Ipswich v Peterborough: Posh boss Darren Ferguson has called on his side to start beating their fellow strugglers to have any chance of staying in the Championship.

Bottom club Peterborough travel to 22nd-place Ipswich Town tomorrow with both clubs knowing a win could take them out of the relegation zone – while a defeat could leave them propping up the rest of the league come Saturday night.

Goals could also be on the menu when the leakiest defence in the Football League, Ipswich, come up against a side who have not had a goalless draw in an incredible 152 games – ironically Peterborough’s last 0-0 was against Town in December 2009.

It is the mini-league at the bottom that Ferguson is targeting after his side have lost six of the seven matches against the current bottom 10.

He told the Peterborough Telegraph: “Losing to teams like Blackburn isn’t going to affect our position too much, but the games against the teams around us in the table are huge.

“We’ve already lost to the likes of Bristol City and Sheffield Wednesday and those results hurt us so the importance of the game against Ipswich is smacking us all in the face.”

Ferguson admits he has been perplexed by how Ipswich can follow a decent win over Burnley with a 6-0 thumping by Leicester last Saturday.

He added: “We’ve watched both matches because the performances were so different. It was like seeing two different sides and first and foremost we have to be wary of the sort of backlash that can happen after a team has suffered a big defeat.

“We will go there looking for a win, but we know it’s going to be a tough game. Mick McCarthy is an excellent, vastly-experienced manager whose sides are always well organised and touch to beat.

“The incentives for us are obvious though. If we win we go above them and there is also a chance that three points will take us out of the bottom three.”

Loan signing George Thorne is likely to make his debut in central midfield while fellow new-boy, Dwight Gayle, should be on the bench as Ferguson considers whether to resort back to three central defenders.