Town travel to Bristol City on Saturday looking to record back-to-back wins for the first time this season, manager Mick McCarthy having already confirmed that he will start the same XI which beat QPR 3-0 at Portman Road last week.
The Blues are 14th in the Championship but only five points off the play-offs following an inconsistent first third of the campaign in which they have won six, drawn six and lost six. They last recorded the same result in successive games in August when they drew at Wolves and then at home to Norwich.
Boss McCarthy says December, in which Town play six fixtures, could be a key period in the season.
"It generally is, we come to the halfway stage over Christmas,” he reflected. "That’s usually a fair barometer of how you’ve done and how you’re going to do. It’s a really important stage.”
In the last few weeks some of the division’s previously sleeping giants, such as Aston Villa and Derby, have shown improved form, something which doesn’t surprise the Town boss.
"You’d expect them to be kicking on, wouldn’t you?” he added. "You’d probably be expecting Wolves to be kicking on but they’re down at the bottom end.
"The league is nuts, so much so that Blackburn go to Newcastle and beat them and Wigan go to Huddersfield and beat them.
"[The Championship is] something I’ve got a great deal of experience about but I seem to have less and less of a clue what I’m talking about every week regarding what’s going to happen in this league, I just don’t know.
A reminder that NO tickets will be sold on the day at Bristol on Saturday, as the game is all ticket. Around 150 tickets remain #itfc pic.twitter.com/WN5kR6r81k– Ipswich Town FC (@Official_ITFC) November 30, 2016
"But I do see Villa competing for it and I do see Derby because they’ve both got the squads. And it would appear they’ve got the right men in charge now that are getting the best out of them.”
Saturday’s opponents are going through a tough spell having won only one of their last eight in all competitions, losing six, including the last three, although they are likely to believe one result could start to turn things around.
"Sounds like my press conference last week!” McCarthy joked. "We’re all saying the same things. I’ve just pointed out, Blackburn went to Newcastle and won, I could not see that coming ever, ever.
"And Wigan going and beating Huddersfield, you just couldn’t see that coming. I bet when we went and beat Sheffield Wednesday nobody saw that.
"The league is so close in terms [of results] week in, week out. Bristol City have just had a tough period like we have, and they’ll be thinking that if they can turn us over, like we did to QPR, it changes it all completely.”
The Town boss says his Robins counterpart Lee Johnson has some talent at his disposal: "I think he’s got a good squad of players. There’s been a fair bit of investment in that as well.
"I think Tammy Abraham, who they have taken on loan [from Chelsea] was the catalyst for it all, he couldn’t stop scoring at the start of it. They signed Lee Tomlin. I think they’ve got a decent squad.
"They turned us over there last year, although we had a few missing. I’d forgotten Skusey was missing, I seem to remember we had Kevin Foley, Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Kevin Bru in there when we were 4-3-3 at some stage. But he’s got a decent squad and so have I. I’d like to go down there and win.”
Last year’s corresponding fixture saw City centre-half Aden Flint score two headed goals from corners as the home side won 2-1. McCarthy says the 27-year-old former Swindon man is a big danger from set pieces.
"We keep an eye on him, he’s hard to miss, he’s about 6ft 7,” he said. "That’s just one of those things. If the ball’s right and the run’s right, it’s pretty hard to stop him, unfortunately.
"Was it Lee Johnson’s first game? It was party time for them. He came in, got his win, we conceded two from corners, which we very rarely do. The balls were delivered brilliantly, the movement was good and we just couldn’t stop it.”
McCarthy’s other game at Ashton Gate with Town, in the Robins’ 2012/13 relegation season, also ended in defeat with former Blue Jon Stead, who played for McCarthy at Sunderland, netting a late winner very much against the run of play.
"We battered them but Jon Stead scored at the end,” the Town boss recalled. "Lee Martin missed from two yards just before half-time, we should have been about six-up and we lost 2-1.
Pre match meet up from 12 on Saturday @kingstbrew. Located on Welsh Back BS1 4RR. All #ITFC fans welcome. Approx 45 min walk to stadium.– ITFC South West (@itfcsouthwest) December 1, 2016
"It’s not been a happy hunting ground recently, last year it wasn’t and that game wasn’t when we played very well.”
