Ipswich Town host Sheffield Wednesday in a Championship match this afternoon (3pm). STUART WATSON previews the action.
Ipswich Town manager Paul Lambert says he is not looking through the fixture list and plotting where the wins are going to come.
The Blues are seven points adrift of safety at the foot of the Championship table with 17 games to go – starting with today’s visit of Sheffield Wednesday.
With Bolton, Reading, Rotherham and Wigan all in equally poor form at the bottom end of the table it looks as though someone will beat the drop on a far lower total than the average.
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Something like six victories and six draws could be enough for the Blues to beat the drop.
“No, I don’t look through the fixtures like that,” said Lambert, whose team head to Norwich next Sunday before facing Derby (h), Stoke (h) and Wigan (a).
“I just go and try and win every game. I always think I can win every game. It doesn’t matter who I’m playing against.
“But that’s me having been brought up that way, I’ve always been like that. I don’t look at games and think ‘I’m not going to win that one, I’m going to lose that one’. No, I think I can win.
“We’re in the fight. Until somebody says we’re out of it you keep fighting for everything.
“Supporters expect it, I expect it, the players expect it, the football club expects it, so we’ll go and fight for everything. I don’t care who it is, home or away I don’t care, I’m up for the fight and I’ve got a group of lads who are up for the fight.”
Bolton and Reading drew 1-1 in midweek. Asked if he took heart from the fact no-one was pulling clear, Lambert – whose side have just had defeats at Blackburn and Aston Villa – replied: “Absolutely, I think that’s the beauty of it, there’s nothing in it. If you can get a good week everything turns on its head.
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“The pleasing thing for me is that we’re playing well enough. We’re going into games thinking we can win. I think that’s important. While you have that belief that we can go and do it, then you’ve a better chance of winning games.
“The feeling in the place is certainly not one of doom and gloom and depression. Far from it. It’s is really vibrant and the support’s incredibly vibrant. Training is upbeat. The spirit is unbelievable. If we keep that, we’ve got a better chance.”
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He added: “When you come in mid-season at any time it’s difficult because it’s not your group of lads that you inherit. But once we get a right good hit at this hopefully it’ll be a different story.
“Whatever league this club’s in (next season), then we’ll certainly rebuild it and make it better.”
Opposition lowdown
Last five finishes: 15th, 4th, 6th, 13th, 16th (all Championship)
Manager: Steve Bruce (Feb ‘19) P0
Last game: L 3-0 Chelsea (a) – FA Cup
Last 10 games: LWWLD DDWWL
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Deadline day signings: Iorfa (Wolves, undisc), Aarons, Lazaar (both Newcastle, loan)
Most league starts: 28: Reach; 27: Lees; 25: Bannan; 23: Dawson; 21: Pelupessy
Top-scorers: 8: Joao; 7: Reach; 5: Fletcher; 4: Matias
Margins of victory: 1 (x10), 2 (x1)
Margins of defeat: 1 (x5), 2 (x4), 3+ (4)
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Last meeting
Sheff Weds 2 Ipswich Town 1
Date: Saturday, August 25, 2018
Toto Nsiala (40) cancelled out Lucas Joao’s opener (16) before being shown an extremely harsh red card for a tackle on Fernando Forestieri (75). Joao subsequently scored another header as the Blues’ set-piece Achilles’ heel struck again.
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Stat attack
81% – Town’s pass accuracy in 2-1 loss at Villa
25 – Games Dominic Iorfa played for Town (17/18)
9 – Sheffield Wednesday are the ninth club Steve Bruce has managed: Sheffield United, Huddersfield, Wigan (twice), Palace, Birmingham, Sunderland, Hull, Villa.
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Ipswich Town team news
– New signing James Bree is likely to make his first Ipswich appearance after signing on loan from Aston Villa on deadline day.
– His arrival means one of the Blues’ other five loan players will need to drop out of the squad. Matthew Pennington or Callum Elder could potentially make way.
– Collin Quaner is likely to come back into the starting line-up after impressing off the bench at Aston Villa.
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– Paul Lambert says the Blues are carrying ‘one or two little knocks’ into the game against the Owls.
– Emyr Huws will miss out having had fluid on his calf.
– Jack Lankester remains sidelined after picking up a back injury.
– Grant Ward’s season was ended by a knee injury while Tom Adeyemi is still out with an Achilles problem.
Sheffield Wednesday team news
– Dominic Iorfa could make his first Wednesday start against his former club after joining the Owls on deadline day.
– Rolando Aarons and Achraf Lazaar joined on loan from Newcastle and could also be involved.
– Keiren Westwood has been restored in goal having been sidelined for much of the season by former Wednesday manager Jos Luhukay.
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Opposition star man
Lucas Joao scored both goals as the Owls beat Ipswich 2-1 in August, with the wide forward bringing a combination of pace and power to the Wednesday front line. He leads the club’s scoring charts with eight goals and has also contributed one assist.
Betting
Ipswich 21/10
Draw 21/10
Sheff Weds 13/8
Referee
Oliver Langford (West Midlands)
Stuart’s prediction
Owls don’t score many. Town’s passing game improving.
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