Winger Stephen Hunt is set to return to the Town starting line-up for Saturday's home game against Bolton Wanderers having been left out of the team which drew 1-1 at Leeds. Manager Mick McCarthy is forced into one change with loanee Ryan Tunnicliffe recalled by Manchester United in order to be sold to Fulham.
Having been man of the match as the Blues beat Reading 2-0 at Portman Road last week, McCarthy rested Hunt at Elland Road feeling that the 32-year-old wouldn’t be up to playing two games in such quick succession given his lack of match fitness. The victory over the Royals was only the Irishman’s third start since April.
But the Town manager says the Irish international be OK to face the struggling Trotters: "Hunty’s fine, we’ve wound him back up, we’ve recharged his battery, we’ve tightened the elastic band.”
McCarthy has no injury concerns other than the sidelined Luke Hyam (gashed leg) and Sylvan Ebanks-Blake (hamstring): "Luke Hyam will be OK for the Barnsley game, I think, and Sylvan is out training but he’s not ready for this game. Everybody else is fine.”
The Town boss looks certain to stick with Dean Gerken in goal, but has a decision to make at right-back with Frazer Richardson having signed on loan from Middlesbrough earlier in the week.
Despite having conceded the penalty in the 1-1 draw at Leeds, Luke Chambers will probably keep his place - and wear the armband - with Richardson not having played a game since November.
The rest of the back four picks itself — barring any shock late transfer activity — with Aaron Cresswell at left-back and Christophe Berra and Tommy Smith in the centre.
In midfield, Hunt looks set to be on the left with Paul Anderson keeping his place on the right, while Jay Tabb seems likely to move into the centre alongside Cole Skuse in the absence of Hyam and Tunnicliffe.
Anthony Wordsworth is another option and has been back in training for two weeks after his bout of tonsillitis but Tabb, who has spent more of his career as a central player rather than on the left where he has tended to play for Town, would appear to be to be the more likely selection.
McCarthy is hopeful of adding another midfield player to his squad when the loan window opens in a week's time with Leeds' Paul Green understood to be his target.
Up front, 14-goal top scorer David McGoldrick is again set to be paired with Daryl Murphy, who has netted eight times this season.
McCarthy says he’s surprised that Bolton, who missed out on the play-offs last year on goal difference having initially struggled, are down in 18th this time around: "It did look like they’d got up and running.
"It’s always the same, I look at their squad of players and think ‘wow, they’ve got a really good squad’ and I know they’re trying to turn things around, trying to sign two or three on loan, and it’ll make a difference to them, of course.
"I don’t know the reason why [they're struggling], but what I would say is that that was the same last season and they put a really good run together from about now. So let’s hope it doesn’t start on Saturday.”
He says it can be difficult for clubs relegated from the top flight - as Bolton were 18 months ago - to adjust to life in the Championship: "You still have the remnants of the Premier League players on big money sometimes.
"That can be a real factor in team spirit and players can think they should be in the Premier League and they’re in the Championship. It does have an effect on the place, definitely.
"And, of course, in the first season you think ‘if we get back up we’ll be OK’ and then you don’t and it seems to spiral downwards rather than the other way.”
Defender Tim Ream will be in the Bolton side at left-back despite having suffered a facial injury in the 2-1 defeat at QPR on Tuesday.
Centre-half David Wheater and midfielder Stuart Holden are both sidelined long-term with knee injuries, while striker Jermaine Beckford is not yet back after a hamstring injury.
The Trotters have signed former Blue Liam Trotter on loan from Millwall and the Ipswich-born midfielder is expected to go straight into their squad.
Bolton have also added 20-year-old winger Yannick Bastos from Luxembourg side FC Differdange but he is viewed as a development squad player rather than a first-teamer. Striker Craig Davies has joined Preston on loan for the rest of the season.
Historically, the Blues just have the edge, having won 15 times (13 in the league), Bolton 13 (nine) and with eight (seven) games between the teams ending in draws.
The Trotters have lost their last three in all competitions — including a 7-1 defeat to Reading — and have won only one of their last eight in the league.
In October, David McGoldrick netted his first away goal for Town to see the Blues to a 1-1 draw at the Reebok Stadium.
After a first half in which Ryan Tunnicliffe should have put the Blues in front, Medo Kamara opened the scoring for the home side with a freekick in the 65th minute, McGoldrick equalising with a left-foot strike eight minutes later.
The teams last met at Portman Road in March last year when skipper Carlos Edwards netted in the 88th minute to see the Blues to a crucial 1-0 victory over Bolton at Portman Road.
Town should have been ahead in the first half, Andy Drury missing the best opportunity, while the visitors improved in the second but rarely threatened Stephen Henderson’s goal.
In addition to new signing Trotter, former Blue Arran Lee-Barrett recently extended his short-term contract with Bolton until the end of the season, but is yet to make his debut, while former Town loanee Keith Andrews is still a Trotters employee but is spending the season on loan at Brighton.
American midfielder Stuart Holden was on trial with the Blues in 2005 but is a long-term absentee with a knee injury. No current Town player has appeared for the Trotters.
Saturday’s referee is Charles Breakspear from Surrey, who has shown 66 yellow cards and six red in 16 games so far this season. Breakspear will be taking charge of his first competitive Town game, although he took control of the 3-0 pre-season victory at Colchester last summer.
Squad from: Gerken, Loach, Chambers, Richardson, Cresswell, Mings, Smith, Berra, Skuse, Wordsworth, Edwards, Anderson, Hunt, Tabb, Murphy, McGoldrick, Nouble, Taylor, Lee.