Boss Roy Keane says he’s considering whether to give striker Connor Wickham his first start of the season when Cardiff City visit Portman Road on Saturday. Wickham, who has been out with an ankle injury, has come on as a sub in Town’s last two games and Keane says he is pushing for a role from the beginning.
Keane said: "He’s certainly given me a problem. I always say the players pick the team and Connor’s done himself no harm, considering he’s been out for two months and he’s been training for less than a week.
"What he does, like lots of good players, is affect the game, and he did that the other night. A bit more support, effort and a helping hand from the other lads and he might have got his rewards.
"He’s certainly staking his claim without a shadow of a doubt, but he’s not started a game for two or three months and we have to be careful of that.”
The Blues boss says he very much looking at whether to make changes up front with the Blues without a goal in their last two games and not having scored at all in the first half this season: "We’re certainly going to look at it.
"We’ve not really scored many goals, even going back to pre-season against Tottenham, West Ham and PSV. We’ve scored eight goals in six games in terms of league goals and we didn’t score enough last year, so we’ll certainly be looking at that over the next 24 hours.”
But Keane says there’ll be no panic after the loss to QPR: "There’s no need to start chopping and changing because we’ve lost one game in seven or eight, trying three at the back or four strikers.
"It’s about getting the balance right from the players available - who’s in good form, who’s chomping at the bit. One or two of the players might need a rest, some of the younger boys, people like Luke, who have done remarkably well.
"That all goes into the mix before you make your team selection. I’m well aware we’re not scoring any goals and that we’ve not scored in the first half this season.”
The Blues boss has no new injury worries but appears unlikely to be able to call on Celtic loanee Darren O’Dea due to his knee problem: "He’s very much doubtful. There’s always more of a problem when a player’s a loan player and he’s touch and go. We have to be careful.
"Obviously, whether Mark Kennedy can play two full games after being out for a month or so is the dilemma we face and Shane’s still injured.
"In one or two positions where we need freshening up. There were one or two players the other night from whom we need more. I don’t mind players having an off night, but don’t drop your fitness data. We’ve tough games coming up.”
Keane expects another very tough game: "They’ve just missed out over the last few years in terms of getting into the Premiership and this year they probably feel it’s their year, and why not? With players like Craig Bellamy and others, they’ve got a great chance.”
Keane looks likely to opt to give Wickham a start, perhaps with the aim of playing an hour after his half against QPR and 20 minutes at Portsmouth.
The Blues boss will have to decide whether Wickham’s return will also see a change of formation, Town having started every game with one central striker and two widemen. Wickham would appear most suited to the central role, while Tamás Priskin has appeared less comfortable in the wide role and the position wouldn’t appear to suit Jason Scotland.
That may see Keane switch to 4-4-2 with Scotland probably alongside Wickham with Priskin on the bench. Alternatively, if Keane sticks with the three-man attack, Wickham will probably have Andros Townsend and Carlos Edwards on either side of him.
If the three-man midfield continues to be used, then Luke Hyam will sit behind Grant Leadbitter and David Norris, but the youngster may be rested if there is a move to 4-4-2 with Norris and Leadbitter in the centre and Edwards and Townsend on the right and left respectively.
Mark Kennedy will continue at left-back during Darren O’Dea’s absence with Troy Brown perhaps competing with Jaime Peters for the right-back role and Gareth McAuley and Tommy Smith in the centre. Márton Fülöp will be in goal.
Luciano Civelli and Damien Delaney are a little way off first team involvement as yet, while Shane O’Connor is a couple of weeks away from a return after tearing a hamstring while away with the Irish U21s. Alan Quinn has started jogging after suffering a groin injury in pre-season but is unlikely to be ready for match action until next month.
Cardiff are expected to be without striker Craig Bellamy (knee), midfielders Seyi Olofinjana (thigh) and Danny Drinkwater (thigh) and summer Town target Michael Chopra (ankle), while fellow frontman Jay Bothroyd (calf) is set for a late fitness test.
Manager Dave Jones says he takes no notice of league tables at this point in the season: "Too many people are looking at statistics and records in a league that's only six games in. It's the old cliché I know, but there's still a lot of football to be played and there's no point looking at tables until the second half of the season is well under way.
"Ipswich will be a big test for us and it should be a good encounter this weekend. Like us they go into Saturday having lost in midweek after an unbeaten start. So like us they'll want to get back to winning ways and will look to use home advantage to do just that. Portman Road is a hard place to go, we know that. But we'll be fully prepared.
"It'll be up to us to do our things right and look to match them and beat them on their own ground. It'll be a tough game but we know what we have to do, we've prepared and will go into Saturday in the right frame of mind looking for another win."
The second-placed Bluebirds have added former Derby and Middlesbrough central defender Chris Riggott to their squad, but the 30-year-old seems unlikely to be involved tomorrow.
Town have the upper hand historically, winning 17 (15 in the league), drawing 10 (10) and losing 10 (nine).
Two goals from Daryl Murphy took the Blues to a comfortable 2-0 victory when Cardiff City were last at Portman Road in March. Town dominated throughout and might have won by more but for a number of saves by Bluebirds keeper David Marshall.
Earlier in the season, a late deflected Jon Stead goal saw the Blues come from behind to a record a 2-1 victory in Wales. The home side went in front via Peter Whittingham’s stunning first-half volley, but the Blues hit back through Jon Walters and Stead.
Mark Kennedy joined the Blues from Cardiff in the summer for £75,000, while Arran Lee-Barrett was with the Bluebirds between 2003 and 2005 but without making the first team. No current Cardiff player has appeared for Town.
Fans abroad may be able to watch the game on TV with Sweden and Norway amongst the countries where it is being shown live. The match is also one of the main games on The Football League Show on BBC1 at 11.40pm.
Town are expecting a crowd approaching 23,000 with season ticket holders able to purchase tickets for friends and family at reduced prices.
Saturday’s referee is Fred Graham from Essex, who has shown a tidy four yellow cards and no reds in four games so far this season. Graham’s most recent Town match was the 2-1 win at QPR in February, in which he booked three players, one QPR man and Jon Walters and David Norris from Town. Norris is currently on four bookings for the season and would face a one-match ban for his fifth.
Probable squad: Fülöp, Murphy, Peters, Brown, Kennedy, McAuley, Smith, Eastman, Hyam, Norris, Leadbitter, Healy, Hourihane, Edwards, Townsend, Wickham, Scotland, Priskin, Murray.