We go again
Looking ahead to a run of four games against sides in the bottom third of the table, we wanted Ipswich Town to hit a maximum.
Nine points have been taken from the matches with Forest Green, MK Dons and Burton. Accrington must now be disposed of to complete the dozen.
Will it be easy? No, of course it won’t be. But Ipswich have shown some promising signs across this three-game winning run which leave us believing Kieran McKenna’s men shouldn’t be stopped by Stanley.
The weekend victory over Burton is a reminder of the challenges League One opponents can throw up, though, with the Brewers starting strongly and causing Ipswich trouble before doing so again in the second half. Even at 3-0 down, the men from the Pirelli Stadium continued to throw balls into the box, which Ipswich dealt with manfully.
Speaking after the game, manager McKenna insisted the clean sheet (a fourth in a row) was the most pleasing aspect of a game which saw four good goals scored during a clinical display.
Such is Ipswich’s firepower, if a fifth clean sheet can be kept it will surely lead to another victory.
A big week
Full Ipswich focus is on tonight’s game with Accrington, but it’s impossible to completely ignore the looming challenge of Saturday’s visit to fourth-placed Bolton Wanderers.
After tonight, Town’s season takes a turn as they face five members of the current top eight in succession, starting with the Trotters.
A significant points haul will be needed if they are to reel in Plymouth, who sit five points clear of Town in second.
The Pilgrims, though, face challenges of their own as they host Derby (5th) tonight before going to Barnsley (6th) on Saturday.
After that, they only have one more game against a top half side (Shrewsbury) in their final 10 matches.
It’s going to be a big week.
The opponents
There was a time when the mere mention of ‘Accrington’ might give some Ipswich Town fans the shivers.
That’s because three of Town’s first four visits to the Wham Stadium, beginning in the FA Cup in 2019, ended in miserable defeats, each of which went some way towards highlighting just how low an ebb the club was in at that time.
It’s been a completely different story at Portman Road, though, with Ipswich winning all three meetings by an aggregate score of eight to two.
John Coleman is still at the helm but this is a different Accrington, now without the likes of Colby Bishop, Harry Pell, Ross Sykes, Dion Charles or Matt Butcher. They are battling relegation now and will no doubt come to Suffolk looking to keep things tight.
Patience will be required.
Speaking ahead of this game, Town boss McKenna said: “They are always a tough team to play against. They always have a spirit and resilience about them and they always make it difficult for the opposition.
“We felt that last year at Portman Road when they got an early goal but we managed to win a tight one (2-1) in the end. We felt it this season, too, because we had to work hard to break them down and it took two late goals to get the win.
“We don’t expect anything to come easy, nothing will be given to use and we’ll have to go and earn it with our attitude by doing the basic things well and then performing on the ball to break them down.”
Missing man
There are a few pantomime villains when it comes to Ipswich games with Accrington.
One of them, owner Andy Holt, will no doubt be in the directors box. He’s regularly cited clubs like Ipswich as examples of inequality when it comes to financial distribution within League One, while also pushing for Ipswich skipper Sam Morsy to be suspended as a result of an incident during last season’s meeting at Portman Road.
The captain was eventually banned for four matches after being charged retrospectively for an incident involving Stanley midfielder Ethan Hamilton. The Accrington man is out injured tonight and won’t be playing.
Morsy, of course, is one yellow card away from a two-match ban this season. He has three more games to get through before the amnesty.
Selection section
Leif Davis limped out of the victory over Burton and it’s unclear whether or not he will be good to go this evening.
If he isn’t, Greg Leigh is the natural replacement there, though McKenna could also opt to switch Harry Clarke to the left flank and bring in Janoi Donacien on the right, which is how the Burton game finished.
Are Massimo Luongo and Nathan Broadhead going to be able to play a second game in quick succession, given the need to manage their fitness has been publicly discussed? If they aren’t, Cameron Humphreys and Marcus Harness are able deputies.
Could McKenna switch his strikers again, bringing in George Hirst for Saturday scorer Freddie Ladapo?
We’ll find out the answer to all of these questions at 6.45pm.
Prediction
Ipswich are on a roll and I expect that to continue.
3-0 Town.
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