Town boss Kieran McKenna is anticipating a great occasion when the Blues face Leicester City at Portman Road in this evening’s live-on-Sky second-v-first clash.

The Blues go into the match aiming to bounce back from Saturday’s chastening 4-0 defeat to third-placed Leeds United - subsequently beaten 2-1 at Preston in Boxing Day's lunchtime kick-off - while the Foxes won 3-0 at home to bottom club Rotherham United.

Leicester are currently six points ahead of Town, have won their last five and are unbeaten in seven.

Like Town, they have lost only three league matches this season - at Middlesbrough and at home to Hull City and Leeds, all 1-0.

Their record on the road in the Championship the season reads won nine, drawn one and lost one.

The Blues and Leicester are now joint-top scorers in the division having netted 47 times apiece during 2023/24 but the Foxes have bagged the most on their travels, 24, nine more than Town, Leeds and Southampton, who have all scored 15 on opposition turf. Leicester have also conceded the fewest goals away from home, 10.

Blues boss McKenna is in no doubt that his side face another huge challenge meeting a second relegated Premier League side within a few days.

“What a game to look forward to,” he said, speaking after the defeat at Leeds. “It’s Boxing Day, we’re at home, a full stadium.

“Of course, a difficult opponent, but we love playing at home, playing at Portman Road is always special for these players, but on Boxing Day it’s always a great occasion and it was last year when we played Oxford [and won 3-0].

“We’ll really look forward to the game, we’ll prepare as well and as professionally as we can and it’s a challenge we’re really looking forward to.”

That Town are facing two sides who were in the Premier League only a few months ago in top-of-the-table Championship clashes shows how far the club has come in the two years since McKenna took over.

“It’s clear to see and it’s apparent we have made a great progression,” the Northern Irishman reflected. “We’re at the halfway point in the season and everyone who is involved with the club is delighted with how the season has gone.

“We’re enjoying all the challenges. Every game in the league is difficult, I have to say.

“I know the next one is Leicester and that’s where our focus will be, and there will be extra noise around it because it’s first-v-second, but we know that QPR on the Friday night’s going to be really difficult and we know that Stoke a couple of days later is going to be really difficult.

“Every game’s a challenge, we’re enjoying taking on each one, it’s going pretty well so far and we’ll try and stay really consistent with what we do, what we believe in, how we are as a group and a club and Leicester’s the next step on that.”

McKenna says what will be another 29,000-plus sell-out Portman Road crowd will have their part to play.

“Certainly, it’s going to be massive,” he said. “To play against Leicester with how good they’ve been, how strong they’ve been, we know it’s going to take every drop of effort that we have in the group.

“But it’s going to need that from the supporters as well. They’ve been fantastic at home, they’ve created a great atmosphere, it’s helped us have a really strong home record and we’re certainly going to need everyone together and everyone all in for Tuesday night.”

McKenna withdrew a number of his regular starters in the second half on Saturday - including skipper Sam Morsy who is still on nine bookings with a 10th leading to a two-match ban - with an eye on today’s match.

Having done that, does he plan to look at utilising his wider squad against the Foxes?

“We’ll see how everyone recovers from today, first and foremost,” he added. “We have a good amount of time between Saturday morning and playing on Tuesday night.

“We’ll look at the game individually and look at what’s the best approach, the best personnel we feel for the game and pick accordingly.”

Given that time and the opponent, McKenna could well look to stick essentially with the side which started at Leeds but perhaps making one or two tweaks to his line-up.

Vaclav Hladky will be in goal with Leif Davis at left-back with Brandon Williams perhaps returning at right-back for Harry Clarke.

At the centre of the defence, Luke Woolfenden will probably come in for Axel Tuanzebe, who is yet to play successive games for the Blues, alongside Cameron Burgess.

Morsy will be in central midfield alongside Massimo Luongo with Wes Burns, Conor Chaplin and Nathan Broadhead behind central striker George Hirst.

For Leicester, on-loan Manchester City defender Callum Doyle could return having been out of action for three months due to a knee injury.

However, Jamie Vardy, Kasey McAteer, and Marc Albrighton all remain sidelined and will miss the trip to Portman Road.

