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No New Injury Concerns Ahead of Burnley's Vis - Ipswich Town News

Manager Jim Magilton has no new injury concerns ahead of Tuesday's home game with Burnley (KO 7.45pm). The Blues could go into the match unchanged after Saturday's 1-0 victory at Reading.

Perhaps the only decision Magilton has to make is whether to give new loan signing Giovani Dos Santos his first start after the Mexican international impressed when coming off the bench at the Madejski Stadium.

However, Jon Stead scored a fine goal and Kevin Lisbie put in another fine away display and Saturday's initial strike pairing may well keep their places with Dos Santos and Pablo Couñago making appearances from the bench.

In midfield, Luciano Civelli is getting better with every game and will keep his role on the left with Alan Quinn and Tommy Miller becoming increasingly established in the centre. David Norris is likely to continue on the right with Jon Walters out for the season with ruptured ankle ligaments.

Richard Wright will stay in goal with David Wright and Ben Thatcher the full-backs and skipper Gareth McAuley and Pim Balkestein at centre-half. Iván Campo is likely to be on the bench, while Moritz Volz is set to undergo surgery on his groin injury on Tuesday and is expected to be out for a month.

Second-choice keeper Shane Supple is unlikely to join former boss Joe Royle at Oldham until Town have secured the signing of another keeper and so is likely to take up his usual place on the bench.

Assistant boss John Gorman has called on supporters to get behind the Blues as they look to improve their play-off chances against one of the other sides aiming for a top six place: "We're really determined to do well in front of our home fans - we know how important it is.

"It's a day when we need the fans totally behind us like they were against Nottingham Forest - because they are our extra player.

"Burnley are one of the form teams, so it has the makings of a great game."

The Clarets will be without striker Steven Thompson, who suffered ankle ligament damage during the 5-0 thrashing of Nottingham Forest on Saturday. Jay Rodriguez will replace him.

Loanee from Sunderland Russell Anderson is the only other absentee having suffered knee ligament damage early on in the season.

The Clarets will be playing their 51st game of the season after enjoying lengthy runs in both cup competitions.

Owen Coyle's side are currently fifth in the table on 61 points, seven points and five places above the Blues with both clubs having played 38 games. Burnley have an away record of won six, drawn five and lost seven. They are in good form at present, having won their last three league games and scoring nine goals in the last two, which were both at home.

Town have had the better of the Clarets over the years, winning 15 games (14 in the league), drawing eight (eight) and losing nine (nine).

Earlier in the season, the Blues won 3-0 at Turf Moor with Liam Trotter, Kevin Lisbie and a Stephen Jordan own goal netting for the visitors in their first away game of the season. Last year's Portman Road match ended in a 0-0 draw.

Town striker Dean Bowditch had a spell on loan at Turf Moor in 2005, while former Blues loanee Alan Mahon is in the Burnley squad, although currently out of their first team and linked with a loan move to Blackpool.

TWTD issue 96 will be on sale from our sellers around the ground (by Sir Alf, next to the Portman Road entrance to the Greene King Stand, by Planet Blue) ahead of the game.

The latest issue includes an interview with new academy manager Sammy Morgan. The former Northern Ireland international talks about the changes to the Blues' youth set-up and future first teamers such as Connor Wickham and former team-mate George Best.

Elsewhere, Jake Sweetman looks at the Europe-wide 'Against Modern Football' movement, as echoed by a Town banner at Chelsea, Roger Hermiston writes about his day at Stamford Bridge and there's a fair bit about Jim's future and factionalism amongst supporters.

If you're not at the game, you can buy a single copy or six-issue subscription here. Subscriptions can also be obtained for free if you sign up to one of our affiliates.

Tuesday's referee is Rob Shoebridge from Derbyshire, who has shown 55 yellow and three red cards this season in 28 games. Shoebridge's last Town match was the 2-1 away defeat to Birmingham in November.

Likely squad: R Wright, Supple, D Wright, Thatcher, Bruce, McAuley, Balkestein, Campo, Miller, Quinn, Garvan, Shumulikoski, Norris, Civelli, Haynes, Stead, Lisbie, Couñago, Dos Santos.

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