Ipswich Town play Plymouth Argyle this lunchtime in a big top-of-the-table clash at Home Park. MIKE BACON takes a look at the opposition.

The story so far....

Just as they did last season, before just falling short of the play-offs, Plymouth Argyle have made another good start to their League One campaign.

Two defeats in their first four league games may have given the impression the Devon-based side were in for a steady, but unspectacular season. However, they have perked up mightily since a 5-1 tonking at Charlton, reeling off four straight wins, including a come from behind 2-3 victory at Derby.

Last weekend they were only denied victory at Portsmouth thanks to Reeco Hackett-Fairchild's 94th-minute equaliser after Plymouth had gone down to 10 men.

Plymouth are third and Town top, there are two points between them.

Make no bones about it, this is going to be a stiff test for Kieran McKenna's men on a similar par to last week at Sheffield Wednesday.

Meet the boss

Plymouth boss Steven Schumacher is making waves in his, up-to-now, short managerial career.

Born in Liverpool, Schumacher began his career at Everton and was captain of the England Under 19s while he was playing in the club's youth team. Along with Wayne Rooney, Schumacher featured in Everton's eight-game run to the 2002 FA Youth Cup final, where they lost to Aston Villa 2-4.

A midfielder, he played mostly in the lower leagues of One and Two, with the likes of Bradford, Bury and Crewe, before moving into coaching.

In June 2019 Schumacher joined Ryan Lowe as assistant manager at Argyle. Together they helped Plymouth to a third-place finish and an immediate return to League One.

Eighteen months later, Lowe moved to take up the Preston job and Schumacher was installed as Argyle first-team boss. He hasn't looked back.

At 38, he is one of League One's brightest managers and won the manager of the month award last season in March. He currently has a win ratio of more than 50% with the Greens.

East Anglian Daily Times: Paul Mariner banners on display in the stands ahead of the game.Paul Mariner banners on display in the stands ahead of the game. (Image: Steve Waller)

Head-to-head

Town and Argyle have met on 50 previous occasions in all competitions, Ipswich having the upper hand of 23 wins, compared to Plymouth's 12. There have been 15 draws.

The first time the two teams met was in 1950 in Division Three South, Town winning 2-0. Almost all the two side's meetings have been in the league, aside from one Full Members Cup clash in 1986 and an FA Cup third round clash in 1993. Town won both.

Last season, the two teams' League One games were celebrated as 'Paul Mariner Day', to remember the life of a player who starred for both teams, before his untimely death last year.

And both sides enjoyed victory on home soil. Plymouth beating Town 2-1, while a Sam Morsy goal was enough to seal victory for Town back in March.

Argyle missing key players

Argyle will be without on-loan Aston Villa midfielder Finn Azaz today, who has received his first call-up to play for the Republic of Ireland under-21s. He has found the net three times so far this season.

Argyle will also be without defender Brendan Galloway. He will have to serve a one-match suspension after he was sent-off in the closing seconds of the 2-2 draw away to Portsmouth for a second bookable offence.

Plymouth are already without the long-term injured trio of James Bolton, Conor Grant and Mickel Miller

A nice touch

Plymouth Argyle named their press box after long-serving BBC Radio Devon commentator Gordon Sparks earlier this season.

The lifelong Argyle fan spent 32 years commentating on the Pilgrims - his first game was the club's FA Cup semi-final loss to Watford in 1984.

He commentated for Hospital Radio and Plymouth Sound before the BBC and hung up his microphone in 2016.

"Between my first game on radio at the Villa Park FA Cup semi-final in 1984 to my final broadcast at Wembley in 2016, Home Park is the place where I commentated on hundreds of memorable matches," he said.

Something in common with Ipswich

A group of United States-based investors have bought a 20% stake in Plymouth Argyle.

The £4m investment back in August from Argyle Green, LLC will see Florida-based businessman Michael Mincberg become a director.

Among the 12 individuals and three organisations that make up Argyle Green is four-time NHL All Star, and two-time Stanley Cup-winning ice hockey player, Victor Hedman.

Plymouth and Ipswich are two of seven League One clubs with American backers.

What the bookies say

You pays your money, you takes your choice on this one. As you can imagine the bookies aren't quite so sure which way this one will go. And that's hardly surprising. It's a case of taking a punt on any of the three results and finding the best odds, because they are all very viable options

TOWN WIN: 6/5: PLYMOUTH WIN: 2/1: THE DRAW: 23/10

Did you know?

The Port of Plymouth serves the biggest Naval Base in Western Europe with base ported vessels including nuclear submarines and large warships, and many ships from foreign navies visit Plymouth for Operational Sea Training.