Ipswich Town return to Championship action with a trip to play-off chasing Hull City this evening (8pm). Alex Jones previews the action.
We’re back!
Ipswich haven’t played in two whole weeks, with their trip to Coventry City postponed due to the Sky Blues’ FA Cup semi-final against Manchester United.
It’s been an ideal time to have such a break, given that the players were dead on their feet after putting in a superb performance against Middlesbrough last time out to earn a 1-1 draw. At that point, they’d played five games in 15 games.
They’ve had time to rest and relax, with the spotlight switching to the other teams in the promotion race. Leicester City beat West Brom before thrashing Southampton while Leeds United won 4-3 at Boro falling to a shock 4-0 defeat at QPR last night.
Ipswich know what they need to do now. Their fate is still in their hands with three games to go. Five points will be enough to take them to the Premier League.
The final three
Town are in an interesting position now the finish line is in sight.
They’ve spent the whole season taking it one game at a time, but that’s going to become increasingly difficult when there’s a three-game block separating them from the final day of the season and knowing whether they’ve done enough to earn a spot in the Premier League.
After tonight’s game, they’ll travel to a threadbare Coventry side who’ve run themselves into the ground to balance their play-off push with their FA Cup run, although they’ve clearly got the quality to test even the best sides in the division, as shown at Wembley last weekend.
Kieran McKenna’s side then host Huddersfield Town on the final day of the season, although the Terriers could already be relegated by that point.
Ipswich can only focus on one game at a time, but the short turnaround between the games could make that slightly harder.
A crucial showdown
Many teams have nothing to play for at this stage of the season, leading to dead-rubber games that nobody really cares about. This certainly isn’t one of those - it’s a must-win for both sides.
The permutations for Ipswich are crystal clear, but Hull’s situation is a bit trickier. The Tigers still have eyes on a top-six finish, but they’ll realistically need to take maximum points from their final two games against Town and Plymouth Argyle.
If West Brom or Norwich City slip up, they’ll want to be there to pounce and pick up the pieces. Given that they’re unbeaten in five, having scored 11 goals in that time, they’ll be confident that they can do it, too.
Manager Liam Rosenior will need his key attackers to step up - the likes of Fabio Carvalho (nine goals, one assist) and Jaden Philogene (12 goals, six assists) in particular. It’s more likely to be an open, end-to-end gunfight than a narrow, cagey chess match.
A big boost
The Blues probably needed some good news to raise morale ahead of the biggest week of their season, and McKenna delivered in his pre-match press conference.
George Hirst and Wes Burns both suffered hamstring injuries this season. The former has been out since Boxing Day while the latter has been sidelined for the last month, but they’ve both trained in the two-week break and are set to travel to Hull for tonight’s game.
There’s little to no chance that either of them will be listed in the starting lineup at 7pm this evening, but it sounds like they could be named as substitutes. Even if they only get 10 or 20 minutes off the bench, they could both make the difference against tired legs late on.
This isn’t just about tonight, but also about Coventry and Huddersfield. Ipswich have some serious options at their disposal.
Any changes?
McKenna switched things up against Watford and Middlesbrough, which was the right thing to do, but there are some key areas up for debate following the 1-1 draw against Michael Carrick’s men.
At the back, Leif Davis, Cameron Burgess and Luke Woolfenden are all likely to start, although George Edmundson was used to combat Liam Delap in the reverse fixture at Portman Road, so there’s a chance we see that tactic being used again.
Axel Tuanzebe could keep his place at right-back over Harry Clarke. The former Manchester United man will be tasked with defending against one of the strongest left flanks in the division, and his ability in one-on-one situations could be crucial.
Sam Morsy and Massimo Luongo will surely start in midfield, leaving us with the forward line. Omari Hutchinson and Conor Chaplin should both remain in the lineup, but Nathan Broadhead seems the likely option to come in for Jeremy Sarmiento on the left, while Kieffer Moore should be ready to replace Ali Al-Hamadi up front.
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