Ipswich Town host Southend United in their final warm-up game tonight (7pm). STUART WATSON previews the action.
WHY SO LATE?
It's very unusual to play a friendly fixtures so close to the big kick-off.
So why have Ipswich Town squeezed this match in before Saturday's League One opener against Bolton Wanderers?
“It’s very important to get the minutes up for the players,” explained manager Kieran McKenna.
“We wanted to give certain players a lot of minutes at Millwall (1-1 draw last weekend) but we also want to make sure, going into next Saturday, that as many players as possible are 90-minutes ready.
“If there are any injuries or anything happens during the week, we don’t want any of them coming into the Bolton game undercooked.
“It's a good chance for the new players that haven’t played at Portman Road very often to get familiar with the surroundings.
WHO WILL PLAY?
Town's starting XI at The Den on Saturday was Christian Walton, Janoi Donacien, Luke Woolfenden, George Edmundson, Wes Burns, Lee Evans, Sam Morsy, Matt Penney, Conor Chaplin, Marcus Harness and Freddie Ladapo.
McKenna says it's unlikely that any of them will start tonight.
It will still be a side packed with first team players this evening though. Hopefully summer signings Dominic Ball and Greg Leigh have recovered from a minor knock and illness respectively. Other contenders for a place in this evening's starting XI include Vaclav Hladky, Cameron Burgess, Corrie Ndaba, Idris El Mizouni, Kyle Edwards, Rekeem Harper, Cameron Humphreys, Kane Vincent-Young, Sone Aluko, Tyreece John-Jules and Kayden Jackson.
The dynamic attacking quartet of Edwards, Aluko, John-Jules and Jackson all impressed off the bench at Millwall and will be keen to show they should get the nod for Bolton.
Can Ball get himself ahead of Evans in the pecking order? Might Leigh leapfrog Penney?
"Everyone’s still fighting for spots, still showing themselves," said McKenna. "It’s a chance for the guys who didn’t start at Millwall to start on Tuesday night and we’ll look at the team for Saturday after that.”
OPPOSITION LOWDOWN
Following back-to-back relegations, Southend United finished 13th in the National League last season.
Speaking after his side's 1-0 defeat at Gillingham on Saturday, boss Kevin Maher said: "It’s another step towards being ready for the start of the season which is the most important thing.
“We know the areas we’re looking for but I’m pleased with the work-out against a team in the league above and in the first half I thought we were good.”
The Shrimpers saw eight-goal striker Matt Dennis return to parent club Norwich at the end of last season (he has subsequently signed for MK Dons), while their other leading marksman, Rhys Murphy, is currently out injured.
Former Banbury United forward Chris Wreh may feature on trial again for them tonight.
PRE-SEASON RECAP
Since a 7-0 victory at non-league side Needham Market back on June 25, the Blues have had some tough pre-season tests.
There were positives to take from defeats against three teams who finished in the top half of the Premier League table last season - Arsenal (5-1), West Ham (2-1) and Crystal Palace (4-2).
McKenna says those matches were important to build 'resilience' in his players for the long, hard season ahead.
The 3-0 win at recently-relegated League Two team AFC Wimbledon and 1-1 comeback draw at top-half Championship side Millwall were largely heartening.
It would be nice now for Ipswich to finish this pre-season campaign as they started it - with a clinical, morale-boosting win.
HOW BIG WILL THE CROWD BE?
A bumper crowd of 15,129 watched Town take on West Ham, on a Tuesday night, recently.
Already, more than 23,000 tickets have been sold for Saturday's opener against Bolton.
So how many will be in attendance tonight? Just under 5,000 tickets - priced at £12 for adults and £5 for concessions - had been sold by the end of last week, though that number is likely to have been boosted during yesterday's Open Day at Portman Road.
The match is all ticket, so there will be no sales on the gate.
A reminder that kick-off is at 7pm.
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