“Callum Doyle was out [against Rotherham], not for any reason, just because he’s had some sessions. He’s available. Marc is still injured, Jamie is still injured, and Kasey is still injured. Callum could be involved,” manager Enzo Maresca told LeicestershireLive.

James Justin, who has been at left-back since Doyle suffered his knock, has an injury of his own, which is being managed, and is not expected to play every match over the holiday period.

Town have just had the upper hand historically, winning 27 games between the sides (27 in the league), drawing 18 (17) and losing 26 (24).

The teams last met at the King Power Stadium in February 2014 when David Nugent’s inevitable goal was sandwiched between strikes from Jamie Vardy and future Blues loanee Chris Wood as Championship leaders Leicester comfortably beat Town 3-0.

Vardy opened the scoring in the 19th minute, Nugent added the second on 31 - his 14th goal in 13 games against the Blues and sixth in five for Leicester - and Wood completed the scoring two minutes before the end.

In the previous November, Nugent continued his remarkable goalscoring record against the Blues as Leicester came from behind to beat Town 2-1 at Portman Road.

David McGoldrick put Town in front in the second minute but Nugent — who took his total to 13 goals in 12 matches against the Blues and nine in seven at Portman Road — scored twice in six minutes as the Foxes improved after the break.

Blues striker Hirst signed from Leicester in the summer for £1.5 million following his successful loan spell in the second half of last season. Hirst made only two senior sub appearances for the Foxes having joined them from Belgian side OH Leuven in the summer of 2019.

Boxing Day’s referee is Sam Barrott, who has shown 69 yellow cards and three red in 29 games so far this season.

Barrott was the man in the middle for the 3-2 Carabao Cup victory at home to Wolves in September in which he yellow-carded Elkan Baggott, Lee Evans, Sone Aluko and three of the Premier League side.

He also took charge of the opening Championship fixture at Sunderland, which they won 2-1, in which he dismissed Black Cats right-back Trai Hume for two bookable offences and yellow-carded Morsy, Hladky, Burns and one Wearsider.

Barrott’s last Town game prior to that was as a late replacement for the 6-0 thrashing of Charlton in April after it had emerged that the official originally slated for the game, James Bell, was a fan of Sheffield Wednesday, who at the time were vying with the Blues for League One promotion.

The West Riding-based official showed yellow cards to Davis and four to Addicks, two to Ryan Inness, who was then issued with a red with two minutes left on the clock, his fourth dismissal of the season and fifth in just over a year.

Barrott previously took charge of the 1-1 draw at Cambridge in February in which he awarded the U’s a penalty after George Edmundson had clumsily felled Conor McGrandles, which Christian Walton saved. Barrott also booked Edmundson, Morsy and two home players.

He was also the man in the middle for the opening game of last season, the home game with Bolton Wanderers, which also ended 1-1, and in which he gave the Trotters a penalty, which was converted by Aaron Morley, after debutant Davis had tripped Conor Bradley. Evans, Woolfenden and two visitors were booked.

Barrott was also in charge of Town boss McKenna’s first match in charge, the 1-0 home victory over Wycombe Wanderers at Portman Road in December 2021 in which he booked Morsy, Joe Pigott, Matt Penney and one Chairboy.

Squad from: Hladky, Walton, Williams, Clarke, Davis, Woolfenden, Burgess, Edmundson, Baggott, Tuanzebe, Morsy, Luongo, Taylor, Ball, Humphreys, Burns, Jackson, Chaplin, Broadhead, Harness, Aluko, Hutchinson, Hirst, Ladapo, Jackson.

Photo: TWTD

Linkboy13 added 07:29 - Dec 26 Feel extremely anxious about this game. The facts don't lie we concede far too many goals and i can see Leicester picking holes in our defence to easily. The team is set up for attacking football with two number tens which has made for great entertainment with some great goals this season. Unfortunately McKenna hasn't got much to work with to change the system hopefully this will be rectified in the transfer window.

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SpiritOfJohn added 07:43 - Dec 26 George Hirst had a rare off day at Leeds and showed how much we have relied on his hold up play and tireless running. We need him to be back to his best to show Leicester they made a big mistake letting him join us permanently in the summer.
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ArnieM added 07:55 - Dec 26 Hirst had zero service at Leeds, little wonder he had an “ off day”. But our sieve of a defence remains the single biggest problem . It has been a problem for 3 seasons and had been masked by our ability to score goals. Stop scoring goals and our defensive woes are there for all to see. That should be the target area for strengthening this window. Yes we need another striker too, but CB’s and a strong right back are required. McKenna’s ethos is to attack , but we also need to be able to defend. Even sh it teams like sc um were able to pick us off on the break.

