Town boss Mick McCarthy has confirmed that Tommy Smith will come back into the Blues side facing Huddersfield at Portman Road on Saturday with Tyrone Mings suspended having reached five bookings. Jonny Williams and Kevin Bru will be assessed on the day of the game having suffered niggles at Cardiff on Tuesday, but Luke Hyam is back after missing the last two games.
"Tommy will play.” McCarthy said, however, he wouldn’t reveal whether that was as a direct replacement for Mings at left-back or in his more usual central defensive role with regular right-back Jonny Parr moving to the left and skipper Luke Chambers switching wide.
"Why would I want to?” he added. "If I did then Chris Powell comes down and he knows my team and what I’m doing. Let him find out at two o’clock with everybody else.”
The Town boss says there are one or two injury doubts in the squad following the Blues’ 3-1 defeat at Cardiff: "Jonny Williams has got a few kicks, but he’s been carrying those, so we’ll have to wait and see how he is.
"Tyrone got a booking so he’s suspended, Kevin Bru’s got a couple of knocks and his groin was tight but I think it’s a long time since he’s played Saturday-Tuesday at that intensity.
"I’ll give them all a chance to see how they are and I’m hopeful, but Murph’s all right, Luke Hyam’s OK [after a hamstring problem] and Teddy Bishop’s back, so we’ve got numbers, we’re OK.”
The Blues manager feels Hyam was missed more at Cardiff than he was during the 1-1 home draw with Blackburn last week.
"I can’t say we missed him against Blackburn, I’d be lying because I thought we were excellent in the second half and we should have won," he said. "There was nothing he could have done about the freekick which equalised it.
"I think we missed him the other night. I think whatever Luke gives us on the ball or with the ball, you know that he’s going to demand that of everybody and go around and make his tackles and he competes.
"If anything we perhaps just lacked a little bite. But the goals we gave away knocked the stuffing out of us on Tuesday night. It’s great to have him back because it’s nice to have that difference.
"You’ve got Luke who does go round and puts the bite on people and closes people down and you’ve got the ability of Jonny or Teddy Bishop. It’s nice to have that variance, especially when we’re playing three in the middle.”
McCarthy hopes Mings's absence won't felt too keenly despite his excellent form this season: "Hopefully it’ll not be a blow at all but we’ll see. He’s been devastatingly good at times with his performances. He really has been outstanding.
"I think like all of us on Tuesday night he was a little bit below par. So I hope we don’t miss him, but when players are playing as well as he is, you don’t want them suspended.”
Smith seems all but certain to join Christophe Berra at the heart of the defence with captain Chambers going to right-back and Parr to left-back with Dean Gerken continuing in goal. Youngster Matt Clarke will be the defensive cover on the bench.
The Town boss is likely to stick with his 4-3-3 formation and is likely to recall Hyam in place of Bru, who even aside from the knocks picked up on Tuesday would probably find three games in eight days tough going.
Cole Skuse will continue in his role with Williams also starting if fit. Bishop would probably replace the on-loan Palace man if he fails to make it.
Up front, seven-goal top scorer Daryl Murphy will be alongside David McGoldrick and Conor Sammon.
McCarthy says Huddersfield are a decent side under Chris Powell: "They’re unbeaten in five. We saw them against Blackpool, they were 3-0 up, it went to 3-2 just before half-time and they ended up winning 4-2.
"They’re a competent team, like every other team in this league if you can get them organised and get them working with each other and for each other.
"Why teams get fragmented and broken I don’t know but thank God they do because we’d not get jobs, would we? No one would be out of work.
"Chris has got that a ability to go in and galvanise a squad of players. I thought he had it at Charlton. I thought he had a really good work ethic there, they were really well organised, played some nice football and it looks to be like Huddersfield are doing the same.”
Huddersfield, who have taken 11 points from their last 15 in that five-game run, are hoping former Norwich striker Grant Holt, who is on loan from Wigan, and winger Sean Scannell will be fit.
Holt received knock to the face during Tuesday’s 1-1 home draw with Brighton, while Scannell was subbed with cramp.
Terriers boss Powell believes the Blues are in with a chance of winning promotion with Mick McCarthy in charge.
"Under Mick, Ipswich will always have a shout,” he told the Huddersfield official site. "I know Mick and his number two Terry really well and we will be ready for a reaction to their midweek defeat on Saturday. They have done a good job so far.
"I feel they are a side that will finish in the top half, but whether they will finish in the top six will often depend on the final six weeks of the campaign.
"They will be competitive throughout the season, it’s always a surprise when they lose a game! That’s down to the nature of how they play and what Mick demands of them.
"They play some football and score goals, they always have since Mick took charge. They’re a good-sized club with a good squad and excellent history.”
He added: "I’ve been thinking about this game before Brighton, because I’m always trying to plan ahead — that’s what you have to do. Ipswich has some attacking threats, not only up front but from one or two other areas as well.
"We’ll have to make sure our tactics are spot on and that the players are ready to implement whatever game-plan we ask of them at Portman Road.
"Like all the games, I’m looking forward to it — it should be a very good Championship game.”
Historically, Town have won 21 games between the sides (including the only cup tie), the Terriers 11, with seven ending in draws.
Huddersfield haven’t beaten Town since November 1999 and their last win at Portman Road was a 3-1 victory in September 1996 in which keeper Richard Wright went off injured after 14 minutes and - in an era before sub keepers - striker Neil Gregory went in goal. Future Blue Marcus Stewart was amongst the scorers.
The sides last met at the John Smith’s Stadium in April when a stunning sixth-minute goal from Paul Anderson and Daryl Murphy’s 12th of the season just after the half hour saw Town to a thoroughly deserved 2-0 victory.
The Blues could have been several goals further in front at the break and saw out the second half comfortably.
Earlier in the season, in December last year at Portman Road, Daryl Murphy headed home a late winner as the Blues came from behind to win 2-1.
The Terriers were deservedly ahead at the break via Danny Ward, skipper James Vaughan having had a penalty saved at Town for the second successive season, but David McGoldrick equalised soon after the restart then Murphy won it in the 89th minute.
Blues academy coach Alan Lee was with the West Yorkshiremen until the summer of 2013 before returning to Town.
Former Town frontman Jon Stead is a Huddersfield player but is currently on loan at Bradford, while Nahki Wells had a trial at Town as a 19-year-old in 2010.
Saturday’s referee is Richard Clark from Northumberland, who has shown 32 yellow cards and three red in nine games so far this season. The match will be Clark’s fourth at Championship level and his first involving the Blues or Huddersfield.
Squad from: Gerken, Bialkowski, Parr, Chambers, Berra, Smith, Clarke, Skuse, Bishop, Hyam, Bru, Tabb, Ambrose, Collison, Williams, Anderson, Hunt, Henshall, Stewart, McGoldrick, Murphy, Sammon, Bajner.