Our bite-sized guide to Ipswich Town’s home clash with Reading at Portman Road this evening.
When and where?
Tuesday, 7.45pm, Portman Road
What’s the team news?
There will be a change between the sticks for the Blues, with Bartosz Bialkowski coming in, in place of Dean Gerken who is set for a month on the sidelines following an injury at Birmingham last time out.
Other than that, Jonathan Douglas is suspended following his red card at St Andrew’s with Luke Hyam expected to come in as his replacement.
Who is their manager?
Steve Clarke’s departure at the end of last season meant a return to Berkshire for former Royals boss Brian McDermott, having left in 2013. A tough spell at Leeds was followed by a spell as chief scout at Arsenal, before he returned to the club he’d previously taken into the Premier League.
How have they been getting on so far this season?
It’s been a tough run for the Royals given they’ve not won back-to-back games since the middle of October, which in part led to the sacking of Clarke. They currently fit 15th, 10 points behind the Blues.
What does the two sides’ form look like over the last five games?
Reading: D-L-W-D-W
Ipswich: D-W-D-L-L
Who has the best record in this fixture?
The two sides have met 54 times with the series pretty close. Ipswich are ahead by one with 23 wins compared to 22 for the Royals, with nine draws.
What happened when they met earlier in the season?
Not good. The Blues went to Reading on a Friday night in September and were torn apart, live on TV. The Blues had levelled Ipswich’s opener through Freddie Sears, but Orlando Sa’s treble made sure of a worryingly easy home win for the hosts.
Who is the ref?
Tim Robinson is in charge of tonight’s game, with the Blues hoping for a better outcome than the last time he took charge of a Blues game, as they lost 2-0 at home to Middlesbrough. He’s shown four red cards and 99 yellows in 26 games this season.
Who are the Reading danger men?
The sale of Nick Blackman to Derby robbed the Royals of their top scorer earlier this month, with Town’s nemesis Sa also departing to Maccabi Tel Aviv. That leaves Matej Vydra and Yann Kermorgant to lead the line, both of whom are always dangerous.
What are the bookies saying?
The hosts are favourites for this one at 6/5 with the visitors at 13/5 and the draw 12/5. If you fancy Ipswich to gain revenge from earlier in the season with a 5-1 win of their own, that’s 100/1, while a Reading repeat is 250/1.
Anything else worth knowing?
Ipswich come into this game on the back of a ridiculous run of 15 straight Tuesday night victories at Portman Road. Will this be number 16?
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