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warktheline added 08:26 - Dec 26 There’s no doubting McKenna’s intelligence as a manager, he’s often stated the importance of a continued recruitment drive. Well the fact is, he’s propelled Ipswich Town into a position, regarding league points total, even I didn’t expect!!!!….top 6 yes, but not 7 points clear of third place ! Many have highlighted the team’s ‘weaknesses’ which were most certainly magnified against a rampant Leeds outfit, but let’s not forget, as a unit ourselves, we were shockingly poor too….which no team is exempt from…’off days’,dip in form etc! These aren’t excuses, they are ‘facts’ in football and life in general….have Leeds to date, had more ‘off days’ than us, the point tallies suggest so!!!! My point is, McKenna has placed our club and owners into a position where attracting the right calibre of player to ‘bridge the gap’ to the next level, whether that be, challenging teams for outright promotion to the Premiership, or competing next season at the highest level, remains to be seen….one thing is certain, McKenna has already guaranteed the club a ‘chance’ of promotion….via a play off spot! That’s the REALITY and not EXCUSES…..McKenna has taken Ipswich Town FC, and put the club firmly back on the map!

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garyinavault added 08:38 - Dec 26 Big game and lots of pressure. We must not crumble as easily as at the weekend.
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Broadbent23 added 09:12 - Dec 26 McKenna has done a fantastic job for Town in the last two years. On paper our shots at Leeds were poor. But Leeds only had 9 shots (at home). Leeds only intent was to do a Smash and Grab job on us. Because in an open foul free game they knew we could hurt them. 1st and 2nd goals bad defending (not watching the ball). 3rd goal Summerville fell in LD's path to gift the penalty. 4th goal bad clearance from defence (If in doubt just hoof it). Then the 36,000 crowd were loud and were Leeds 12th man. So today why can't we do the same to Leicester. It won't be pretty but 3 points would be a great late Xmas present.

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churchmans added 09:30 - Dec 26 Warktheline So what are you saying?
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blues1 added 09:34 - Dec 26 Arniem. Dont disagree totally in that we doxleak goals. But calling our defence a,sieve? And saying its been like that for the past 3 years? Really? How many clean,sheets did we keep last season? In 19 games this season weve kept 9 clean sheets. The simple,fact is, that I'm this division, against the better teams in it, we are getting caught on the break too much. Dont see that changing, as mckenna has made it clear, we wont change ourcprinciples of how we want to play. Maybe need a couple of tweaks to the shape against the top sides tho. Maybe play 3 cbs which would give some cover to the 2 wing backs should they get caught out.

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bobble added 09:47 - Dec 26 3-1 to town chaplin hatrick
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blueboy1981 added 10:10 - Dec 26 Much said, but after all said and done, opposition Teams know that we do not / cannot defend Balls into our Box - Farke completely slaughtered us ! No excuses. If we do not strengthen / sort our Defensive frailties, don’t be surprised at more of the same. January an important month in terms of Season outcome. Happy New Year to All.
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warktheline added 10:10 - Dec 26 @churchmans, McKenna has our club in continued transition….players will serve their purpose, but ultimately will be replaced by a better calibre of player as the club progresses. McKenna knows possibly half of this current team don’t have the ability to ‘bridge the gap’ to the next level….Clarke for instance, a good signing for the club at the time but now it’s abundantly clear, the lad lacks several attributes to progress…..clubs will attract players via ambition, potential and ultimately league status….McKenna has ticked all those boxes in abundance !

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dirtydingusmagee added 10:35 - Dec 26 Warktheline i agree, McK has done a great job with the players we have ,we didnt come up from Lge 1 with Premiership players, we couldnt afford or attract them , it is a transition, can only be done over time and when finances allow. We are better placed to attract players now, but finances are still a limitation. As Bert mentioned yesterday the parachute paynents are not a good idea, they are payments for failure, not reward for success. A club that has thrown everything [and more] into getting promoted then needs help to give it a chance to compete, The club that is relegated gets help to go back up . Thats why the clubs that go up to Prem are always favourites or high odds to come back down, and clubs who are relegated always favs or high odds to get back up . IMO ITS WRONG . We have exceeded most peoples expectations on our return to Championship but are still underdogs when compared with likes of Leicester and Leeds with now ex prem player AND a lot more financial clout . But there will always be ''fans'' who fail to see it and expect us to be on par with the giants of the Prem even whilst in the Championship .

