Tractor Boys again

If you had told an Ipswich fan that they could win just one of the last four games then I'm sure it wouldn't have mattered which Ipswich fan you asked, the answer would have been the same. It had to be the Anglia derby against Norwich, played at Ipswich just a couple of weeks ago.

They fell behind to a Luke Chadwick goal but were level by half time when Sylvain Legwinski struck. In the second half substitute Danny Haynes struck twice to give them a well deserved win that took them to thirteenth in the table.

Since then have come the Barnsley and Derby defeats away, both like the defeat at Burnley with stoppage time goals and they've slipped back to sixteenth, eleven places below us and with ten fewer points.

Click HERE to see all Ipswich's results this season.

This is another fixture where we have had a long wait for a win, it is thirty seven seasons now since Frank Casper scored the only goal of the game in a First Division fixture. As was the case with Leeds in midweek it is time that long run was brought to an end.

The Ipswich team has often been hit by suspensions recently, no surprise given that they have picked up far more yellow cards than any other club. They have reached 61 yellows now and that has already led to Alex Bruce serving a suspension with him now just one card away from a second suspension for ten bookings.

Sylvain Legwinski returns to the side tomorrow after missing the game at Derby with a ban, and Alan Lee will serve his one match ban in a week's time. Tomorrow though they will be without Dan Harding, who collected his fifth yellow card last Saturday, and Simon Walton who was sent off at Derby.

The good news for Ipswich is that midfielder Owen Garvan has played in the last two games after missing all of the season prior to that with shingles and post virus syndrome, they also have Fabian Wilnis back after recovering from a hamstring injury. Jim Magilton has named a squad of nineteen for the game and I would expect them to line up as follows.

Lewis Price, Alex Bruce, Richard Naylor, Jason De Vos, Fabian Wilnis, Gary Roberts, Owen Garvan, Sylvain Legwinski, Matt Richards, Alan Lee, Billy Clarke. Subs from: Shane Supple, Danny Haynes, Jonathan Macken, Gavin Williams, Louis Castro Sito, Jaime Peters, Scott Barron, Chris Casement.

Click HERE to see the full Ipswich squad.

Steve Cotterill will have to make do without striker and leading scorer Andy Gray for the next two months following confirmation today of his injury, and he's already indicated that it will be a straight swap with Kyle Lafferty being given the opportunity to stake a claim for a regular place in the side during Gray's absence.

I would think that might be the only change from the side that beat Leeds on Tuesday night, with captain Wayne Thomas continuing at right back. If that's the case, expect us the Burnley team to be:

Danny Coyne, Wayne Thomas, Michael Duff, John McGreal, Jon Harley, Wade Elliott, James O'Connor, Micah Hyde, Steve Jones, Gifton Noel-Williams, Kyle Lafferty. Subs from: Brian Jensen, Stephen Foster, Frank Sinclair, Chris McCann, Alan Mahon, Garreth O'Connor, John Spicer.

It was in February of this year that we last visited Portman Road and a game we lost 2-1 to start a run of six successive defeats. It was an unfair defeat, and one that owed much to a bad decision by referee Darren Deadman.

We led by a Michael Ricketts goal in the first half but two Ipswich goals in the second half turned the game against us. The first came after a clear foul on Jon Harley by scorer Alan Lee went undetected, and the second was a ridiculous penalty award by Deadman against Michael Duff when the former Clarets' striker shall we say went down very easily.

That led to Wayne Thomas having a word and being sent off, claiming Deadman had got that wrong as well, but Matt Richards, who had scored the stoppage time equaliser against us there in the previous season, converted the penalty seven minutes from time to ensure Ipswich got the points.

The teams were;

Ipswich: Shane Supple, Fabian Wilnis, Jason De Vos, Richard Naylor, Scott Barron, Ian Westlake (Louis Castro Sito 45), Jimmy Juan, Owen Garvan, Matt Richards, Alan Lee, Darren Currie. Subs not used: Lewis Price, Jim Magilton, Jaime Peters, Dean McDonald.

Burnley: Brian Jensen, Michael Duff, Wayne Thomas, John McGreal, Jon Harley, John Spicer (Wade Elliott 89), Micah Hyde, James O'Connor, Graham Branch (Chris McCann 67), Gifton Noel-Williams (Duane Courtney 83), Michael Ricketts. Subs not used: Garreth O'Connor, Danny Karbassiyoon.