A crucial match in the fight at the top end of the League One table will take place at Portman Road on Saturday, as Ipswich Town entertain league leaders Sheffield Wednesday.
The visitors leapfrogged Plymouth Argyle with a victory in their top-of-the-table clash last weekend at Hillsborough, while the gap between the hosts and the top two was stretched to six points after they only drew with Cambridge United in their last league outing.
Match preview
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After maintaining a spot in the top two of the League One table for the first half of the season, picking up 48 points from their opening 23 outings, Ipswich Town now find themselves in a concerning run of form which has seen them fall behind in the fight for automatic promotion.
Since their final game of last calendar year, Kieran McKenna's side have put just one more victory and seven more points on the board in six third-tier outings, firstly playing out consecutive draws with Portsmouth and Lincoln City to drop behind Saturday's opponents before being pegged back in the dying minutes of an important clash with Plymouth to see the game finish 1-1.
Following that run of draws, the Tractor Boys then met Oxford United and suffered a harmful defeat as Cameron Brannagan netted the decisive goal seven minutes from time, seeing the Suffolk outfit drop further behind the new top two, before they bounced back in style with a 4-0 thrashing of Morecambe thanks to first-half braces from Freddie Ladapo and Conor Chaplin.
Aiming to build on that result and gain ground back on the Owls and Plymouth, McKenna's side made the short trip to take on Cambridge United in their last league outing last weekend, but they again had to settle for a point after Ladapo drew them level in the second half, seeing the gap to the top two stretched to six points as a result.
Now on the back of a commendable effort away at Championship leaders Burnley in their FA Cup fourth-round replay, in which they narrowly lost 2-1 following an injury-time goal from Nathan Tella after George Hirst drew them level early in the contest, the Tractor Boys will turn all their focus back to the fight for a top-two finish in League One and will see it as imperative that they triumph on home turf at the weekend to cut the gap between themselves and the visitors back to three points.
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Darren Moore's side will travel to Suffolk with the aim of further strengthening their claim for a rise to the Championship, having recently put themselves in pole position with an eye-catching run of form.
Now standing out as the league's form team, Sheffield Wednesday find themselves in the midst of a 16-match unbeaten run in the third tier, having only suffered three league defeats all campaign thus far, and they now head into the weekend on the back of six successive three-point hauls since Christmas.
Victories over Fleetwood Town, Port Vale and Cambridge United saw them finally break into the top two ahead of Saturday's hosts, and Moore's men further improved their position with 1-0 wins away at Wycombe Wanderers and in the reverse fixture against Fleetwood, before taking on Plymouth on home turf last weekend in their bid to move to the summit of the division.
Callum Paterson gave the Owls a crucial early lead in that contest, and they stood strong to see out the 1-0 victory and leapfrog the Pilgrims to move top on goal difference and six points ahead of Ipswich with a game in hand on both sides chasing their spot.
Now also on the back of an FA Cup fourth-round replay defeat, as they again met Fleetwood Town and lost 1-0 away from home on Tuesday after a 1-1 draw at home, Sheffield Wednesday will have all their focus on the automatic promotion fight, with the chance to go even further clear of the chasing pack while keeping a game in hand if they are able to make it seven league victories on the bounce on Saturday.
Team News
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Kieran McKenna should again line his Ipswich side up in a 3-4-3 setup, with plenty of depth all over the pitch, and Freddie Ladapo and Conor Chaplin will likely play starring roles in attack, having netted 10 and 12 league goals respectively so far this season.
January signings George Hirst and Nathan Broadhead will battle with the likes of Marcus Harness and Kayden Jackson to join the key men up front, while Leif Davis and Wes Burns should continue to offer further attacking support from wing-back roles.
Sam Morsy and Lee Evans will likely continue to partner up in the engine room, with Luke Woolfenden expected to keep his place in the middle of a back three alongside new arrival Harry Clarke and either Richard Keogh, George Edmundson or Janoi Donacien.
Sheffield Wednesday rotated heavily for the trip to Fleetwood on Tuesday, and we should see Darren Moore revert to his strongest lineup at the weekend, with George Byers and talismanic captain Barry Bannan both set to feature in midfield after returning from injuries recently.
Defenders Ben Heneghan and Michael Ihiekwe do remain sidelined by injuries, but Aden Flint arrived to bolster their ranks in January and should again feature in the middle of the back line after impressing against Plymouth.
Callum Paterson could keep his place up front after netting the decisive goal in that game, although Michael Smith and Josh Windass are also fighting to maintain starting spots if Moore switches to a more cautious shape for the trip to Suffolk.
Ipswich Town possible starting lineup:
Walton; Clarke, Woolfenden, Edmundson; Burns, Morsy, Evans, Davis; Broadhead, Ladapo, Chaplin
Sheffield Wednesday possible starting lineup:
Dawson; Iorfa, Flint, Famewo; Palmer, Bannan, Byers, Vaulks, Johnson; Paterson, Windass
We say: Ipswich Town 1-2 Sheffield Wednesday
While Ipswich have home advantage and are in desperate need of a result to avoid falling away from the top-two fight, they are lacking form while the Owls are full of confidence and momentum, and we see the leaders triumphing at Portman Road as a result.
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Top tip
Sam Varley