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warktheline added 10:53 - Dec 26 @blueboy, there’s nowhere near enough evidence to suggest McKenna’s brand of football has been ‘sussed out’! I’m assuming you aren’t accounting for this via just the Leeds game, because you’ve been using the ‘sussed out’ theory for many a month! Our away goals conceded had been excellent up to the recent heavy defeat, and still holds up admirably in comparison to the vast majority of teams in the Championship ! Our expansive style of play on home soil is reflected by goals scored and conceded, and of course most importantly the games won! Winning 9 out of 11 to date! McKenna has drove the club positively forward at every ‘opportunity’ the owners have provided to date, to doubt his ability to continue this ‘uptrend’ over the coming months, would be harsh to say the least, from any Ipswich Town FC supporter !

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warfarinman69 added 10:56 - Dec 26 Warktheline, I agree. With the players we had I expected top 10, maybe play-offs before season kicked off. Less than half the team can compete in PremLEeague, we need 3 windows to be ready. What McKenbs has done is remarkable, and by being so successful we are now comparing our team with multi-million pound Premiership teams. The defence does need strengthening, but we've had plenty of clean sheets over last 2 years, it's just that we are now playing Premiership teams in all but name. Maybe McKenna has done too well! Some fans need to appreciate the task of getting to the Premiership and be a bit more patient. Let's give the team huge backing tonight, whatever the score- don't go quiet at the first set-back!

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bluewarrior added 11:07 - Dec 26 Need to get right behind the blues tonight. Unfortunately the away support at Leeds went missing when it was needed most - as it did at WBA IMHO.
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warktheline added 11:24 - Dec 26 @warf, ‘maybe McKenna has done too well!’…that my friend is spot on! I pondered on suggesting that myself but stopped short, due to the fact some would suggest that ‘excuses’ were being made! It’s also been mentioned that McKenna’s past record is irrelevant! What a ludicrous statement!
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dirtydingusmagee added 11:58 - Dec 26 wtl.... and that is reality, and the truth ![ wink]
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KMcBlue added 12:22 - Dec 26 KM needs to think carefully about tactics today. Play like we did against Leeds and it'll be horribly embarrassing
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dirtydingusmagee added 12:57 - Dec 26 KMcBlue, we are at home ,but yes we will need to up our game today , defense will certainly need to work harder and concentrate throughout . I fear more ponts could be dropped today but hope we dont get thumped again . I did say last week that our position may not look so cosy come New Year, but thankfully weve had that luxury .
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Steve_ITFC_Sweden added 14:24 - Dec 26 COME ON PRESTON! 94th minute and winning 2-1 against Leeds!
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warktheline added 14:28 - Dec 26 ….looks like Leeds have been ‘sussed out’ or was it an ‘off day’? They’ve had more of them than us! Hilarious!
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dirtydingusmagee added 14:46 - Dec 26 well Preston just did us a favour , hope Saints slip up . COYB
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Bert added 14:55 - Dec 26 Just goes to show that even Leeds with all their fire power can come unstuck against a team in poor form. Some wise posts today about the transition we are in. We have the right manager/ coach in place to work out how we can climb the mountain to the land of milk and honey with bumps in the way, some nervous moments and freak results but by golly we have not seen anything like this for 15 years. The past counts for everything for that is our investment in the future with more to come now that we have a proper football club and football people running it.

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blueboy1981 added 15:08 - Dec 26 Preston proved today that we need not have been rolled over by Leeds, lets do a Preston and ‘man up’ and do likewise against Leicester later. Enough proof already that no Team is above and beyond the potential we have, when everyone is switched on to the task in front of them. Lets be UP FOR IT - and 3 POINTS !!
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IpswichT62OldBoy added 15:20 - Dec 26 How sad to see Leeds have lost. Lets see what we are made of now.
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