Ipswich Town take on Brentford, at the Gtech Community Stadium, in a Premier League clash this afternoon (3pm). Stuart Watson previews the action....
WE MEET AGAIN
This will be the first time these two clubs have ever met in the top-flight of English football.
It’s also Town’s first time playing at the Gtech Community Stadium, the Bees having moved into their new 17,250 capacity home in 2020. This new(ish) ground, like West Ham and Tottenham, will be one that many supporters will want to tick off.
There were some memorable clashes between Ipswich and Brentford during a five-year battle in the Championship (2014-2019), with plenty of drama coming in West London.
A 4-2 win at Griffin Park on Boxing Day 2014 momentarily lifted Mick McCarthy’s men to the top of the second-tier table. Daryl Murphy’s red-hot form continued with a brace that day, with Tommy Smith producing the coolest of finishes for the fourth. Both teams went on to lose in the play-off semi-finals.
On the opening day of the following campaign, Kevin Bru’s scissor kick goal helped put the Blues 2-0 ahead only for the hosts to score twice in stoppage-time (Andre Gray and James Tarkowski) and snatch a draw.
From there, Brentford, utilising owner Matthew Benham’s smart data model, continued to build. Ipswich, meanwhile, stagnated as Marcus Evans sat back and hoped McCarthy could work miracles on a shoestring budget.
In April 2018, Town lost 1-0 at Griffin Park. The mood in the stacked two-tier away end was toxic. “I got asked to leave via the back door because there were people with bottles and beer waiting to throw them at me,” said McCarthy. Three days later he dramatically quit following a 1-0 home win against Barnsley.
Ipswich, historically a first/second-tier club, dropped to League One the following season. Brentford, historically a fourth/third-tier club, were promoted to the Premier League in 2020/21. Today will be only the 15th time the two clubs have met as league peers.
REACTION TIME
The mood was buoyant after Town’s entertaining 2-2 home draw against Champions League outfit Aston Villa in late September.
‘Keep playing that and Ipswich will be fine,’ was the general consensus from those looking in from the outside. At that stage it was four games unbeaten (all draws).
Nervy, error-strewn defeats to West Ham (4-1 away) and Everton (2-0 at home) followed either side of an international break though.
Jacob Greaves and Axel Tuanzebe, the team’s two most in-form defenders, have picked up medium-term injuries. It’s been a sobering reminder of the gargantuan challenge that Ipswich, 22 years removed from the big time, face in trying to stay up this season.
“I think it’s fair to say that last weekend was our most disappointing result and performance of the season,” admitted Kieran McKenna.
“But we know these set-backs were going to come over the course of the season. The response has been good this week and we go on to the next game.”
Town, as they did so expertly last season, will need to summon their 'running towards adversity' underdog spirit once more.
THE DROP ZONE
Despite having failed to register a win in the opening eight Premier League games, Town remain outside of the relegation zone.
That’s because, for the first time in top-flight history, four teams have reached this point without a victory to their name (Crystal Palace, Southampton and Wolves the others).
Will the Blues still have their head above water after this weekend?
The bookies have Brentford as odds-on favourites (7/10) to win this game. Thomas Frank’s men have taken 10 points from a possible 12 on home soil this season, beating Crystal Palace, Southampton and Wolves (the bottom three) and drawing against West Ham. Town, by contrast, have struggled on the road, grinding out draws at Brighton and Southampton, while losing heavily at Man City and West Ham.
Elsewhere today, Southampton are at Man City, while Wolves are at Brighton. Palace host Tottenham tomorrow afternoon.
BEES IN BRIEF
Brentford were promoted from League One in 2013/14 and from the Championship in 2020/21. This is their fourth consecutive season at Premier League level following finishes of 13th, ninth and 16th.
Long-serving manager Thomas Frank (who’s getting talked about as a potential Erik ten Hag replacement at Manchester United) has sold stars along the way – Neil Maupay, Ollie Watkins and, most recently, Ivan Toney to name just three – but always been able to smartly replace them.
Versatile forward Bryan Mbeumo already has six goals to his name this season, while fellow dangerman Yoane Wissa (three goals from four starts) could return to the starting XI today having made his injury comeback off the bench last weekend.
A land of the giants backline – Sepp van den Berg, Nathan Collins, Ethan Pinnock and Kristoffer Ajar are all 6ft 4in or taller - makes the Bees strong at set-pieces.
Remarkably, Frank’s men scored inside the opening two minutes for four games in a row recently.
Alex Jones has taken a closer look at all the above and more in his ‘Meet the Opposition’ piece.
SELECTION DEBATE
There’s a growing debate about whether McKenna needs to mix it up in terms of personnel and/or tactics.
Is it time for a more pragmatic approach, on the road especially? Jack Taylor, who has produced some lively cameo appearances for club and country, could replace one of the No.10s with the system resembling more 4-3-3 than 4-2-3-1. Napoli loanee Jens Cajuste, only just back from a knee injury, is another option in that regard too.
Personally, I can’t see the Blues boss moving away from his base principles. The poor goals conceded have been due to individual mistakes rather than team structure.
Is it time to put Omari Hutchinson back out on the wing? The Premier League is an unforgiving environment to learn how to play on the half turn in congested areas. I can see the argument around letting him get back to just taking people on one-v-one. That could open the door for Sammie Szmodics or Conor Chaplin.
And does McKenna stick with the same back four as last weekend – Dara O’Shea, Luke Woolfenden, Cameron Burgess and Leif Davis – or move O’Shea back to his favoured centre-back role and select a natural right-back in Harry Clarke?
Tuanzebe (thumb), Greaves (hamstring), Ben Johnson (thigh) and Massimo Luongo (unstated) all remain sidelined. McKenna says there are other players that will face late fitness tests.
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