Town have named Simon Walton, Sylvain Legwinski and Gavin Williams in the squad for Friday's game at Colchester United despite their recent injury problems (KO 7.45pm, Sky Sports Two). Walton and Legwinski have recovered from hamstring strains, while Williams will undergo groin surgery next week and will miss October's games.
Boss Jim Magilton again has decisions to make with players returning to his squad and others pressing for inclusion. Lewis Price kept his place between the sticks after his howler against Birmingham but Shane Supple continues to push the Welsh international.
In defence, Alex Bruce is set to retake his position alongside Jason De Vos instead of Richard Naylor, who will be unfortunate to lose out after good displays against Birmingham and Sunderland.
At right-back Fabian Wilnis is available after recovering from his recent thigh injury but is likely to continue to be kept out of the side by Sito, who put in probably his best performance in a Town shirt against the Black Cats last week.
Midfielders Walton and Legwinski were forced out of last week's 3-1 home victory but could return for Matt Richards and Darren Currie who deputised against the Wearsiders, although Currie is likely to keep his place should Williams miss out.
Up front, Alan Lee is a definite starter, while Billy Clarke, who spent time on loan at Colchester last season, and Dean Bowditch are pushing Jon Macken for his position alongside the former Cardiff man.
Clarke has impressed when coming off the bench in recent games and from the start in Town's previous Sky game against QPR, while Bowditch scored twice and was amongst the Blues' best performers in the reserves' 9-0 win over Oxford United earlier in the week.
Magilton is keeping his cards close to his chest as the sides separated by only 17 miles meet in the league for the first time since the 1956/57 season: "You could say I am contemplating changes but I'm not going into detail at this stage.
"They are, like ourselves, full of confidence after an unbeaten run and they probably can't wait to get at us.
"They won't need motivating. I expect them to come out and have a go, just like my own team.”
Former Town midfielder and current Colchester manager Geraint Williams says Friday's match is a huge one for the Essex side: "It's going to be a massive game for everyone concerned with the club. It's been a long time, 50 or 60 years I think, since we had a local derby with Ipswich, so it should be a fantastic occasion.
"For me, I've got to take the emotion out of it and say, 'it's a home game, we'll be looking to win.' But I've played in derby games at different clubs and you know that everyone will be fired up because it's so important to everybody involved.
"You just have to keep a cool head and perform on the night. So we'll prepare properly and look forward to what should be a great evening at Layer Road, under the lights and with a full house and the game televised live on Sky TV."
The home side's only current injury absentee is striker Marino Keith who has been on the sidelines for some while due to an ankle problem. The U's are expected to be unchanged and are captained by former Blue Wayne Brown, while keeper Aidan Davison spent time on loan at Portman Road in 1996 without playing a senior game.
Other former Blues at Layer Road include coach Brian Owen, who was part of Bobby Robson's Town staff, and ex-Town midfielder David Gregory, who is now a communications and PR officer with the club having hung up his boots after more than 200 games with the Essex club and an earlier spell at Portman Road.
North America-based fans can watch the game live on Setanta Sports (Channel 615 on DirecTV) at 2.45pm Eastern time. If you're a Blue abroad and know where the match can be watched in your country, post venues and/or TV channels on the TWTD Message Board.
Friday's referee is Lee Probert from Gloucestershire who has shown 24 yellow and three red cards in nine games so far this season. Probert's last Town game was the 2-0 home victory over Derby County at Portman Road in April.
Town squad: Bowditch, Bruce, Clarke, Currie, De Vos, Harding, Lee, Legwinski, Macken, Naylor, Noble, Price, Richards, Sito, Supple, Walton, Williams, Wilnis.