Ipswich Town welcome Sheffield Wednesday to Portman Road on Saturday, as the Tractor Boys look to bounce back from their gut-wrenching 2-2 draw with Brentford in Championship Week 1 with three points.
Mick McCarthy’s men conceded two stoppage-time goals at Griffin Park to take a share of the spoils, but showed plenty of grit to dispose of Stevenage in the Capital One Cup in midweek.
Wednesday, meanwhile, kicked off the 2015/16 campaign with an impressive 2-0 victory over Bristol City at Hillsborough, before backing that up with a 4-1 rout of Mansfield on Tuesday night.
Optimism is blissfully high in both camps—understandably so—but something’s got to give at Portman Road.
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Team News
Ipswich Town will be without midfielder Kevin Bru for the visit of the Owls after he suffered a hamstring injury in training on Monday.
The Mauritius international opened the scoring against Brentford last week with a well-taken volley, but will be forced to sit out this time around. Fellow midfielders Teddy Bishop and Luke Hyam will also be sidelined.
Full-back Jonny Parr could be back in action, though, having returned to training on Friday off the back of a thigh problem.
McCarthy is likely to stick with Freddie Sears and Daryl Murphy up front, yet could give David McGoldrick the nod just behind them after he produced an excellent display against Stevenage.
Sheffield Wednesday manager Carlos Carvalhal, meanwhile, has no fresh injury concerns ahead of the trip to Portman Road and could name the same 11 that started against Bristol City.
Jack Hunt and Ross Wallace went down with knocks in that match against the Robins, but both are fully fit to go again against the Tractor Boys.
Former Marseille winger Modou Sougou is likely to play some part for the Owls after an impressive performance in midweek. Carvalhal was quick to sing the 30-year-old’s display, as he kicked off his Wednesday career with a goal—via the club’s official website:
His performance was the big surprise of the last match. He tired a little in the last 10 minutes but he gave an amazing performance. I know the player very well and what qualities he can bring to the team. It was a big surprise how he played and he will only get better. He is ready to help the team.
Wednesday, then, will be brimming with confidence going in to Saturday’s match, although they haven’t had a lot of joy at Portman Road in recent seasons.
Stats
Sheffield Wednesday have lost 2-1 on each of their last two visits to Ipswich.
The Owls have beaten Town just once in their last 12 fixtures—a 3-0 victory at Portman Road in August 2012.
Ipswich and Sheffield Wednesday have faced each other 45 times overall. Each club has won on 17 occasions and there have been 11 draws.
Striker Freddie Sears has scored in four of his last five outings at Portman Road.
Prediction
Both teams will fancy their chances of taking three points, which could result in an open, exciting game.
However, that’s likely to play into Ipswich’s hands, with wingers Ryan Fraser and Ainsley Maitland-Niles reaping havoc on the counter attack.
Another 2-1 scoreline in favour of the hosts would be far from surprising.
