Ben Johnson has more Premier League experience than most of Ipswich Town’s squad, so he certainly won’t be daunted by tomorrow’s trip to Manchester City.

The defender actually made his Premier League debut at the Etihad Stadium, starting at left-back for West Ham in a game where he was tasked with marking Riyad Mahrez.

“We had injuries and it was a position that, being at left-back, I’d never played before,” he recalled.

“It was my first time playing left-back, my first time playing against what I believe was the best City team – I know they won the treble a couple of years ago, but that was the best team I believe they’ve had.

“It was a test for me as a young man and I believe I stood up to the test. It was a great experience and I believe that’s really helped me in my development, to be able to play against the best and want to play against the best.

“I do feel that you can only test yourself against the best players in the world, to not want to shy away from that and do the best you can, to actually excel in those difficult moments.

“It’s going to be another hard test for the boys on Saturday, but it’s going to help us so much this season to play the two best teams in the league so early on, to learn so much from it and take that into our Premier League journey. I feel like that’s going to help us.”

Town’s 2-0 defeat to Liverpool should give them some confidence heading into their first away game of the season. While the result wasn’t what they’d hoped for, they stood toe-to-toe with the Reds and were arguably the better team in the first half.

Johnson made his Premier League debut for West Ham away at Manchester CityJohnson made his Premier League debut for West Ham away at Manchester City (Image: PA)

“It was good that we played Liverpool last week, so they’ve had that exposure to play against arguably the best team in the world,” he explained. “We’re playing them [Man City] away, so it’s going to be a bit different.

“I feel like, last week to this week, we’ve definitely learned a lot. I believe we’ll be able to make strides this week in preparation for Saturday.

“Man City are a brilliant team, you know they are, everyone knows how good they are. It’s about going up there and trying to do as best we can – not being sitting ducks and actually be aggressive, be on the front foot and try to take the game to them.

“They’ve played against teams that are maybe very defensive, and of course, you have to be defensively-minded there, but with the idea to attack and actually test their midfield, their back line.

“It’s going to be a great test for the boys at Man City and it’s going to be hard, of course, but every game in the Premier League is difficult and brings different challenges. This one, so early in the season, is a good opportunity for us.”

One huge task for Johnson - should he start - and the rest of the back line will be to stop Erling Haaland, who’s scored 64 goals in just 67 Premier League games since arriving from Borussia Dortmund in 2022.

The 24-year-old isn’t intimidated by the prospect of facing the Norwegian international, but knows that his side will have to be at their best to keep him quiet for 90 minutes.

“There’s so much media around players,” he argued. “I know Haaland is the best striker in the world, isn’t he? But he’s just a centre forward.

Erling Haaland is set to line up against Town for the first time in his careerErling Haaland is set to line up against Town for the first time in his career (Image: PA)

“He’s someone that we want to defend against as well as we can. We know he’s got so many qualities. Of course, his goalscoring is the one that he’s best at, but he’s got so many other brilliant attributes which so many teams have tried to stop for the last couple of seasons. It’s proved tricky.

“We’re going to go there and do the best we can. Everyone knows that we do analysis on players and on previous games. We’re going to try and use a game plan that works – hopefully it does – but of course, they’re world-class players.

“You just need to make sure that you’re always alert, making sure you’re always on the ball. I think that’s the difference.

“When you go to Man City, there are times that they could win 5-0 or they could outplay you, but there’s so many games where they win 1-0 and it’s maybe not the best goal. It’s a goal that they’ve probably practiced on the training ground or scored so many times, but it’s a 1-0, it’s three points for them and it’s forgotten about.

“That psychology is important. Just staying alert all the time, making sure we defend well, defend strong, go there and take the game to them.”