Town travel to Derby County this evening looking to continue an unbeaten run at the iPro Stadium which stretches back almost a decade (KO 7.45pm).
The Blues beat the Rams 1-0 on their home turf on the final day of last season, having drawn there in the previous two seasons, including the memorable 4-4 draw in October 2013.
Earlier that year Carlos Edwards’s last-gasp strike had secured a 1-0 win and you have to go back to November 2006 for a Town defeat on Rams’ turf, a 1-0 loss under Jim Magilton’s management, one of only two Blues reverses at Derby’s current home.
Since the Rams moved to what was previously known as Pride Park in 1997 Town have won seven and drawn six.
The Rams are yet to win or score at home in the Championship this season, having lost one and drawn two of their three games at the iPro Stadium so far, including Saturday evening’s 2-0 loss to Newcastle.
Their only league goal came in their only win, at Preston North End a month ago, and the side Nigel Pearson took charge of over the summer, which reached the play-offs last season, currently languishes in 19th place with only five points.
Town manager Mick McCarthy says it may be taking time for the players to adjust to Pearson’s approach.
"Transition is a word that gets used when a new manager comes in and I think Nigel Pearson has been somebody who has played 4-4-2, has had really good teams, certainly with Leicester,” McCarthy said.
"And Derby have been 4-3-3. They’ve loaned Chris Martin to Fulham, who was their focal point up front. Matej Vydra’s come in, James Wilson’s come in, different sorts, different types.
"They’re maybe playing a different way and they’ve had two defeats [in their last two games], away at Burton and then at home to Newcastle.
"There’s a lot of pressure on them because they spent £25 million last year and missed out in the play-offs. And I do think missing out in the play-offs can have a real adverse effect on you.
"I had our players in on Sunday morning and said, ‘Whatever we think, we’ve been mugged out of it [on Friday night], maybe we gave them the opportunity to give it because we’ve got hands on people, but it’s got to be down to us, we’ve got to get over it and go to Derby and play well’.
"And I would imagine Nigel will be saying the same. And they’ve got enough quality to be in the top six by the end of the season.”
McCarthy says Pearson is a manager who has shown he’s capable of turning things around before at his previous clubs.
"He’s experienced and he certainly knows the game,” the Town boss added. "I look back at his Leicester team and he’s had a pretty wide and varied career as a coach and as a manager, but his Leicester team I think was his best bit.
"Managing to keep them up [in 2014/15], that was an extraordinary achievement from where they were. What was it 11 wins or something? It was remarkable.
"So that tells you he’s really got something, he can get the best out of the players. There’s no doubt he’s a winner, I think his teams are disciplined and hard-working.
"Maybe it is just a transition, I don’t know. Different players, different mindsets, he’s trying to get his way over. All I know is that if they get it right on the night they’ve got very good players and they’ll be a very good team. Nigel’s produced good teams wherever he’s been.”
Derby’s failure to win promotion - or even make the play-offs in 2014/15 - despite spending a lot of money illustrates that splashing cash is no guarantee of success.
"It isn’t, not in this league, that’s for sure,” McCarthy reflected. "And not even in the Premier League. If it was then Manchester City would have won the league every year for the last few years and they haven’t.
"And this league is even more unforgiving, I think. You turn up at Burton on the night with all your superstars and you get done.
"You come to Ipswich and you’ve spent all the money and we’ll do teams. And we go away and we do them and Burton will beat them, Rotherham will beat somebody, the ones that haven’t spent all the money.
"And there’s not that much between us all. You will find it in the end, as the league settles down, maybe around Christmas, we’ll see who the teams are then. Is it going to be Newcastle, Villa, Norwich, teams that have spent shedloads of money and have still got Premier League quality? That might be the case.
"But at the moment it’s the two Yorkshire Tykes, it’s Huddersfield and Barnsley that are romping away with it.”
Derby were booed off following their weekend defeat to the Magpies and McCarthy hopes his side start well and get the home crowd on their players’ backs.
"Of course, and we’ll be trying that,” he added. "That goes without saying, try and keep it tight, try and get a goal, try and get a really fast start. And if we do then no doubt the crowd will turn.
"But they turn everywhere. There are 92 clubs in the leagues and if you’ve just lost two and then you’ve got a home game and you don’t start well and the opposition score against you, at every single club the fans are going to turn on them.
"It’s to be expected really because they want to see [their side] win, I get that, I’ve no problem with that at all.”
The Town boss will start with Bartosz Bialkowski in goal and seems likely to stick with his same back four - from the right skipper Luke Chambers, Tommy Smith, Christophe Berra and Jonas Knudsen - although he may look to bring Adam Webster back into the side for Smith.
