, which has been crucial in their recent improvement.
No, supporters aren’t convinced by the performances, but nobody expected them to start picking up points like this.
Sargent steps up
Norwich’s improvement can’t be put down to one player, but it’s no coincidence that it started when Josh Sargent returned from injury.
The striker, who bagged two goals and an assist in Norwich’s first five games of the season, was ruled out until the end of December with damaged ankle ligaments. Since his return, he’s scored 11 goals in 16 games.
It’s a pretty remarkable number given that he’s started just 18 games this season. His goals-per-90 ratio of 0.93 is only bettered by Jamie Vardy (0.95), and the pair rank miles ahead of third-place Sammie Szmodics (0.61).
Just like his team, his performances on home soil are much stronger than they are on the road. Per @ncfcnumbers on X, the last time that the United States international played and failed to score in a league game against Carrow Road (vs Hull City on August 5th), the Lionesses were preparing for a last-16 World Cup clash, the Premier League season hadn’t kicked off yet, and Tim Krul and Andrew Omobamidele (now of Luton Town and Nottingham Forest respectively) were in the Canaries’ matchday squad.
On the flipside, Leicester showed how to keep him quiet in their game at the King Power on Monday afternoon. Kieran McKenna has surely taken some notes from that one.
Play the game, not the occasion!
In the build-up to the last meeting between the two sides in December, the outside noise was deafening. Fans were nervous yet excited, preparing plans to welcome the team coach to Portman Road and unfurl a huge banner ahead of kick-off.
Inside the dressing room, that was different. Speaking to the press ahead of the game, both McKenna and captain Sam Morsy looked calm and confident. They simply had a job to do, and while the sentimental side of the derby was important to both of them, they knew they had to put it to one side.
Ipswich weren’t quite at their clinical best in that 2-2 draw, albeit that they created enough chances to win the match, while both of Norwich’s goals were seen as fortuitous given some controversial offside calls.
The Canaries came into the game with little to lose and everything to gain. They were the underdogs who were expected to be beaten. Now, on home soil, that’ll be different. Their fans will be expecting a result, and the reaction won’t be good if they drop deep and try to see out the game. That can play into Ipswich’s hands this time.
Ultimately, the visitors will need to take the emotion out of the game. Given they’re away from home, that might be a little bit easier.
Who could start?
Although we can't be certain, it looks like Kieffer Moore is out of this game. The striker was struggling with 'severe back spasms' in the early stages of the win against Southampton and had to be substituted. As of Thursday's press conference, he hadn't trained.
With that in mind, Ali Al-Hamadi could be in for his first start in Ipswich colours. It'd be a huge pressure on young and fairly inexperienced shoulders, but the confident attacker would surely embrace the challenge.
It'd make sense to keep the rest of the team the same if possible, although McKenna has said that there are a few knocks on top of the illness that's still passing through the camp.
Boyhood Blue Harry Clarke will be desperate to start this one ahead of Axel Tuanzebe, although the former Manchester United man has done a good job at right-back. Elsewhere, Jack Taylor may fancy his chances of replacing Massimo Luongo in the lineup after his impressive cameo against the Saints.
Once again, there are some big calls to be made ahead of this one.
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