Town look likely to be unchanged for the fifth successive game when Championship leaders Burnley visit Portman Road on Saturday with central defender Tommy Smith fit, despite being substituted with a knee injury while on international duty with New Zealand earlier in the week.
Manager Mick McCarthy says Smith will be OK to take his regular place alongside Christophe Berra at the heart of the defence: "He’s fine. He’s come back, he’s trained today and he’s in fine fettle, no problems at all.”
He says the rest of the squad should have benefited from the two-week international break: "They’re all fine, we’ll find out, you never know, you never can tell.
"I think they needed a break. They’d had games, it was fairly relentless and we’ve only got a squad of 18, plus Alan Lee and Jordan Adekunle, but they’ve not been playing. There are a lot of games for 18 players.”
Burnley were seen as promotion outsiders at the start of the season but McCarthy has been impressed with what he’s seen of the early season pacesetters: "I’m never surprised what happens in the Championship, as with last season.
"Manager Sean Dyche did well at Watford when he was there, was unlucky to lose his job, he’d built quite a decent team.
"And he’s done exactly the same again. Not on a huge budget. He’s got some of the players I’ve had [at Wolves], he’s got Jason Shackell, Michael Kightly, Dave Jones, good players.
"Dave Jones and Michael Kightly were terrific players for me, part of the team which won the Championship.
"Sam Vokes and Danny Ings up front have been terrific and they’re the reason [why they are where they are].
"I could look at us and think we could be further up the league had we taken all our chances. They’ve had two really hot and in-form strikers and they’re a really solid, organised, hard-working team. A good side.”
Alongside central defenders Smith and Berra, Luke Chambers looks set to continue to wear the armband at right-back with Aaron Cresswell on the left of the defence.
In midfield, Cole Skuse and Luke Hyam will be in the centre with Paul Anderson on the right and Ryan Tunnicliffe on the left. Up front, David McGoldrick will partner Daryl Murphy.
Burnley strike pair Ings and Vokes are both expected to be fit despite missing a game each due to ankle injuries while away with the England U21s and Wales senior squad respectively. Winger Ross Wallace is out with a knee injury.
No members of either current squad has represented the opposition, but Tony Loughlan, Roy Keane’s assistant manager during his time at Town, is Dyche’s number two at Burnley.
On the final day of last season at Turf Moor, second-half goals from Junior Stanislas and Martin Paterson saw Town fall to a 2-0 defeat to the Clarets.
After a dull first half the game, played between two sides with nothing to play for, improved slightly after the break with the home team deserving the victory.
Last time at Portman Road in November last year, DJ Campbell’s late goal saw the Blues to a 2-1 victory over Burnley in Mick McCarthy’s first home game in charge.
Daryl Murphy got Town’s first home league win in 11 games up and running just after the break with a controversial header, then a Danny Higginbotham own goal put the visitors on terms before Campbell’s 87th minute winner.
Overall, Town have won 18 of the games between the sides (17 in the league), Burnley 11 (11) with a further 10 (10) ending in draws. Burnley’s only win in their 19 games at Portman Road was a 1-0 victory back in January 1970.
The Clarets, the current Championship leaders, who are unbeaten in nine and have lost only once this season, are on 26 points, 11 ahead of the Blues in 11th place.
Saturday’s referee is Graham Scott from Oxfordshire, who has shown 26 yellow cards and a somewhat generous five reds in seven games so far this season.
Scott’s last Town game was the 2-0 home defeat to Wolves in September last year when he booked one player from each team.
Squad from: Gerken, Loach, Chambers, Hewitt, Veseli, Cresswell, Mings, Smith, Berra, Skuse, Hyam, Wordsworth, Tunnicliffe, Edwards, Anderson, Tabb, Murphy, McGoldrick, Nouble, Marriott, Lee.