In midfield, McCarthy may look to switch to 4-4-2 to match the Derby system, which would see one of Kevin Bru, Conor Grant, Jonathan Douglas or Teddy Bishop alongside Cole Skuse in the centre.
Grant Ward would probably be on the right with Conor Grant, Freddie Sears or Tom Lawrence on the left. Brett Pitman would be up front with Sears or Lawrence with Leon Best unlikely to start yet due to his lack of match fitness.
However, McCarthy might opt to stick with the 4-3-3 system which has served his side well in recent weeks. In which case two of Bru, Grant, Douglas or Bishop will be in the midfield three with Skuse.
Pitman would start up front with Ward on the right and Sears - looking to end his run of 33 games without a goal - probably on the left. Best and, if he doesn’t start, as seems likely, Lawrence could make their Town debuts as subs.
Derby winger Johnny Russell is set to miss the game with a calf problem while another wideman Ikechi Anya is a doubt having limped off against Newcastle, while centre-half Richard Keogh is also a concern with an ankle problem.
Strikers Andreas Weimann (knee) and Abdoul Camara (hamstring) are not yet ready for a match action having been pencilled in for a return to full training on Thursday.
Derby boss Pearson admits his side scoring only once in their first six games is not something he anticipated.
"Not scoring goal in five of our games is a bit of a surprise because in pre-season we were pretty fluid in that regard," he Rams Player HD:
"We could do without this run if you like. We remain fairly solid but to win games we have got to be scoring.
"We have to be aware of the opponents but the big thing for us is our own performance and we have got to be looking to create more opportunities and commit ourselves to get on the end of things.
"That’s the challenge to take into this game because we have to put teams, especially at home, under more strain. We have the ability in our players to create more chances and also score more goals.”
Regarding Town, he added: "Ipswich have changed their formation a bit, which is to suit the players that Mick McCarthy has.
"It will be another tough game for us. We will have to be able to deal with their sometimes direct play — and they have some good players as well."
Historically, Town have had the better of Derby, winning 34 games (32 in the league), drawing 21 (19) and losing 26 (25).
Town last met Derby at the iPro on the final day of last season when David McGoldrick’s 34th minute penalty saw Town to a 1-0 victory.
The striker slotted home from the spot after Teddy Bishop had been upended by Richard Keogh.
In December at Portman Road, Tom Ince’s 40th minute goal saw Derby County to a 1-0 victory.
Town took the game to the Rams in the second half but rarely looked like getting on terms with the visitors, who climbed to second as a result of their victory.
Former Blues striker Darren Bent joined the Rams in the summer of 2015 following a loan spell in the second half of last season.
The 32-year-old came through the academy ranks at Playford Road and went on to make 116 starts and 25 sub appearances for the first team, scoring 55 goals, between 2001 and 2005 before moving on to then-Premier League Charlton.
In addition to Bent, Rams centre-half and skipper Richard Keogh was an academy schoolboy and Portman Road ballboy during his formative years.
Leon Best spent the first half of the 2014/15 season on loan with the Rams, making three starts - all in cup competitions - and 17 sub appearances without scoring.
Last season Best scored in the 85th and 90th minutes as Rotherham grabbed an unlikely 3-3 draw at the New York Stadium having been 3-0 down with only seven minutes to go.
Luke Varney was with Derby from November 2008 to July 2011, initially on loan from Charlton, but made only 11 starts and four sub appearances, scoring one goal, spending much of his time with the Rams out on loan.
Town keeper-coach Malcolm Webster held a similar position at Derby under George Burley's spell in charge of the Rams.
Tonight’s referee is Stuart Attwell from Warwickshire, who has shown nine yellow cards and two red in three games so far this season.
Attwell’s most recent Town game was the 1-0 win at Brighton in December last year in which he booked Kevin Bru and one home player.
Prior to that he was the official taking control of the 1-1 draw at Wolves in April last year in which he booked Jay Tabb, Jonny Parr and one home player.
Before that he was in charge of the 2-1 home victory over Sheffield Wednesday in February 2015 in which he booked only one of the visitors.
Attwell was also the referee during Mick McCarthy’s first game as Town manager, the 1-0 win at Birmingham in November 2012.
Squad from: Bialkowski, Gerken, Chambers (c), Emmanuel, Knudsen, Kenlock, Berra, T Smith, Webster, Digby, Skuse, Douglas, Bru, Bishop, Grant, Dozzell, Ward, Lawrence, Sears, Pitman, Best, Varney.