Bristol City boss Johnson, whose side are a place ahead of the Blues in 13th by goal difference alone, is expected to make changes to his team as he looks to reverse their form, while McCarthy has already confirmed he will name the same side that beat QPR.
"Mine will be the same team and the same shape and they can do what they want,” the Town boss added.
"That’s what I went with last week and as I said then, QPR are playing 3-5-2, we are 4-4-2, that’s the team.
"I’m not dressing it up, we needed a performance, we needed a win. Sometimes you end up trying to take everything out of their performance - what they’re going to do. How about us just playing as well as we did last week? That’s what we’ll try and do.”
NEWS: A minute's silence will be held before kick-off tomorrow in memory of the Chapecoense players and staff. https://t.co/W5eYVnbRHi pic.twitter.com/KTB69ETIxk
— Bristol City FC (@bcfctweets) December 2, 2016
#itfc will be wearing black armbands on Saturday, as a mark of respect to the @ChapecoenseReal players who tragically lost their lives. pic.twitter.com/z4e4ehCJ9M– Ipswich Town FC (@Official_ITFC) November 30, 2016
Bartosz Bialkowski will be in goal with skipper Luke Chambers at right-back, Jonas Knudsen at left-back and Adam Webster and Christophe Berra at the centre of the defence.
Cole Skuse and Jonathan Douglas will again be at the centre of the midfield with Grant Ward on the right and Tom Lawrence on the left. David McGoldrick will be up front with Luke Varney.
Robins manager Johnson will be without left-back Joe Bryan, who is suspended having amassed five bookings, but otherwise has a full squad from which he says he has already picked his side.
"You have different thought processes on different games, but I think it’s been quite clear for me this week,” he told the Bristol City official website.
"We’ve got the option to make changes — that’s the beauty of the squad.
"I’ve had a look and there will be a couple of changes in there somewhere. There needs to be.
"Like Einstein said, the definition of insanity is to keep on doing the same thing and expect a different result!
"Sometimes you need to freshen things up, whether that’s a change of shape or personnel.”
Historically, Town have the edge, winning 28 (26 in the league), losing 19 (19) and drawing 13 (13). The Blues are without a win in their last four against the Robins.
In February, two identikit first-half headers from Aden Flint saw Bristol City to a 2-1 victory over the Blues at Ashton Gate.
Brett Pitman, who misses Saturday's game as he's not ready to return after his ankle injury, came off the bench to pull one back for Town after the break against his former club.
At Portman Road in September last year, Ryan Fraser netted an 86th minute equaliser as the sides drew 2-2 at Portman Road.
Skipper Chambers headed Town in front a minute after the break but quick-fire goals from Luke Freeman and Jonathan Kodjia gave the Robins the lead before Fraser’s late equaliser.
Skuse moved to the Blues from his hometown club, who he had joined as a schoolboy, following their relegation in the summer of 2013 after making 245 starts and 62 sub appearances, and scoring nine times.
Keeper Dean Gerken also left Ashton Gate the same summer, joining the Blues after a trial during pre-season ahead of 2013/14, having made 60 appearances for the Robins after signing from Colchester in July 2009.
Pitman was with the Robins from 2010 to 2012 between his two spells with AFC Bournemouth.
While with Bristol City he scored 20 goals in 36 starts and 45 games from the bench. Town assistant manager Terry Connor played for the Robins between 1991 and 1993.
City boss Johnson, a close friend of Skuse from their playing days together at Ashton Gate, was born in Suffolk during his father Gary’s time as a player with Newmarket Town.
Saturday’s referee is Stuart Attwell from Warwickshire, who has shown 33 yellow cards and three red in 10 games so far this season.
Attwell’s most recent Town game was the 1-0 win at Derby in September, in which he showed yellow cards to Berra, Skuse, Pitman and Varney and no Rams.
Prior to that he was in charge of the 1-0 win at Brighton in December last year in which he booked Kevin Bru and one home player.
Before 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.
He also refereed 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.
Town: Bialkowski, Chambers (c), Webster, Berra, Knudsen, Skuse, Douglas, Ward, Lawrence, Varney, McGoldrick. Subs from: Gerken, Emmanuel, Kenlock, Digby, Bishop, Bru, Dozzell, Benyu, Williams, Sears, Best.