Ipswich Town head into the home stretch of their Championship promotion run-in, starting with a clash against Watford at Portman Road. Alex Jones previews the action.
Waking up from a nightmare
Town fans and players may have woken up in a panic on Sunday morning – but no, it wasn’t a bad dream. The 1-0 defeat at in the East Anglian derby did happen, and it was every bit as disappointing as it felt on the day.
We don’t need to go over the game again. The Blues were poor, they never got going and were deservedly beaten by a Norwich City side who now sit in the driving seat for the final top-six spot.
To avoid meeting them in the play-offs, Ipswich need to ensure that they seal automatic promotion to the Premier League. That means that they’ll need to brush off any lingering emotions from that game and learn from what went wrong. A top-two finish is still in their hands.
Kieran McKenna’s side are good at showing resilience and bouncing back from defeat, but this will be far tougher than any other so far this season. It’s a real test for every member of the squad.
The state of play
Leicester City and Leeds United were both in action last night, losing to Millwall and drawing Sunderland respectively. That presents Ipswich with an incredible opportunity – not only do they get an extra day to rest, but they also know that they’ll return to the top of the Championship table with a win this evening.
After this, Town and Leeds will both have four games left to play. The former will host Middlesbrough at 3pm on Saturday and the latter will face Blackburn Rovers at Elland Road in a 12:30 kick-off on the same day.
Leicester have a game in hand, which is against Southampton, so they have five matches remaining. They’re next in action on Friday night as they head to Plymouth Argyle for an 8pm kick-off.
The fixtures keep coming thick and fast, but Ipswich get a two-week break due to Coventry City’s FA Cup semi-final tie against Manchester United. We'll have to see if that has a positive or a negative impact on their final week.
There aren’t too many points to play for now. The Blues have their fate in their own hands, and while the focus will be on Watford, they’ll have to keep an eye on what’s to come in the final weeks of the campaign.
Watford fizzle out
Watford’s season is done. Their goalless draw against Preston North End coupled with Norwich’s win in the derby means that they mathematically cannot secure a top-six finish. At the same time, they sit nine points and eight places above the relegation zone, meaning that another campaign in the Championship will soon be confirmed.
There were some signs earlier in the season the season that they could push towards the upper end of the table. Heading into the reverse fixture, which Ipswich won 2-1 at Vicarage Road back in December, the Hornets had lost just one of their previous 10 games, winning five and drawing four. Even after that match, they went on to thrash Preston 5-1 at Deepdale and beat Blackburn Rovers 2-1 at Ewood Park.
It all came unstuck after that. A 1-0 defeat at home to Cardiff City on February 3rd kickstarted a poor run of eight league games where they picked up just four points – their only win coming away at rock-bottom Rotherham United.
Valerien Ismael was sacked after a 2-1 loss to Coventry City, and everyone saw it coming. His high-press and extremely direct style was nowhere to be seen during the latter stages of his reign in Hertfordshire, and the results deteriorated as a result. Who’d become the latest manager to take over, knowing exactly what owner Gino Pozzo is like when it comes to hiring and firing managers?
Step up, Tom Cleverley – at least on an interim basis until the end of the season.
A United crossover
Most fans will remember Cleverley for his stint at Manchester United, where he made 79 appearances between 2008 and 2015. In that time, he had stints at Leicester, Watford, Wigan Athletic and Aston Villa before moving to Everton on a permanent deal after that.
The last six years of his playing career were spent at Vicarage Road, where he played 146 times in all competitions before retiring in July 2023. He took up a position in the club’s academy, coaching the under-18’s, but less than a year on, he finds himself in charge of the first team.
Cleverley never crossed paths with ex-Man United assistant manager McKenna. The former left before the latter moved to Old Trafford in 2016. In an ironic twist, the Blues will have their fate decided by three former Red Devils, with games against Michael Carrick’s Middlesbrough and Mark Robins’ Coventry on the horizon.
The Hornets have certainly shown an improvement since Cleverley came in, beating Birmingham City before taking points off Leeds, West Brom and Preston. With a new five-at-the-back system, they look stronger defensively and much slicker playing through the thirds. There’s no doubt they’ll be a real threat.
Who could start?
Ipswich could really do with making some changes. The three games since the end of the international break have drained them a bit, as have the injuries and illness in the camp. This could be a good opportunity to bring some different players into the side.
In defence, Axel Tuanzebe has been a regular for the last few weeks, but this is his first run of regular football in years. Harry Clarke could come in to give him a bit of a break. Elsewhere, Leif Davis looked a bit below par against Norwich, which isn’t a surprise since he’s been pretty ill in the build-up to the Easter weekend, but it’s hard to replace someone as influential as he is.
Ahead of them, Jack Taylor could come in for his first start since January, especially given that Massimo Luongo has been running on empty. Nathan Broadhead and Omari Hutchinson both looked a little flat in the derby defeat, which could open the door for the likes of Marcus Harness and Jeremy Sarmiento.
Finally, Kieffer Moore battled through a back injury to start in Norfolk. He deserves huge credit for doing so, but he’d surely benefit from a week off to recover. Ali Al-Hamadi will be desperate to get his first start in an Ipswich shirt, and it feels like a suitable game for him to do so.
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